Category: Nursing

Week 4 Assignment Instructions

Conduct an Internet search for the Core Concepts of Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring/Caring Science article.

Read the article.

Complete the questions from Box 15-1: Ethics Inventory located on p. 141 in Ch. 15 of Policy & Politics.

Select an ethical dilemma you would face as an APRN.

Write a 1,050-word paper addressing the following:

Identify which provision of the nursing code of ethics would be violated in the ethical dilemma. How can you use the code of ethics to address the issue? (15 pts)

How can you create an ethical environment in your workplace to bring about awareness for other nurses in this area? (15 pts)

Explain how you can use Watson’s theory of human caring as a guide when encountering ethical decisions. (15 pts)

Provide references for all sources cited and format according to APA guidelines. There must be at least one scholarly work that is peer-reviewed and within the last 5 years. References and in-text citations must be included in APA format. (5 pts)

 

Reading for assignment.  Box 15-1 is included in the reading below.  Box 15-1, page 141, Chapter 15, Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care text.

Hamric, A. B., Hanson, C. M., Tracy, M.F., & O’Grady, E.T (2019). Hamric and Hanson’s advanced practice nursing: an integrative approach (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Chapter 7 and 13.

 

Mason, D. J., Gardner, D. B., Outlaw, F. H., & O’Grady, E. T. (2016). Policy & politics in nursing and health care, 7th ed. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

Chapter 8 and 15.

 

Weber, B. B. (2011). The role of professional nursing organizations in maintaining a healthy workplace. Plastic Surgical Nursing, 31(3), 92-94.

.

Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR

Identification and Explanation of the Problem/Issue

One of the primary goals of the surgical team is to prevent surgical site infections in the operating room(OR). As such, there are many activities put in place to support this goal which includes sterilization and disinfection of instruments, antibiotic prophylaxis and environmental cleaning. Still, the operating roomactivities that involve aseptic practices plays the greatest role in helping the surgical team decrease the risk of surgical site infections. The main goal of asepsis is in preventing the contamination of the operative site and this is accomplished by maintaining a sterile field designed to prevent microorganisms from entering Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR.

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Evidence-based practice supported by a wide body of research suggests that aseptic technique is successful at preventing infections in the operating room (Beldi, Bisch-Knaden, Banz, Mühlemann & Candinas, 2009; Adams, Korniewicz & El-Masri, 2011; Labrague, Arteche, Yboa& Pacolor, 2012), yet compliance with this preemptive measure has demonstrated opportunities for improvement within my organization.This is an important issue in healthcare as breaks in sterile technique is a significant contributing factor in surgical site infections which are the second most common hospital-acquired infection (HAI) in hospitalized patients(Safe Care Campaign, 2014). This often result in an increase in patient mortality, length of stay and readmission rates. What’s more is that it has been estimated that roughly 40% to 60% of these infections are preventable(Safe Care Campaign, 2014).In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009), the cost associated with surgical site infections are astronomical and ranges from $28 billion to $45 billion annually Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR.

The problem identified within my organization is related to the practice of aseptic technique in the operation room. A trend was noted in the readmission rates in patients who underwent various orthopedic surgeries. For example, the Clinical Documentation Specialists within the Quality Improvement department conducted a 6-monthretrospective review of the readmissions relating to surgical procedures and found a significant increase in the number of readmissions linked to surgical site infections. More specifically, a 2.5% increase over the course of this 6-month period was noted. Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR  As an RN working in the operating room, this is an issue that requires an intervention as it is a threat to patient safety.

Analysis of the Situation

In analyzing areas that might be contributing to the problem, a survey of the operating room personnel revealed that many of the staff reported a common factor that contributed to breaks in sterile technique:the fast-paced nature of the OR. In addition, direct observations during invasive procedures (catheter insertions, intubations etc) performed after the trend was noted revealed in many instances, gloves took the place of hand disinfection and were often used for a number of tasks. The use of gloves in an unsystematic manner increases the risk of HAIs Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR. In addition, a total of 30 missed opportunities for aseptic technique in a 1-hour period was also noted based on observation. A deeper analysis of the data revealed that breaks in sterile techniques fell into one of four categories. These included category 1 which consisted of breaks in asepsis that were immediately noticed; category 2 consisted of breaks in asepsis that are realized shortly after the occurrence; category 3 comprised of breaks that were later realized and category 4 consisted of breaks that went unnoticed.

Proposing a Solution

Given that there are recommended standards, practices and guidelines created by organizations such as the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) to be utilized by surgical teams to achieve aseptic practice in the perioperative setting, a careful review of these protocols and subsequent inclusion into a plan of correction was implemented. Since the principles of aseptic technique plays a vital role in the goal of asepsis in the OR, it is essentially the responsibility of all staff members to mindfully incorporate these principles into their practice. As such, operating room personnel (i.e. nurses, scrub techs, surgeons, anesthesiologists, etc) will be required to attend a two-day educational in-service “Beat the Bugs: Infection Control Fair” that places emphasis on the importance of creating and maintaining asepsis technique as well as plans of action to implement when a break in sterile technique is noted. Day one of the in-service will focus on games and simulated scenarios that that involve breaks in asepsis and interventions that can be implemented to ameliorate the situation. These scenarios will be designed to help staff draw upon their critical thinking skills. Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR. Day 2 will consist of reviewing the principles of asepsis where the following five AORN principles will be discussed:

The sterile field consists of only scrubbed personnel:
Although the surgical team consists of sterile and non-sterile individuals, only individuals who are scrubbed or sterile should be directly located in the sterile field. In contrast, non-sterile members remain outside the periphery of the sterile field. More so, all sterile members must don scrub attire inclusive of surgical mask, gown and gloves. In addition, prior to donning gloves and surgical gown, the sterile staff must perform surgical hand scrub and thereafter recognize that boundaries of the sterile area (Association of periOperative Registered Nurses [AORN], 2017) Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR.

Sterile field is created using sterile drapes
: The use of sterile drapes establishes a barrier to decrease the passage of microorganisms into the sterile field. As such, drapes should cover the patient and any equipment and furniture that are a part of the sterile field with the site of incision left exposed. Once drapes have been placed, it should not be moved and only the top surface is considered sterile(AORN, 2017).

The sterile field should only contain sterile items
: It is evident that sterilization ensures that all instruments are without microorganisms, however, fluid and air can contaminate the sterile field. As such, sterile and non-sterile items should never occupy the same space and if a container or package has been compromised, it should be thought of a contaminated and replaced(AORN, 2017).

Sterility should be maintained when items are opened and added to the sterile field:
In an attempt to preserve the integrity of the items and sterile field, the circulating nurse should use caution when placing items on the sterile field by securely handing them off to the scrubbed member or by placing them securely on the sterile field.When opening the sterile package, the non-sterile person must present the item to the sterile person in such a way to prevent contamination. In the same breadth, when opening a sterile solution only the top rim of the bottle and the contents of the bottle are considered sterile once the cover has been removed(AORN, 2017).

