Nursing Practice Update » Documentation and Informatics

Nurses See IT as Way to Alleviate Shortage

Sally Watkins, PhD, RN — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 22:54:31 +0000

Surveys among various institutions indicate that nurses believe part of the nursing shortage could be overcome if they had more technology to reduce time spent on paperwork. Specifically, they want electronic records, computerized order entry systems, touch-screen or voice-activated technology for documentation, and interoperable systems that don’t interrupt their workflow.

New white paper – How to Improve Clinical Documentation

Sally Watkins, PhD, RN — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:55:11 +0000

Are you looking to reduce reimbursement denials and excessive lengths of stay, while using resources more efficiently? This white paper provides strategies and recommendations for how case managers can streamline processes and use technology to improve clinical documentation and the quality of care.

Download a free documentation improvement white paper now.

Nurse Survey Suggests Bedside Health IT Systems Can Impede Productivity

Sally Watkins, PhD, RN — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:55:43 +0000

A survey of health information technology (IT) adoption among nurses suggests that security policies designed to protect patients may actually impede care delivery and nurse productivity, Healthcare IT News reports To evaluate nurses’ opinions on health IT at the point of care, market research firm Spyglass Consulting Group conducted in-depth phone interviews with more than 100 nurses working in various clinical settings nationwide. Respondents reported logging on to patient data systems more than 80 times per day on average, a process that they say is prolonged by the rigorous IT security procedures necessary to access the systems.

In addition, nurses said that IT systems often are not well integrated with nursing workflow, requiring many clinicians to manually record patient information at the bedside and enter the data into the system later in their shift. Nurses also indicated that patient information is not always accessible across entire organizations, communities or regions and that they often encounter difficulties sharing and aggregating patient data with other units or facilities. Moreover, they reported problems with mobile computer carts designed to facilitate bedside documentation, noting that the carts often are too bulky and cumbersome to maneuver in patient rooms.

Researchers hope the survey data will help IT industry and health care officials better design point-of-care IT solutions to enhance patient safety and reduce medical errors without compromising nurse productivity (Pizzi, Healthcare IT News, 12/18/07; Spyglass report, November 2007 [purchase required]).