TECHNOLOGY: THE MIDWIFE’S FRIEND

Why technology is the midwife’s friend

WAYNE ROBERTSON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MMPO

The emergence of Covid-19 has led to massive changes in the way people work and for health professionals the way in which care is provided. In particular, two common themes have emerged: An increase in the use of digital applications, tools, and skills, and an increase in the number of people working from home.

DIGITAL APPLICATIONS, TOOLS AND SKILLS

From the outset of the pandemic response the use of digital applications such as Zoom and Microsoft 365 quickly grew together with an unprecedented increase in the use of devices and the internet. Even more apparent was the urgent development and growth in digital skills for meetings, presentations, consulting and just managing multiple digital applications simultaneously.

Personal and face to face interaction was restricted and people were confined to their home environments, reducing travel time.

When looking at technology and its use we should always be considering the balance between the expected benefits and the tradeoffs... will it help me to be more effective or maybe improve quality or efficiency? The inherent ability of technology to help share information with anyone, anywhere in real time is invaluable. Sometimes efficiency gains are made when the process, output or the outcome is standard, exact and can be automated like basic administration and business tasks.

Electronic Section 88 claiming and business accounting and record keeping (Xero) have been made easier by digital technology and solutions as have scheduling, electronic referrals and prescriptions, digital maps, and digital connections (video conferencing and messaging).

Using digital solutions (Tiaki and Xero, see below) in these situations makes complete sense and especially in situations such as the Covid-19 response where there are restrictions on physical contact and changes to usual working conditions.

For community midwives, how you think about and use digital technology is not always as clear cut. The ability to observe, record easily and in a timely way is important but also critical is how you document your soft midwifery skills and insights to contextualise visits (both physical and virtual) and discussions (using many different modes, mediums and devices). This information supports the overall factual record of the pregnancy, your relationship with the woman, and meets your professional requirements. The MMPO is 100% confident that the MIS is as closely aligned to these professional documentation requirements as possible.

Virtual consultations (invaluable in situations where physical restrictions are imposed) require further reflection and consideration around the benefits (easier real time connections, less travel and better use of time) and challenges (decreased human interaction, challenges with body language and emotional intelligence insights) and how these can be balanced for the future.

Speech to text applications are interesting and also becoming more prevalent although these do come with a warning label including the risk of imprecise and false understandings, questions about data security for health records and privacy requirements. Further work is required here on how to best utilise this type of technology.

Legislation around health data and information directs the community midwife to meet various security and privacy (including informed consent) requirements. It also requires that the health data and information must be properly stored, protected and able to be retrieved for a 10-year period.

At the MMPO we already offer comprehensive digital responses to support community midwives and are committed to continuing to design, develop and build better answers to these challenges.

TIAKI Tiaki, released late last year, has built in functionality for scheduling, electronic referrals and prescribing, virtual meetings (practice) and consults and the ability to

At the MMPO we already offer comprehensive digital responses to support community midwives and are committed to continuing to design, develop and build better answers to these challenges.

message securely and privately from the application. It also includes access to a midwife and practice related calendar and various ways to connect direct from the app in addition to virtual consults and messaging including email, phone, and access to maps.

XERO We have been helping and supporting community midwives with their business needs through Xero for more than two years now. Xero certainly meets the digital benefit test discussed above of easy real time data collection, access anywhere any place, and electronic automation of regular tasks allowing more informed choices and better decision making.

During Covid-19 our Xero team has provided even more help and support to community midwives to meet their ongoing business requirements.

LAST WORD… Change is inevitable and the use of digital technology will continue to evolve well into the future especially in health care where innovation, design and development have historically been gradual. But digital technology is not just about being easy, it needs to be tailored and balanced so that it works with the human aspects of midwifery care and never replaces it. square

MMPO, the Midwifery and Maternity Providers Organisation provides self employed community midwives with a supportive practice management system.

www.mmpo.org.nz mmpo@mmpo.org.nz 03 377 2485

For excellence in online midwifery education

Our fully online postgraduate courses are perfect for busy midwives who wish to study alongside their midwifery work.

2021 Semester One courses:

Certificate Courses (15 Credits)

Feb 15–Apr 2 Preceptorship for midwives · Exploring maternal obesity: Clinical and critical perspectives · Climate change, health and birth. Apr 26 –Jun 11 Working with tangata whenua: Building equity in maternity care · Hypertension in pregnancy · Queering midwifery: Sexuality, gender and sex characteristics diversity.

Diploma (Pre-Thesis) Course (30 Credits)

Feb 15–Jun 11 Pathway to Thesis: Midwifery Knowledge

Master of Midwifery

Undertake a discipline-specific Master of Midwifery degree in a topic area of your choice. If you wish to complete the Complex Care Certificate in 2021, or would like further information about any of our postgraduate courses, please contact: suzanne.miller@op.ac.nz.

K04378

0800 762 786 www.op.ac.nz

Influenza Immunisation

Protection for you and your clients We strongly recommend that all pregnant women are immunised against influenza.

But your recommendation to immunise has more impact than any TV ad or poster, and that recommendation can save lives. Influenza can be serious. Pregnant women and their babies are at greater risk from serious influenza-related complications than women who aren’t pregnant. As a midwife, choosing immunisation yourself helps protect you and importantly reduces the likelihood of passing influenza on to your clients. Visit influenza.org.nz for more information.

The influenza vaccine is a prescription medicine. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist about the benefi ts and possible risks or call 0800 IMMUNE.

TAPS NA11991