Sterile field must be maintained
: Maintaining sterility is one of the OR staffs’ main responsibilities by making every effort to reduce the possibility of contamination. As such, when a breach in sterility occurs, it is of the utmost importance to take actions that will serve to reduce the risk of contamination. If there is ever a doubt about whether an item is sterile, it is best to consider it contaminated and replace it(AORN, 2017).

Recommendation of Sources and Timeline for Implementation

Resources will include incorporating and reinforcing policies created to assist OR staff to promote patient safety by being compliant with asepsis. These resources will draw upon the AORN, the Institute for Hospital Improvement (IHI), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) as well as Joint Commission standards. In terms of a cost-benefits analysis, the 2-day in-service can be carried out without the assistance of a third-party vendor/ facilitator as the infection control nurse within the Quality Management department has the expertise to oversee this event. Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR. As a result, the organization can expect this event to be fairly inexpensive while still providing a well-organized infection control fair. In terms of a timeline, planning for the event is expected to be a 1 week while the fair itself will last over the course of 2 days.

Identification of Key Stakeholders

The success of the “Beat the Bugs: Infection Control Fair” and educational in-service will depend largely, in part, on the attendance of the operating room staff. As such, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), NurseManager of the OR, and OR supervisor are crucial key players that are needed to obtain “buy-in” from the OR staff. The CMO and CNO are leadership positions, that oversee the physicians and nursing staff, respectively. As a result, they are influential and will play a key role in not only gaining support from key operating room personnel but driving home the importance of this event in relation to promoting patient safety. A meeting with both the CMO and CNO revealed enthusiasm and a dedication to getting this initiative underway. Both individuals noted a steadfast commitment to this project and a desire to move the practices of the operating room in the right direction to become more aligned with the patient safety goals noted in the mission and vision of the organization as well as the National Patient Safety Goals established by the Joint Commission.In fact, both parties, suggested that perhaps this initiative can be conducted on an annual basis. The involvement of the infection control nurse is another key stakeholder that cannot be overlooked due to the expertise in which a person in this position possesses Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR. Still perhaps, two of the more important players are that of the OR Nurse Manager and Supervisor as they are considered the middle managers with a direct relationship and sphere of influence with the nurses and scrub techs.

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In terms of achieving success, communication is the foundation of any successful partnership or project particularly one that is comprised of a multidisciplinary team such as this one. As such, it is important keep the communication channels open. This can be done through encouraging the key stakeholders to continue to provide input as it relates to their respective roles, encouraging all members to report any concerns as well as continuously reinforce the purpose and goals of this initiative Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR.

Discussion of Implementation and Evaluation of the Solution

As previously noted, a 2 day “Beat the Bugs: Infection Control Fair and Educational In-service” will be carried out that places emphasis on the importance of creating and maintaining asepsis technique as well as actionplans to implement when a break in sterile technique is noted. Day one of the in-service will focus on games and simulated scenarios that that involve breaks in asepsis technique and interventions that can be implemented to ameliorate the situation. These scenarios will be designed to help staff hone in on their critical thinking skills. Day 2 will consist of reviewing the principles of asepsis Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR. Evaluation of this solution can be carried out using several techniques. First, with my assistance, the infection control nurse can conduct unannounced observance of the operating room personnel. This observation would determine how well the surgical team adheres to the principles of asepsis. Second, the readmissions related to surgical site infections can be monitored over a period of 3 to 6 months after the staff participated and were re-educated in the principles of asepsis. Ideally, the goal is to show a decrease in the number and rate of surgical site infections that were related to breaks in asepsis. These results can be reported on a monthly basis at the Quality Improvement meeting.

 

Explanation of Roles

The role of scientist was fulfilled by gathering and analyzing the data regarding the readmissions that were linked to surgical site infections.  The increasing trend in the rate of surgical site infections and its association with the breaks in asepsis techniques presented as scientific evidence that served as a barrier to providing safe and quality care for patients. In the same breadth, the role of detective was carried out upon surveying the staff to determine what they perceived as reasons for the breaks in sterile technique Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR. As such, a common thread among their responses revealed that the fast-paced nature of the OR to be challenging. Where manager of the healing environment is concerned, the solution consisted of the 2-day infection control fair. This was an appropriate intervention that was not only creative and flexible but considered the contribution of multiple stakeholders with the primary goal of reinforcing patient safety in mind.

 

References

Adams, J. S., Korniewicz, D. M., & El-Masri, M. M. (2011). A descriptive study exploring the principles of asepsis techniques among perioperative personnel during surgery.
Canadian Operating Room Nursing Journal
,
29
(4), 6-8.

Association of periOperative Registered Nurses. (2017). Aseptic technique. Retrieved January 20th, 2017 from https://www.aorn.org/guidelines/guideline-implementation-topics/aseptic-technique

Beldi, G., Bisch-Knaden, S., Banz, V., Mühlemann, K., & Candinas, D. (2009). Impact of intraoperative behavior on surgical site infections.
The American Journal of Surgery
,
198
(2), 157-162.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Direct medical costs of healthcare-associated infections in U.S. hospitals and the benefits of prevention. Retrieved January 20th, 2017 fromhttp://www.cdc.gov/hai/pdfs/hai/scott_costpaper.pdf. Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR

Labrague, L. J., Arteche, D. L., Yboa, B. C., & Pacolor, N. F. (2012). Operating room nurses’ knowledge and practice of sterile technique.
Journal of Nursing Care
,
1
(4).

Safe Care Campaign. (2014). Preventing health care and community associated infections. Retrieved January 20th, 2017 from http://www.safecare campaign.org/ssi.html. Leadership Learning Experience: Reinforcing Asepsis in the OR

Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay

A.1.
  The problem I identified revolves around educating patients on the proper use of benefits and services, mainly the use of the Emergency room as primary care. I work as a nurse Care Manager and find it quite difficult to get patients to stay out of the Emergency room for non-emergent needs. As a Care Manager I believe it would be beneficial to address the educational needs of the patients as it relates to disease management and the proper use of benefits and services. Thereby; decreasing the use of the Emergency room as primary care.

