1)  

The final presentation topic I have chosen explores the integration of health information technology within the nurse-patient relationship and how this relationship improves quality of care at the bedside. My topic also explores how health information technology can be utilized to improve nursing clinical workflow efficiency and quality. Some conclusions I have drawn from the literature research are that utilizing technology at the point of care delivery has made a significant impact on positive patient outcomes. It is important to note that the proper utilization of this technology is paramount in safe patient outcomes and in aiding the bedside clinician to improve workflow efficiency, quality, and patient safety. I believe that this is a very relevant topic, especially as we may have all recently learned that a former nurse at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee was arrested and charged with reckless homicide for making a medication error that resulted in a patient’s death. A full review of the plight of this nurse, and the judgement made against her is beyond the scope of this post, but its relevance can be related to the information systems and technology at the point of care that were involved in this incident.

According to Darvish, Bahramnezhad, Keyhanian, and Navidhamidi (2014), in an ever-changing advancing healthcare system, technology plays a major role in education and nursing work. Because of the ever-increasing pace that technology develops, the literature notes the need for appropriate education technology programs. Darvish et al. (2014) notes that in order to integrate information technology to effect positive outcomes and improve quality, there needs to be educational arrangements made within an organization to create short term and long-term specialized courses to focus on target groups and their various levels of education. By focusing on these groups and identifying their needs regarding information technology education, the goal is to increase quality of care, safety, and ultimately improve clinical workflow efficiency.

In my current practice a well-designed electronic health record system (EHRS) has been implemented for years. The system we are using currently is EPIC. We currently have excellent workflow efficiency in our extremely busy practice setting. Medication administration safety is enhanced with an integrated scanning system. The only potential issue from my current practice that I can identify as problematic, is that in an extremely rushed preoperative or PACU environment it is very easy to override the scanning tool and administer a medication urgently at the clinician’s discretion. In a PACU during a post-surgical emergency this is essential but when a clinician is just rushed to keep up with the workflow, then this presents a concern.

References

Darvish, A., Barhamnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014, June 24). The role of nursing informatics on promoting quality of healthcare and the need for appropriate education. Global Journal of Health Science, 6(6), 11-18. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4825491/

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2)  

Working on the final presentation has brought me to a few conclusions. First is that the nurse informaticists plays a key role in linking nursing and technology. This type of nurse takes their clinical knowledge and applies it to technology to improve patient outcomes. The nurse informaticists is crucial in being the change agent when it comes to introducing new technology or changes within technology at the bedside. Second conclusion is that using change theory is important for new technology to be accepted and successfully implemented into practice. The third conclusion is that technology is expanding at a rapid rate, the incorporation of electronic health records has made improvements in patient outcomes. The future of EHR applications have unlimited possibilities, however, ethical considerations need to be addressed. Just because technology can make improvements does not necessarily mean it should. And lastly, nurses at the bedside should be involved in the process of change. They are the stakeholders in change, the ones that experience the positives and negatives of incorporating changes into healthcare.

For the final presentation I am researching the interoperability of the EHR to improve triage accuracy. My focus is using EHR clinical systems such as clinical decision support systems to process data gathered during triage to support accurate triage acuity assignment. (Hebda, Hunter, Czar, 2019) Thus far in researching literature I have concluded that it is not just my experience in witnessing inaccurate triage assignments. Tam, Chung, and Lou (2018) research describes how worldwide there are problems in assigning accurate acuity levels despite the triage algorithm used. Experience and training are key factors in triage accuracy. Applying thinking algorithms could assist the triage nurse in making the important decision of how long a patient may safely wait to be seen in the emergency room. Monga (2017) discusses how incorporating “thinking” algorithms into EHRS can be done to guide practitioners in decision making. The question is should it be done? Ethical dilemmas arise, such as what if the algorithm applies the same biases as the nurse, or use of suggested acuity level is no longer a suggestion because the nurse becomes too dependent on the system. (Char, Shah, & Magnus, 2018) This application to the triage process would not create a change in nursing practice as it should be used as a support process and not a definitive decision process.

References

Char, D. S., Shah, N. H., & Magnus, D. (2018). Implementing machine learning in health care – Addressing ethical challenges. The New England Journal of Medicine, 378(11), 981–983. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1714229

Hebda, T., Hunter, K., & Czar, P. (2019). Handbook of Informatics for Nurses and Healthcare Professionals (6th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Monga, K. (2017). Using machine learning to increase agility in HIM. Journal of AHIMA, 88(7), 30-32. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1912093679?accountid=34574

Tam, H. L., Chung, S. F., & Lou, C. K. (2018). A review of triage accuracy and future direction.BMC Emergency Medicine, 18(1), 58. doi:10.1186/s12873-018-0215-0

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