Table 1.

Examples of Emerging Technologies That Are Changing Nursing Practice

Technology	Benefits	Challenges
Genetics and Genomics	Most of the disease risks, health conditions, and therapies used to treat these conditions have been found to have a genetic and/or genomic element that is influenced by environmental, life-style, and a host of other factors that influence the entire nursing profession.	Majority of the nurses that are currently in practice are uninformed about genetics and genomics and this results in a lack of competence needed to effectively counsel and educate patients.
Tools for Diagnostics and Treatment that are less invasive and more accurate	Tools for diagnostics and treatment that are non-invasive and minimally invasive generally results in lower patient risk and cost.	The rate of introduction of new noninvasive and minimally invasive tools is a challenge for nurses and may result in a lack of competency.
3-D Printing	Bioprinters that utilize living cell mixtures can build a 3D structure of cells, layer by layer, in order to form human tissue and may eventually provide a replacement for human organs.	The healthcare industry is just beginning to explore the capabilities of the technology. There are limitations to the type of materials which can be used for printing.
Robotics	Improved diagnostic abilities, less invasive and more comfortable experience for patients, and the ability to carry out smaller and more precise interventions may be made possible through robotics. Robots can be used as adjunct care providers for some physical and mental health care provision.	More research is needed on comparing the effectiveness between robots and human healthcare providers. Concern has been expressed by healthcare providers about the lack of emotion in robots, suggesting that robots will never replace altogether, human healthcare providers.
Biometrics	Biometrics improves the security of confidential healthcare information and eliminates the costs of managing passwords that can be lost.	More research is needed in terms of cost, accuracy, and potential users’ resistance to change.
Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR)	Critical patient information can be accessed by multiple healthcare providers at all times which allows for better coordinated care.	Cost of implementation, enabling computers to communicate with each other and the debate on who “owns” the data in an EHR challenges its required implementation.
Computerized Physician/Provider Order; Entry (CPOE) and Clinical Decision Support	CPOE and Clinical Decision Support would fundamentally change the ordering process which may result in lower costs, reduced medical errors, and more interventions that are based on evidence and best practices.	The introduction of CPOE and clinical decision support requires altering the practice of healthcare providers. Resistance may be common due to the time spent on order entry. The implementation and training costs may be significant.