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Patients who don’t have a primary care doctor will most often use the Emergency room as primary care. According to the
New England Healthcare Institute (March, 2010
)
“The overuse of U.S. emergency departments (EDs) is responsible for $38 billion

in wasteful spending each year.” The overuse of the Emergency department can cause a ripple effect in the type of care the patient receives. As a Care Manager my goal is to make sure there is continuity of care for the patient. If the patient continues to utilize the ER, it makes it difficult to ensure continuity, in that it’s difficult to keep up with all of the prescribing doctors.
New England Healthcare Institute (March, 2010) Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay

 

2.a.
My investigation included the use of articles available via Ebscohost as well as the getting the view of my resource person within my department. The source in my department stated that” early intervention with patient follow and being able to answer questions patients may have concerning newly prescribed medications after a visit to the ED, helps to decrease the chance of the patient going back to the ED to seek care”.  One article in particular titled,
Office- Based patient education decreases non-emergent emergency department visits (2011)
stated that “patient education appears to have resulted in a statistically significant meaningful decrease in Emergency room visits”. Their research showed that timely follow up with the patient, educating the patient on disease/symptom management and educating the staff on how to triage the calls, showed a 6.2% decrease in ED visits from the pre-intervention of 6.83%. 
Adesara, R., Spencer, J. P., & Bost, J. E. (2011)

 

 

As stated above the use of the ED resulted $38 billion in wasteful spending in the U.S each year;
NEHI (March, 2010)
.
According to
NEHI (March, 2010)
Some of the root causes for the overuse of of the ED revolved around patients not having access to timely primary care, the ED being convenient because of the after hours and weekend care, and often times the primary provider will refer the patient to the ER Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay. The annual number of emergency department visits in the United States increased nearly 20%, from the 96.5 million to 115.3 million over a 10 year period ending in 2005.
NEHI (March, 2010)

 

 

Contributing to problem includes lack of patient education on the proper use of benefits and services as well as access to care. Patients are likely to use the ED when they can’t access their primary care provider. According to

NEHI (March, 2010)
patients feel as if the ED is easily accessible as compared to regular clinics or primary care settings. The ED is open 24/7 365 days a year, whereas; primary care clinics are limited to the availability in the hours and or days to which they are open. Also it has been stated previously that primary care provider will often refer their patients to the ED for issues that may be deemed as non-emergent.
NEHI (March, 2010)

 

 

Implementing Case Managers can help to decrease the number of patient who repeatedly use the ED. This is done by Case Management collaborating with the different providers to assess and create a care plan for the patient. This study found that the average number of yearly patient emergency department visits decreased from 26.5% to 6.5% following the implementation of Case Management.
NEHI (March, 2010)
.
Also providing patients with educational materials and empowering them through education to manage their own conditions, where appropriate, showed a reduction in ED usage. Patients who are able to access care and receive information related to their condition, offers the patient reassurance which may ED visits.
New England Healthcare Institute (March, 2010) Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay

 

 

As stated above implementing Case Management and educating the patients can reduce the percentage of patients who seek care in the ED from 26.5% to 6.5% on the average yearly basis.
NEHI (March, 2010)

 

 

Resources include disease specific management information sheets, and letters informing patients on how to properly access to assist in education. Also providing patients with access to things like telehealth, same day appointments, telephone access to after and urgent care facilities may also help to reduce the number of patients who seek care from the ED Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay. Also can offer patients Healthy incentives, the patient would earn points for each time they visited their PCP and completed follow-up appointments. These points can lead to $10 gas cards, gift cards or a waving of the office co-payment.
NEHI (March, 2010)

 

According to the
Journal of healthcare management (2013)
“healthcare cost decreased by an average 0f $1,042” per person per ER visit for patients had some type of intervention i.e patient education or were exposed to case management”. While that number may seem minimal compared to the overall yearly cost of $38 billion as stated earlier, it is a step in the positive direction.
Enard, K. R., & Ganelin, D. M. (2013)

 

The first step in helping to implement my proposal would be to utilize the admission system in my organization to alert me when patients of a particular PCP comes to the ER. Once a pattern has been established, I would then contact that PCP and see how as a care manager I can assist with the care of the patients who utilizes the ED as a primary care option. After receiving the green light from the PCP, I would then begin outreach to those patients who have identified to engage them in care management services. Once the patient is engaged, the Case manager, PCP and patient will come up with a plan of care to assist the patient with management of their condition, thereby; decreasing their need to use the ER. The total process should completed with 90 days.

 

Primary key stakeholders would include the patient/patient’s family, physician, case manager and any other specialist the patient may be receiving care from. Other stakeholders may include ED department and hospitals Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay. By decreasing the use of the ED for non-emergent needs a decrease in the ED wait times, patient to staff ratio in the ED, and overcrowding may be prevented.
New England Healthcare Institute (March, 2010)

 

 

The patient and the care providers are instrumental in the process, in that compliance from all parties involved will provide for better care for the patient and allows for continuity, Thereby; decreasing the need to seek care in the ED. The care manager’s role would consist of educating the patient and making sure all of the pieces of the puzzle fit.

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Summarize your engagement with the key stakeholders and/or appropriate partners, including the input and feedback you received.

 

Working with the key stakeholders would initially involve a meeting to discuss the plan of care for the patient. After the initial contact weekly to bi-weekly contact will be made via telephone to address any questions or concerns the patient may have and to update the PCP and/or specialist on the patient’s care team. I would also explain to them the importance of continuity of care and how important it is to prevent a lapse in care.

 

The first step in helping to decrease the use of the ED as a source of primary care would be to identify those patients who are considered high risk or repeat offenders. Once those patients are identified working with the primary care provider and patient; as a team we would create a plan of care which includes access to care and education on disease/symptom management Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay. Those patients considered high risk will be followed by Case management from 30-90 days to continually reinforce the importance of following the plan of care and receiving their care from their primary care providers.

New England Healthcare Institute (March, 2010)

Discuss how your proposed solution or innovation could be implemented.

 

The implementation will be evaluated by a decline in the notifications received from the admission system alerting the case manager to patients going to the ED and by keeping a log of patients who are being case managed to see if there is a decrease in their usage or an increase in their PCP visits.

 

1.
As the scientist I had to research articles and journals to review data and statistics pertaining to my topic of choice.

 

As a detective I had to identify the key stakeholders, identify the problem and come up with a solution to the proposed problem. I also had to identify a resource person within my organization who would be willing to help me implement my proposal.

 

As the manager of the healing environment I would implement the practices learned throughout my research on a daily basis with the patients who have been identified as those needing care management. By working closely with the patients I have a chance of effectively changing the patient’s views on how to access care and by overall changing their views as it relates to their healthcare needs Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay.

 

 

Submit the completed attached “Professional Verification Form” from the organizational leader advising you in your leadership experience.

 

 
 

 

D.

 

Enard, K. R., & Ganelin, D. M. (2013). Reducing Preventable Emergency Department Utilization and Costs by Using Community Health Workers as Patient Navigators. Journal Of Healthcare Management, 58(6), 412-427.

