Sports medicine focuses on the treatment of athletes according to their performance. According to specialists, it is commonly characterized as the medical field that concentrates on preventive, diagnostic, and treatment measures to influence or improve athletes’ health (Hart, 2022). In contrast, nursing homes provide care for patients with various health conditions. Sports medicine often works with healthy individuals who require regular assistance and examinations, whereas nursing homes assist those who cannot care for themselves.
Sports care investigates the connections between athletic performance and injuries that happen to athletes of various disciplines. The care’s main content is individuals with a regular training program and measures that promote success in their respective fields. Some of the standard features of medicine include clinical diagnosis of injuries such as acute iliopsoas or adductor tenderness (Piedade et al., 2019). In addition, sports physicians focus on developing treatment programs that either provide full recovery or alleviate the pain (Piedade et al., 2019). Most of the information used by professionals is obtained by physical examinations. However, laboratory exams are equally important in the analysis of athletes (Piedade et al., 2019). By utilizing the knowledge obtained from athletes and training programs, sports physicians can evaluate the individual’s health and suggest a treatment plan that improves their performance.
Nursing homes provide residential care for people who are unable to maintain their basic daily needs. Such facilities may include elderly or disabled patients who require care (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). The most important features of nursing homes are professional nursing care, a safe and healthy environment, the ability to interact with peers, and a diet that promotes beneficial habits. Clinical practitioners in the nursing setting may develop social skills and improve their ability to understand the needs of disabled patients. Most of the patients’ information is obtained from interviews and clinical tests. Nursing homes provide a safe environment by offering expert nursing care and considering the patients’ requirements.
The clinical elements necessary for sports medicine include methods of gathering information about the athletes, such as laboratory exams. Nursing homes utilize a similar approach in order to obtain the information. However, interviews and discussions are more effective measures to obtain information in the nursing home environment (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). In order to create a shared clinical system, researchers need to consider the differences and similarities between the settings.
First, the system should employ electronic health records (EMR) that can contain data from different perspectives. EMR can provide safe and secure warehouses for both the physical and mental characteristics of the patients necessary for both clinical environments (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). Second, the sports and nursing settings have different information systems that may result in poor communication, billing mistakes, and an increase in care concerns (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). To reduce the risks, specialists should consider storing data in a data warehouse by combining data silos into an integrated patient record (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). In addition, different regions should cooperate to create a system that enables fast information sharing. Finally, a shared system should cooperate with the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) to develop a safe and compliant infrastructure.
The differences in the settings can alter the features of the shared clinical system. Sports medicine supports maximum physical performance and the ability to surpass standard human records (Piedade et al., 2019). In contrast, nursing homes focus on maintaining balanced health conditions. Such a contradiction may result in an inability to create a common goal of treatment. However, by utilizing the practices of sports training programs and nursing care, researchers can create a unified system that supports patients on a multifaceted level. Patients will be able to enjoy organized training routines combined with professional nursing support that can facilitate a full recovery. Since both environments employ similar methods of obtaining information, such as laboratory exams, the shared system will be able to combine patients’ data into a warehouse with an integrated network (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). Despite the differences in goals, the settings can create a shared system by using similar research methods and the advantages of both environments as well as principles of treatment.
The shared clinical system can be justified from various legal, social, and ethical perspectives. First, the system will be legal because it can store private information in a secure database. In addition, all required measures will be followed according to federal standards such as HIPAA. Second, the clinical approach can incorporate social and public viewpoints to maintain ethical standards. All the professionals involved in the system will inquire about the specific policy standards of the state or hospital before starting treatment (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). However, if an ethics violation occurs, the nurses or physicians will carefully respond to the issue and provide solutions according to the law.
The plan of implementation involves two steps that require the involvement of informatics. The first step consists of measures that support the correct management and education of nurses and physicians. Such a step employs regulated, individual-based, technology-enabled practices that promote cooperation and connections throughout the treatment plan (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). The second step introduces workflow analysis and informatics nurses. The prepared informatics nurses can assist in achieving the system’s goals by analyzing the workflow. In addition, by applying professional practices and skills, the specialist can focus on nursing information needs such as administration and clinical research (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). Such steps can facilitate the creation of the shared system and support informatics nurses.
References
Hart J. (2022). Economic and clinical benefits of orthopedic/sports medicine and rehabilitation. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice, 52(4), 1059-1067.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Piedade, R. S., Imhoff, A. B., Clatworthy, M., Cohen, M., & Espregueira-Mendes, J. (Eds.). (2019). The sports medicine physician. Springer.