Electronic Healthcare Management for the Elderly Term Paper

Using Technology in Diabetes Management HealthCare in Long-term Healthcare Facilities

The long-term care facilities most often deal with the aging population in the society. This group of people has a low immune system that predisposes them to various diseases. Diabetes is prevalent among the aging population, which results in their commitment to long-term care. The complexity of treatment and care for the diabetic patients is often compounded by comorbidity that is a common characteristic of such patients (Munshi et al., 2016). The aging populations in the long-term facilities have a higher risk of contracting hypoglycemia, and hence this must be a factor to consider when setting glycemic goals. The following study proposes a computerized diabetes management system, which captures all clinical information and translates it into clinical action. The data can be used in improving diabetes care and clinical outcome among patients in long-term care facilities.

Literature Review

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has greatly increased in America in the recent past. The study focused on the elderly as the most affected people. Surprisingly, it was found that people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes above the age of 65year was six times more than affected among the population aged below 24 years. Multiple studies have indicated that diabetes in long-term care facilities ranges between 25% and 34% (Munshi et al., 2016). The rising prevalence of diabetes among the elderly poses a significant economic strain on the use economy because money is channeled for treatment of the elderly. Further research has attributed the prevalence to physiological changes related to aging such as sarcopenia, increased abdominal fats, and low-grade inflation (Munshi et al., 2016).

The challenge when caring for diabetic patients in long-term care facilities relates to the failure to the entire process of application of evidence-based management guidelines (Dunning et al., 2012). Therefore, it is important to overhaul the whole system of care delivery among diabetic patients in long-term care facilities. The health information technology has been widely used in all areas of care clinical and caregiving processes to enhance efficiency and reduce errors both in caregiving and clinical processes. The electronic medical records are a good example of such health information systems that have been widely embraced all over the American healthcare system (Dunning et al., 2013). Therefore, there is a need for a healthcare information system configured to the specific needs of diabetic patients in long-term care facilities. This will ensure that caregivers adhere strictly to the evidence-based practices and provide the desired care to the elderly suffering from diabetes.

Case Description

Patients in long-term care facilities undergo significant physiological changes that predispose them to numerous health complications. In the end, other health complications crop in. The scenario complicates the caregiving and diabetes management among these types of patients. In a manual system of managing patient records, the information is stored in files, which can be cumbersome to access.…