 

 

New England Healthcare Institute (March, 2010) A matter of urgency;Reducing Emergency Department overuse; Retrieved from:
http://www.nehi.net/writable/publication_files/file/nehi_ed_overuse_issue_brief_032610finaledits.pdf

 

 

 

Suffoletto, B., Hu, J., Guyette, M., & Callaway, C. (2014). Factors contributing to emergency department care within 30 days of hospital discharge and potential ways to prevent it: differences in perspectives of patients, caregivers, and emergency physicians. Journal Of Hospital Medicine, 9(5), 315-319. doi:10.1002/jhm.2167

 

 

 

Adesara, R., Spencer, J. P., & Bost, J. E. (2011). Office-based patient education decreases non-emergent emergency department visits. The Journal Of Medical Practice Management: MPM, 27(3), 131-135. Patient Education: Proper use of Emergency Department Leadership Learning Experience essay

Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule

The Role of Nurse Informaticists in Healthcare Policy Compliance

Introduction

Healthcare policy and corresponding regulations are fundamental components for effective informatics utilization in nursing practice. HealthIT.gov. (2018) highlights the reform that MACRA implemented to transition the Sustainable Growth Rate formula into a quality-based reimbursement framework for nursing informatics. Healthcare providers obtain payment rewards through the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) under the MACRA to deliver quality-efficient care according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Organizations depend on nurse informaticists to fulfill regulatory demands by implementing efficient electronic health record systems and establishing staff education programs for correct data collection and understanding regulatory requirements.

The 21st Century Cures Act Final Rule is a relevant informatics policy that took effect in 2020. The regulation enables access to patient health information and develops interoperability systems while forbidding information blocking (American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2018). System implementation needs EHR updates that allow API access and ensure smooth data transmission between different platforms due to this rule. McGonigle and Mastrian (2022) stated that the Healthcare rule enhances healthcare transparency due to its ability to make health data accessible for patients to review and manage.

Conclusion

Nurse informaticists’ two main contributions are maintaining compliance routines, which include regulating system functionality against standards while changing organizational policies to defend patient rights and precision. The Cures Act compliance at the managerial level depends on established policies that combine secure data access standards with employee training for information exchange and periodic system audits. Nurse informaticists unite medical technology with patient care needs so organizations can fulfill their legislative requirements and achieve improved clinical results.

 

References

American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2018). MACRA/MIPS: The transition from fee-for-service to quality-based reimbursement. Retrieved from
https://www.aanp.org/legislation-regulation/federal-legislation/macra-s-quality-payment-program

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). MACRA. Retrieved January 18, 2019, from
https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality-initiatives-patient-assessment-instruments/value-based-programs/macra-mips-and-apms/macra-mips-and-apms.html

HealthIT.gov. (2018a). Health IT legislation. Retrieved from
https://www.healthit.gov/topic/laws-regulation-and-policy/health-it-legislation

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Laws & Regulations. Retrieved September 27, 2018, from
https://www.hhs.gov/regulations/index.html

 

Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule

Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

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As a professional nurse, you are expected to apply your expertise to patient care. On occasion, you will also be expected to share that expertise.

With evolving technology and continuous changes to regulations designed to keep up these changes, there is usually a need to share information and expertise to inform colleagues, leadership, patients, and other stakeholders.

In this Assignment, you will study a recent nursing informatics-related healthcare policy, and you will share the relevant details via a fact sheet designed to inform and educate. Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources on healthcare policy and regulatory/legislative topics related to health and nursing informatics.

Consider the role of the nurse informaticist in relation to a healthcare organization’s compliance with various policies and regulations, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).

Research and select one health or nursing informatics policy (within the past 5 years) or regulation for further study.

The Assignment: (1 page)

Create a 1-page fact sheet that your healthcare organization could hypothetically use to explain the health or nursing informatics policy/regulation you selected.
Your fact sheet should address the following:

Briefly and generally explain the policy or regulation you selected.

Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on system implementation.

Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.

Highlight organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at your healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation you selected. Be specific. Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule

 

No Running Head. APA style. Please ensure intext-citations and references are up to APA style. No references older than 5 years. Please include doi for any references dated after 2013.

Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule

HIPAA Policies

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a federal privacy rule that protects individuals from specific health information that is identifiable. The rule permits, though not obligates, covered healthcare providers to avail to their patients, the option to disclose their health information for specific purposes. The specific purposes include health care operations, payment, and treatment (DHHS, 2019). Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule

Impact of HIPAA on System Implementation, Clinical Care and Workflow

HIPAA protects privacy at different levels. Chen & Benusa (2017), note that breaches in healthcare data can cause adverse social and personal impacts for patients as well as their families. These breaches can incur large monetary costs that can affect both the Wall Street as well as health care organization investors (Jackson, 2015). Implementation requires that management and protection of private data should encompass machine learning and AI, allow for anonymization of healthcare genomic data while preserving utility; and ensure sensitive data does not leak.

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HIPAA protects patients and in some cases, healthcare provider information. The ‘seven habits’ format for ensuring that HIPAA guidelines are in compliance when delivering services and for workflow are used. The seven habits include documenting the policy and controlling the environment; assigning appropriate oversight for compliance management; ensuring compliance through communication and training; implementation of regular auditing, monitoring, and control; consistent enforcement of control environment; regular screening of personnel; and preventing and responding to gaps and incidence (Joshi, 2008) Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule. Figure 1 shows a representative workflow

Source: Joshi, (2008)

 

Organizational Policies and Procedures

The healthcare institution will ensure that it develops, adopts, and implements the HIPAA privacy and security procedures and policies by first documenting the same. This will include taking steps when a breach takes place and appointing a security and privacy officer. The officer will need to be well-versed with the HIPAA policies and regulations. Regular assessments for risks will be conducted at random times and frequencies, to identify if any vulnerabilities exist. Doing so will ensure that integrity and confidentiality are maintained with regard to health information. If any risks are identified, remediation and policies’ revision will be done if necessary. Any breaches that are identified will be documented and investigation results notified to relevant authorities. Additionally, all email containing health information and requested by a patient will be encrypted and patients made aware of the purpose of encryption in protecting their privacy. Portable devices containing health information will be regulated with regard to their removal from the healthcare facility Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule. Additionally, a Notice of Privacy Practices will be published and displayed on the healthcare facility’s website and also made available for distribution to the patients.

Reference

Chen, J. Q., & Benusa, A. (2017). HIPAA security compliance challenges: The case for small healthcare providers. 
International Journal of Healthcare Management
, 
10
(2), 135-146.

Department of  Health and Human Services (2019). Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule.
https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/laws-regulations/index.html

Jackson, J. (2015). The Costs of Medical Privacy Breach. 
MD advisor: a journal for New Jersey medical community
, 
8
(3), 4-12.

Joshi, S. (2008). HIPAA, HIPAA, Hooray?: Current Challenges and Initiatives in Health Informatics in the United States. 
Biomedical informatics insights
, 
1
, BII-S2007.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4943069/#!po=8.33333  
  Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule

 

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Compliance in Healthcare Informatics

The HIPAA is a crucial federal policy that aims at protecting individuals from data breaches across healthcare. The policy applies to all the care providers that are using health records including electronic devices, and health plans. The policy is suitable since it helps protect the privacy of patients’ data from being accessed and used illegally (Edemekong et al., 2024). Also, this policy gives patients the right to their information such as having compliance with health records and requesting corrections for their information.

The HIPAA policy has vital impacts on the system implementation since instances of data breaches adversely affect patients and care organizations. Also, the role of HIPAA is to prevent additional costs to the care organizations that may occur when data is breached. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning emerges as crucial ways through which this menace can be prevented (McGonigle, 2022).

