As the pressure to contain costs in healthcare continues to increase, nurses seek new strategies to enhance the quality of patient care and optimize expenses. The rapid advancement of wireless technologies holds a promise to facilitate the provision of high-quality nursing care to patients. The adoption of such services by nurses opens new venues for resolving the most urgent health and nursing dilemmas, from preventing falls to improving communication within nursing teams.

The current state of literature provides a useful insight into the nature of the wireless technologies used by nurses and their effects on the quality and safety of patient care. The focus of this literature review is on the empirical studies published between 2010 and 2014 in relation to the use of wireless technologies in nursing care. Since any technologies used by nurses must ensure the highest levels of patient safety and outstanding quality of service, the sources in this review are arranged by their relevance, as related to safe patient care.

Wireless technologies have the potential to prevent disruptions in care delivery and minimize the likelihood of numerous health complications. Contemporary researchers are particularly interested in how webcams, telehealth applications, e-medicine developments, and other solutions can help nurses achieve better patient safety results. The most relevant is the study by Hardin, Dienemann and Rudisill (2013), in which the researchers investigated the use of webcams on medical-surgical units to prevent inpatient falls. The study covered ten hospitals and lasted 6 months. The intervention group was monitored via webcams. The statistical analysis showed a substantial difference in fall rates between the intervention and control groups (Hardin et al., 2013).

The experimental nature of the study lends credibility to its results, but Hardin et al. (2013) emphasize the need for future research to analyze patient acceptance of wireless monitoring. Actually, patient acceptance and preferences were studied by Basoglu, Daim and Topacan (2012). The researchers explored patient perceptions of remote health monitoring, using the sample of obesity patients and individuals with diabetes from Istanbul, Turkey. The results of the statistical analysis confirmed that patients wanted greater convenience and automation with mobile health applications (Basoglu et al., 2012). Basoglu et al. (2012) have managed to produce a comprehensive wireless technology framework. Yet, because the sample was limited to Turkey, the results of the study may not be generalizable to other countries. Nevertheless, the study suggests that wireless technologies possess an enormous nursing care potential, be it in antiretroviral therapy or gaze-stabilization exercise monitoring.

Antiretroviral therapy monitoring was the subject of the study by Haberer et al. (2010), tested a wireless adherence monitoring device for antiretroviral therapy in Uganda. The device showed limited efficacy, due to short battery life and poor signal transmission (Haberer et al., 2010). The study itself was too small to produce any relevant results. Also small was the study by Huang et al. (2014), in which an iPod-based system for monitoring individuals with vestibular hypofunction was tested. With a sample of 10 individuals, and using statistical correlations, Huang et al. (2014) found the device to be helpful in evaluating the intensity of gaze-stabilization exercises in such patients. Due to the small sample size, the applicability of the study results is likely to be limited. Moreover, Huang et al. (2012) ignore an essential aspect of technology use in nursing, namely, the way wireless technologies impact patients and their home routines.

It should be noted that, like patients, nurses can also benefit from using wireless technologies in their practice. Guarascio-Howard (2011) organized a quantitative study to explore how wireless technologies can help nurses monitor patient status and enhance communication within teams. In a small sample of four registered nurses, Guarascio-Howard (2011) used statistical analyses to discover that team communication improved substantially with wireless technologies, since nurses had greater opportunities to communicate with their colleagues. Despite numerous design limitations, nurses can consider using wireless devices on an everyday basis.

Overall, the current state of knowledge about wireless technologies and their utility in nursing is scarce. Most researchers use small samples that limit the generalizability of study results. In the meantime, the range of wireless technologies tested by nursing researchers constantly expands. It is possible to conclude that the present-day understanding of wireless technologies and their potential applicability in nursing practice is emerging is a separate domain. Future researchers should organize qualitative research projects to explore the role and relevance of wireless nursing technologies from the perspective of patients.