Supporting Healthcare-Specific Technology
The healthcare industry’s recent embrace of information technology echoes the computer revolution of the corporate world during the 1980s. Unfortunately, with that leap toward technological advancement has come many of the same issues that became apparent from the digital transition of the corporate office—including eyestrain, chronic back pain and other various repetitive stress injuries. However, a well-designed ergonomics program can easily address these problems while still allowing caregivers to take advantage of the technology.
Since healthcare’s transition to electronic medical records and computer-oriented work shifts, work-related injuries have steadily risen among caregivers. Nurses spend 3.6 to 4.8 hours per shift either sitting or standing at a computer, and not coincidentally, recent research shows that 32% of nurses using computers have work-related musculoskeletal disorders. With caregivers becoming increasingly at risk for such work-related injuries and discomfort, the need for ergonomic workstations in healthcare environments is more apparent than ever. In a corporate environment, ergonomic improvements can yield significant ROI. But in a healthcare setting, these improvements can also have far-reaching impacts on patient care and outcomes.
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http://www.humanscale.com/userfiles/file/WP-Ergonomics-Supporting-Healthcare-Specific-Technology.pdf