The HIPAA also presents with critical impact on critical care, patient/provider information, and workflow. The act protects the patients by use of the seven habits which ensures they comply with set standards. Important habits in this case include compliance management, environmental control, and policy documentation (American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 2018).

The organization will ensure the HIPAA policy is adequately adopted through implementing the security and privacy procedures. This will involve eliminating any instances of data breaches by having experts manage the health records and IT systems. Additionally, the organization will undertake risk evaluation and assessment to highlight any loopholes that might lead to information breaches. Further, all the emails and messages from patients will be highly encrypted to ensure there is no third party who gets access to the systems (Theodos, 2020). Further, the organization will closely safeguard the digital systems and health records from being taken out of the facility by employees.

 
 

References

American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2018). 
MACRA/MIPS: The transition from fee-for-service to quality-based reimbursement
Links to an external site.
Retrieved from https://www.aanp.org/legislation-regulation/federal-legislation/macra-s-quality-payment-program

Edemekong PF, Annamaraju P, Haydel MJ. (2024). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK500019/

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). 
Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge
(5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. Chapter 8, “Legislative Aspects of Nursing Informatics: HIPAA, HITECH and Beyond” (pp. 161–181)

Theodos, K., & Sittig, S. (2020). Health Information Privacy Laws in the Digital Age: HIPAA Doesn’t Apply. 
Perspectives in health information management
, 
18
(Winter), 1l. Assignment: Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet: HIPAA Security Rule

Introduction

Advancement in technology and its integration in healthcare to improve safety and efficiency has influenced additional roles and responsibilities to nurses in the field of informatics. A perfect example is the role of a nurse Informaticist who assists system developers to analyze problems and propose solutions in SDLC. The SDLC (Systems Development Life Cycle) describes the steps followed by system developers in designing, troubleshooting and implementing a system.

The entire process requires a systematic problem-solving approach that will provide solutions to an existing problem. As highlighted by McGonigle & Mastrian, (2018), the primary issue addressed by most nurse informacists in healthcare organizations is developing a documentation system that addresses the challenges of nursing documentation. Nurses are the majority in the health workforce and spend most of their time with patients. Therefore, they should be actively involved in developing the information systems used in healthcare organizations for more successful outcomes.

Steps of the SDLC (Systems Development Life Cycle)

The steps of an SDLC vary based on a type of a system being developed. However, the development of a system that supports nursing documentation has five major steps namely: planning and requirements definition, analysis, design, implementation, testing and maintenance (post-implementation) (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). Every stage of the cycle must involve nurses to improve chances for success since they are well-informed on the required output. For instance, nurse leaders can guide system developers in each stage of development and ensure that plans developed to identify and address organizational needs. On the other hand, to determine the most appropriate inputs to start development with, a system developer may consider using a reverse system development approach. A nurse informacist can identify and communicate any workflow issues witnessed in the system.

Planning and Requirements Definition

Planning is the most essential tool that guarantees high chances of a successful outcome of any program or operation. In the system development cycle, the lead nurse is responsible for giving a healthcare plan to the system developers. The information provided is used to plan the best approaches for system development. In the requirements definition, a nurse identifies the requirements for formulating specific outputs, which are incorporated into the system (Schoville & Titler, 2015). The system developer will later make plans on how to code the inputs provided.

Analysis

In the analysis stage, the system’s processes and workflows are established. A determination to ascertain whether the requirements provided are met and an evaluation of the processes for potential changes is done. In this phase, nurses can be useful in explaining and discussing the components that were working in the previous system with the system developer (Yen et al., 2017). This will help to determine components that need to be done-away-with or added. Besides, a nurse informacist can discuss with a system developer how to meet these requirements.

Design of the New System

In the design stage, the general look of the system is established. The implementation team makes several decisions including the required type of data. The team generates reports, prototypes, mockups, and screenshots to determine potential hitches that are likely to occur (Thomas, Seifert & Joyner, 2016). In this phase, a nurse Informaticist can scrutinize the developed flowcharts to ensure that they follow the appropriate performance path and display the expected output.

Implementation

A student nurse who has basic knowledge in programming can apply the five-step approach by Everett Rogers to facilitate adoption and implementation of the system in the following phases: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation, and confirmation (Ronquillo, Currie & Rodney, 2016). Since implementation incorporates the use of a specific coding language to code designs, the nurse student can also check the coded flowcharts and assist to troubleshoot the system in case it provides an incorrect output. He/she can also: organize for meetings with staff, obtain feedback from nurses, identify potential facilitators and barriers of the system, make modifications on techniques to evaluate processes, use positive reinforcements to encourage other staff to adhere to the system requirements, track and monitor the rate at which staff comply with the new system and measure outcomes. Ronquillo, Currie & Rodney (2016) suggest that, in the implementation phase, a nurse manager can plan for appropriate training of staff to ensure a successful transition in the implementation of a new system.

Post-Implementation Support

The final phase incorporates testing and maintenance. The system should be tested before its delivery. Testing purposes to ensure that the system provides the appropriate output and solves all the issues it is required to solve. A nurse informaticist can help to ensure that the output given by the system aligns with the requirements of the health system. The system should be able to assist in nursing documentation in roles such as capturing and storing information. A nurse informacist should also organize training to educate other nurses about the system and its usage. As emphasized by McGonigle & Mastrian (2018),  the nurse informaticist should oversee the process of integration into the organization. As a maintenance role, the nurse Informaticist will notify the system developer on required changes where needed.

Conclusion

In today’s highly diverse and well-developed health sector, information technology has an integral role. Ensuring adequacy in nursing processes such as documentation requires a well-developed system that guarantees efficiency. This system should be able to address issues related to the maintenance of nursing processes such as nursing documentation. Steps in SDLC have addressed the burdensome process where nurses were required to manage information manually. When developing a system for nursing documentation or other nursing processes, it is advisable to involve nurses since they are informed on the issues that should be addressed and the expected solutions.

 

References

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018).
Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge
(4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Ronquillo, C., Currie, L. M., & Rodney, P. (2016). The evolution of data-information-knowledge-wisdom in nursing informatics. 
Advances in nursing science
, 
39
(1), E1-E18. DOI: 10.1097/ANS.0000000000000107

Schoville, R. R., & Titler, M. G. (2015). Guiding healthcare technology implementation: a new integrated technology implementation model. 
CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing
, 
33
(3), 99-107. doi: 10.1097/CIN.0000000000000130

Thomas, T. W., Seifert, P. C., & Joyner, J. C. (2016). Registered nurses leading innovative changes. 
OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing
, 
21
(3).
DOI:
 
10.3912/OJIN.Vol21No03Man03

Yen, P. Y., Phillips, A., Kennedy, M. K., & Collins, S. (2017). Nursing informatics competency assessment for the nurse leader: instrument refinement, validation, and psychometric analysis. 
JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration
, 
47
(5), 271-277. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNA.0000000000000478

Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle

In the media introduction to this module, it was suggested that you as a nurse have an important role in the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). With a focus on patient care and outcomes, nurses may not always see themselves as contributors to the development of new systems. Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle. However, as you may have observed in your own experience, exclusion of nurse contributions when implementing systems can have dire consequences.

