Javier 8300 The foundational health information technology in the medical facility I practice in is ...
Javier 8300 The foundational health information technology in the medical facility I practice in is the popular Electronic Health Records (EHR) system called Oracle Cerner. Oracle Cerner is an electronic platform that facilitates the storage of all patient data, such as medical history, medication records, care plan, progress notes, and diagnostic findings at a single synchronized place (Annam, 2024). Practitioners are using it to record all interactions with their patients, track behavior, and cognitive changes over time, and organize care between doctors and nurses, and even among caregivers across shifts. The system also simplifies medication management by providing proper prescription tracking and administration. Moreover, the Oracle Cerner allows our team to make cognitive evaluations, track risks of falls and provide an alert about the wandering behavior that are typical aspects of dementia care as falling risks are widespread in dementia care (Augustine et al., 2025). By summarizing all this data on a single platform, which is easy to use, the Oracle Cerner ensures that no crucial patient information is missed, even as the care teams shift throughout the day. The benefits of adopting Oracle Cerner are immense. Firstly, it promotes continuity of care as dementia patients may be unable to communicate their history or current condition in a coherent manner, a detailed digital record can enable all types of caregivers to learn the background, triggers, and the present state of the patient in a few seconds (Augustine et al., 2025). Second, it reduces medication errors which is highly important considering that dementia patients are often prescribed several drugs; the system will automatically warn about harmful drug combinations or omissions (Annam, 2024). Third, it facilitates a more efficient tracking of behavioral habits, sleep cycles, appetite fluctuation, and cognitive deterioration as time passes to allow the doctor to fine-tune treatment strategies with more accuracy. Some of the issues that can be experienced with the use of Oracle Cerner is the complexity of the system adopted and the time required before it can be used successfully, particularly on older employees who might not be so techno-savvy. Moreover, the software may contain bugs that lead to interruption of the care routine, which may also result in dangerous delays. Another serious situation is the issue of data privacy; patients with dementia are even more vulnerable to it, and any breach of their privacy concerning the vulnerable mental health information of dementia patients can be harmful to both the patients and their families (Augustine et al., 2025). The cost of maintaining and updating the system is also high and may overburden the small mental healthcare facilities. Finally, the over-reliance on technology may lead to personnel overvaluing the data delivered to them by the system over their own clinical judgment, and this is a critical problem in the mental health sector, where human vision and knowledge cannot be replaced. Even though Oracle Cerner has drawbacks, including complexities within a system and high prices, data privacy concerns, and decreased human interaction, they can be resolved with the help of frequent staff training, enhanced cybersecurity measures, and special technical support departments. The assessment of Oracle Cerner was informed by DNP Essential III, which necessitates the use of research and evidence-based practice to advance healthcare practices (AACN, 2021). Two role-specific competencies that were accomplished while presenting the discussion were professionalism and sound knowledge of the healthcare environment. For example, professionalism was explicitly observed during the analysis, especially in establishing issues associated with using EHRs in dementia care (AACN, 2021). References American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). (2021). The Essentials: Core Competencies for Professional Nursing Education. AACN. Annam, S. N. (2024). Comparative Analysis of IT Management Tools in Healthcare. Stallion Journal for Multidisciplinary Associated Research Studies, 3(5), 72-86. Augustine, S., Lopez, M. A., Cheun, J., & Papesh, C. (2025). Automating Cardiff Model Data Capture in Emergency Departments: Ambient NLP Integration with Oracle-Cerner FHIR Systems. SMU Data Science Review, 9(3), 8.