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In this Discussion, you will consider the role you might play in systems development and the ramifications of not being an active participant in systems development.

To Prepare:

Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as presented in the Resources.

Reflect on your own healthcare organization and consider any steps your healthcare organization goes through when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system.

Consider what a nurse might contribute to decisions made at each stage of the SDLC when planning for new health information technology. Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle.

By Day 3 of Week 9

Post a description of what you believe to be the consequences of a healthcare organization not involving nurses in each stage of the SDLC when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system. Provide specific examples of potential issues at each stage of the SDLC and explain how the inclusion of nurses may help address these issues. Then, explain whether you had any input in the selection and planning of new health information technology systems in your nursing practice or healthcare organization and explain potential impacts of being included or not in the decision-making process. Be specific and provide examples. Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle.

*Please use APA style, no running head or cover page needed. At least three references dated the last 5 years. Please include doi and follow APA style particularly with in-text citations and references.

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NURS 6051C

Involving nurses in each stage of the SDLC when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system is all about buy-in to innovation and change, a concern that is becoming increasingly important for the organization success. Failing to involve nurses can result in four consequences. Firstly, loss of initial engagement as the nurses’ attention is not grabbed. Secondly, loss of trust in the change process, and implementers experience and competence. Thirdly, difficulty to balance options as the new system introduces competing priorities that reduce the nurses’ interest causing frustration and burnout. Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle. Finally, loss of personal connection to the new system since the nurses’ core beliefs and individual goals may not be aligned with those of the organization (French-Bravo & Crow, 2015). Through including nurses in each stage of the SDLC, the nurses’ commitment to the new system will be stimulated through initial engagement. In addition, they will be able to relate the system to care delivery thereby developing a personal connection as they began motivated to help patients and seek to improve care. Also, this empowers them to focus their time and energy on the successful implementation of the new system (Cherry & Jacob, 2016; Stanley, 2017). On the other hand, failing to involve nurses implies that they will have first contact with the system at its implementation. This implies that the nurses did not know any details about the new system prior to its implementation and will only be given a very short period of time familiarize themselves with its operation. Some of the nurses will be unable to attend training on how to use the new system, reducing their capacity to use it and slowing up the workflow. It will not be surprising for some of them to make mistakes, entering random commands into the system and hoping for the best. The result would be the system’s benefits not being realized and being evaluated as a failure (Cherry & Jacob, 2016; Stanley, 2017) Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle.

References

Cherry, B. & Jacob, S. (2016).
Contemporary nursing: issues, trends, & management
. Amsterdam: Elsevier Health Sciences.

French-Bravo, M. & Crow, G. (2015). Shared Governance: The Role of Buy-In In Bringing About Change.
OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing
, 20(2). DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol20No02PPT02. Retrieved http://ojin.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-20-2015/No2-May-2015/Articles-Previous-Topics/Role-of-Buy-In-In-Change.html

Stanley, D. (ed) (2017).
Clinical leadership in nursing and healthcare: values into action
(2
nd
ed.). Hoboken NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle

Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies

Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies

New technology—and the application of existing technology—only appears in healthcare settings after careful and significant research. The stakes are high, and new clinical systems need to offer evidence of positive impact on outcomes or efficiencies.

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Nurse informaticists and healthcare leaders formulate clinical system strategies. As these strategies are often based on technology trends, informaticists and others have then benefited from consulting existing research to inform their thinking. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

In this Assignment, you will review existing research focused on the application of clinical systems. After reviewing, you will summarize your findings.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources and reflect on the impact of clinical systems on outcomes and efficiencies within the context of nursing practice and healthcare delivery.

Conduct a search for recent (within the last 5 years) research focused on the application of clinical systems. The research should provide evidence to support the use of one type of clinical system to improve outcomes and/or efficiencies, such as “the use of personal health records or portals to support patients newly diagnosed with diabetes.” Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

Identify and select 5 peer-reviewed articles from your research.

The Assignment: (4-5 pages)

In a
4- to 5-page paper, synthesize the peer-reviewed research you reviewed
. Be sure to address the following:

Identify the 5 peer-reviewed articles you reviewed, citing each in APA format.

Summarize each study, explaining the improvement to outcomes, efficiencies, and lessons learned from the application of the clinical system each peer-reviewed article described. Be specific and provide examples. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies

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Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies

Introduction

Proper clinical systems play an important role in revitalizing the healthcare delivery system worldwide. All primary healthcare professionals need to come together to establish and implement the target clinical systems. The use of evidence-based practices, health information technology and developing clinical systems have been shown to improve patient outcomes and efficiencies. Clinical systems can be used to improve healthcare processes, identify patients at risk, improve efficiency, and advance research in order to improve patient outcomes. Electronic healthcare records (EHR) have been selected as the clinical system. accordingly, this paper will critique five research articles on the application of electronic healthcare records to improve outcomes and efficiencies. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies

Summary 1

Bowles, K. H., Dykes, P., & Demiris, G. (2015). The use of health information technology to improve care and outcomes for older adults.
Research in gerontological nursing
,
8
(1), 5–10.  doi: 10.3928/19404921-20121222-01.

According to Bowles, Dykes and Demiris, (2015), EHR are vital in improving documentation and billing in the delivery of healthcare. Healthcare organizations implement EHR to improve quality, safety, and efficiency of care. In regard to improving outcomes, Bowles et al (2015), explains that effective application of EHR can improve care outcomes. For instance, the use of EHR systems has been shown to improve documentation of pressure ulcer and fall risk assessments.  Improved documentation using EHR led to a 13% drop in the rates of nosocomial pressure ulcers. These findings clearly indicate the impact of EHR to improve outcomes. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

The study also highlights the key element of documentation and organization, which are very important in the efficient operations of daily processes with healthcare organizations. The study findings indicate that implementation of EHR led to improved teamwork, collaboration and supportive leadership which led to sustained improvement in safety and quality outcomes (Bowles et al., 2015). Bowles et al (2015), further indicate that the use of EHR supported the integration of clinical decisions for personalized treatment plans into the workflow, improving the efficiency of the workflow.

From this article, we learn that EHR can be used to improve assessment of adverse events such as documentation of pressure ulcer and fall risk assessments. For example, organizations should ensure all patient data is stored electronically in order to facilitate easy assessment for patients at risk of adverse events.

Summary 2

Kruse, C. S., Stein, A., Thomas, H., & Kaur, H. (2018). The use of Electronic Health Records to Support Population Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature.
Journal of medical systems
,
42
(11), 214. doi: 10.1007/s10916-018-1075-6. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies

According to Kruse, Stein, Thomas and Kaur (2018), EHRs are among the clinical systems that improve the quality of care and efficiency of healthcare.  Regarding outcomes, this study found out that implementation of EHRs led to improved delivery and integration of the recommended preventative care into care practices, leading to improved care outcomes. In addition, according to Kruse et al (2018), implementation of EHRs in the ICU significantly lower central line-associated bloodstream infections and mortality rates within the surgical ICU. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

EHRs facilitate the provision of patient-centered care and more coordinated care improving efficiency. EHRs also facilitate the provision of secure access to patients’ information which leads to better outcomes in regard to the quality of care and productivity (Kruse et al., 2018). EHR systems are applied in the management of chronic diseases such as diabetes and regular utilization of the EHRs can decrease data fragmentation and hence improve continuity of care between healthcare professions if healthcare providers engage in health information exchanges. In addition, EHRS within the emergency department improves the decision-making process when utilizing a decision tree and hence improves the quality of life for the patients and is also cost-effective (Kruse et al., 2018) Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

From this article, it is evident EHRs facilitate safe continuity of care. For example, with EHRs, human errors likely to occur during handover using manual paper are eliminated.

Summary 3

Manca D. P. (2015). Do electronic medical records improve quality of care? Yes.
Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien
,
61
(10), 846–851.
doi
: 10.14236/jhi. v18i1.751

Manca (2015) explains various ways that EHRs improve outcomes and efficiency. According to Manca (2015), EHRs improve the management of chronic disease, and screening and prevention of disease, which leads to improved quality of care and outcomes. EHRs can provide treatment goals and notifications to remind healthcare providers when specific preventative and screening planned activities are due or outdated. The EHRs also facilitates access to important information and resources necessary to handle various health conditions which leads to better outcomes (Manca, 2015) Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

The structured EHRs data provide access to point-of-care information which can be utilized in informing practice and conducting research. With meaningful use, the EHR data provides healthcare providers with vital practice-level information that can be utilized for practice-level interventions like identification of patients who missed screening for specific diseases. Such data provides important feedback to the healthcare providers regarding the quality of care (Manca, 2015). Manca (2015) also explains that the use of point-of-care EHR data can provide important information regarding the efficacy of specific medications and other treatment modalities. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

It is therefore evident that EHRs improve disease outcomes. For instance, screening of patients with hypertension using an EHR intervention facilitates provision of the appropriate/specific lifestyle modification education to the target group and hence improves disease outcome, for example reduces blood pressure for the patients.

Summary 4

Selvaraj S, Fonarow G, Sheng S, Matsouaka R, DeVore A, Heidenreich A, Hernandez A, Yancy W & Bhatt D. (2018).  Association of Electronic Health Record Use with Quality of Care and Outcomes in Heart Failure: An Analysis of Get with the Guidelines—Heart Failure.
Journal of the American Heart Association
, 7(7), pii: e008158. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.117.008158. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies

Selvaraj, Fonarow, Sheng, Matsouaka, DeVore, Heidenreich, Hernandez, Yancy and Bhatt (2018) provide that implementation of the EHRs leads to improved coordination of care and thus improves efficiency during care provision. Similarly, EHRs have been demonstrated to be effective in decreasing medical errors and hence improve the quality of care and outcomes. However, the findings of this study indicate that the use of EHRs was not attributable to improved quality of care and did not have a significant impact on heart failure-related outcomes (Selvaraj et al., 2018).

From this article, it is evident that use of EHRs alone may not be sufficient in improving heart failure-related outcomes. Therefore, other interventions such as monitoring patient adherence to treatment and patient education should be integrated in patients’ treatment plan.

Summary 5

Campanella P, Lovato E, Marone C, Fallacara L & Mancuso A. (2015). The impact of electronic health records on healthcare quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
European Journal of Public Health
, 1(5), 60-4. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckv122

Campanella, Lovato, Marone, Fallacara and Mancuso (2015) explore the impact of EHRs on the quality of care. The study explains that the EHR leads to reduced medical errors and thus improves the quality of care and health outcomes. In addition, EHR has been shown to improve time inefficiency and also reduces healthcare costs and thus EHR has led to improved efficiency. Campanella et al (2015) further explain that EHR has been an effective method to reduce healthcare costs and thus improve the quality of care and reduce harm to patients. The availability of the stored computerized enables computerized quality assessment and automated chart review, which is cost-effective and also a time-saving process. Evidence indicates that EHR systems improve the quality of care and outcomes by improving time efficiency and decreasing medication errors (Campanella et al., 2015). Therefore, the implementation of EHR systems significantly improves health outcomes and efficiencies of healthcare processes.

The article demonstrates that by use of EHRs, medical errors and the consequent adverse events can be avoided. For example, EHR technologies can assist in preventing medication errors by flagging possible adverse reactions and/or drug interactions. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

Conclusion

Clinical systems such as EHR systems have been shown to improve outcomes, efficiency, and effectiveness in health care. All the selected studies indicated that EHRs improve outcomes by reducing the rate of medical errors, improve documentation, and facilitating the provision of coordinated care: this significantly contributes to improved outcomes. On the other hand, EHRs improve efficiency by promoting teamwork and collaboration among healthcare providers which improves the efficiency of care. In addition, EHR systems save time and reduce costs further indicating the efficiency of EHRs in the healthcare system. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

 

References

Bowles, K. H., Dykes, P., & Demiris, G. (2015). The use of health information technology to improve care and outcomes for older adults.
Research in gerontological nursing
,
8
(1), 5–10.  doi: 10.3928/19404921-20121222-01.

Campanella P, Lovato E, Marone C, Fallacara L & Mancuso A. (2015). The impact of electronic health records on healthcare quality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
European Journal of Public Health
, 1(5), 60-4. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckv122 Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

Kruse, C. S., Stein, A., Thomas, H., & Kaur, H. (2018). The use of Electronic Health Records to Support Population Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature.
Journal of medical systems
,
42
(11), 214. doi: 10.1007/s10916-018-1075-6.

Manca D. P. (2015). Do electronic medical records improve quality of care? Yes.
Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien
,
61
(10), 846–851.
doi
: 10.14236/jhi. v18i1.751.

Selvaraj S, Fonarow G, Sheng S, Matsouaka R, DeVore A, Heidenreich A, Hernandez A, Yancy W & Bhatt D. (2018).  Association of Electronic Health Record Use with Quality of Care and Outcomes in Heart Failure: An Analysis of Get with the Guidelines—Heart Failure.
Journal of the American Heart Association
, 7(7), pii: e008158. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.117.008158. Nurs 6051 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies.

NURS 6051C Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends

Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends

Throughout history, technological advancements have appeared for one purpose before finding applications elsewhere that lead to spikes in its usage and development. The internet, for example, was originally developed to share research before becoming a staple of work and entertainment. But technology—new and repurposed—will undoubtedly continue to be a driver of healthcare information. Informaticists often stay tuned to trends to monitor what the next new technology will be or how the next new idea for applying existing technology can benefit outcomes.

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In this NURS 6051C Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends Discussion, you will reflect on your healthcare organization’s use of technology and offer a technology trend you observe in your environment.

 

To Prepare:

Reflect on the Resources related to digital information tools and technologies.

Consider your healthcare organization’s use of healthcare technologies to manage and distribute information.

Reflect on current and potential future trends, such as use of social media and mobile applications/telehealth, Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled asset tracking, or expert systems/artificial intelligence, and how they may impact nursing practice and healthcare delivery. NURS 6051C Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends.

Assignment

Write
 
a brief description of general healthcare technology trends
, particularly related to data/information you have observed in use in your healthcare organization or nursing practice. Describe any potential challenges or risks that may be inherent in the technologies associated with these trends you described.
Then, describe at least one potential benefit and one potential risk associated with data safety, legislation, and patient care for the technologies you described.
Next,
explain which healthcare technology trends you believe are most promising for impacting healthcare technology in nursing practice and explain why
.
Describe whether this promise will contribute to improvements in patient care outcomes, efficiencies, or data management. Be specific and provide examples.

 

*Please Use APA style 6
th
edition. No cover page needed. No running head. References must be within the past five years to include doi and peer reviewed journals. References used must be included in the in-text citations. Please use 4-5 references and follow the instructions provided. Thank you. NURS 6051C Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends.

 

Discussion: healthcare information technology trends

The healthcare information technology trend observed in my organization is the use of Voalte phones. The use of the Voalte technology application allows all healthcare providers in my organization to receive secured messages through their phones; respond to the patient call lights; make and receive direct calls, and also to receive critical alarms regarding any emergency.  This technology supports efficient workflows and allows a fast response to the patients (Hansen et al., 2018). In addition, the application has been shown to support a quite hospital atmosphere by reducing environmental noise. NURS 6051C Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends.

The challenge associated with the use of Voalte technology is the connectivity issue. Sometimes there are issues of inability to send messages, hanging network, interrupted calls, and dropping calls. This significantly interrupts the communication. For example, there was a time the message was being regarding a critical patient and the network hand and hence the message was not communicated. NURS 6051C Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends. This significantly affected the communication regarding care provision for this particular patient. In addition, sometimes the staff members lack the required knowledge and skills to use the application. Evidence indicates that technology applications require education and training to ensure competency and skillfulness for the end-users (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017).

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Telemedicine is the healthcare technology trend likely to significantly impact healthcare technology in nursing practice. Telemedicine is the provision of healthcare service remotely utilizing technology to diagnose, treat, prevent diseases, and research with the aim of improving health (Serper & Volk, 2018). Telehealth enables patient monitoring and provision of care while patients are at a distance. This significantly improves the health outcomes for patients with chronic diseases and those who are having difficulties in accessing care due to geographical location challenges (Dinesen et al., 2016). For instance, telehealth integrates family members into the care and also allows monitoring of the progress and adherence to prescribed treatments for patients with chronic diseases, which has been shown to improve health outcomes. NURS 6051C Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends.

References

Alotaibi Y & Federico F. (2017. The impact of health information technology on patient safety.
Saudi Med J
, 38(12):1173–1180. doi: 
10.15537/smj.2017.12.20631

Dinesen B, Nonnecke B, David L, Toft E, Kamal J et al. (2016). Personalized Telehealth in the Future: A Global Research Agenda.
J Med Internet Res
,18(3), e53. doi:10.2196/jmir.5257

Hansen J, Lazow M & Hagedorn P. (2018). Reducing Interdisciplinary Communication Failures Through Secure Text Messaging: A Quality Improvement Project.
Pediatr Qual Saf
, 3(1), e053. doi: 
10.1097/pq9.0000000000000053

Serper M & Volk M. (2018). Current and Future Applications of Telemedicine to Optimize the Delivery of Care in Chronic Liver Disease.
Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol
, 16(2), 157–161.e8.  DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2017.10.004 
  NURS 6051C Week 6 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends

NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay

Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology

Among the Resources in this module is the Rutherford (2008) article 
Standardized Nursing Language: What Does It Mean for Nursing Practice?
 In this article, the author recounts a visit to a local hospital to view the recent implementation of a new coding system.

During the visit, one of the nurses commented to her, “We document our care using standardized nursing languages but we don’t fully understand why we do” (Rutherford, 2008, para. 1).

How would you respond to a comment such as this one? NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay

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To Prepare:

Review the concepts of informatics as presented in the Resources, particularly Rutherford, M. (2008) 
Standardized Nursing Language: What Does It Mean for Nursing Practice
?

Reflect on the role of a nurse leader as a knowledge worker.

Consider how knowledge may be informed by data that is collected/accessed.

The Assignment:

In a 2- to 3-page paper, address the following:

Explain how you would inform this nurse (and others) of the importance of standardized nursing terminologies.

Describe the benefits and challenges of implementing standardized nursing terminologies in nursing practice. Be specific and provide examples.

Be sure to support your paper with peer-reviewed research on standardized nursing terminologies that you consulted from the Walden Library. NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay

 

The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology

Introduction

In the time of evidence-based nursing care, nurses are needed to demonstrate that the care they provide is connected with optimal patient outcomes, along with high level of safety and quality. By using standardized nursing terminologies in the documentation of care, nurses can generate evidence connected to nursing practice. The purpose of this paper is to address how a nurse can inform other nurses on the importance of standardized nursing terminologies and to describe the benefits and challenges in implementing standardized nursing terminologies in nursing practice. NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay

How I would inform this (nurse) and others on the importance of standardized nursing terminologies

I would inform this nurse and others that nursing has standardized language, entailing unique terminology that aids the efficient delivery of quality care. it is crucial that nurses understand standardized nursing terminology lists, as this comprehension can possibly draw the line that divides a healthcare organization that is efficient from an organization that is inefficient. The utilization of standardized nursing language for documenting care that nurses provide to patients is a crucial tool for the profession of nursing, nurses, and clients/patients (Huard & Monsen, 2017).   When SNTs are not utilized, nurses cannot communicate the concepts they utilize with each other, with consumers and with other providers in a consistent and clear manner. Additionally, with no SNTs, it is not possible to efficiently share electronic nursing data with other settings. NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay

Standardized nursing terminologies (SNTs) provide vital information about patients and the care they receive.   SNTs contribute to improved communication among the nursing staff and other providers which improves the care provided to patients with augmented visibility of nursing interventions and supports health information exchange as well.  This in addition assists to attain the objective of improving quality of care and patient satisfaction. The utilization of SNTs is fundamental for documenting nursing interventions and outcomes, nursing research and continuity of care (Huard & Monsen, 2017; Tastan et al, 2014).

The benefits and challenges in implementing standardized nursing terminologies in nursing practice

The implementation of SNTs in nursing practice can be beneficial in organizing patient care, care planning, generation of suitable interventions and generation of appropriated outcomes.  In this era, nurses are required to provide evidence-based care and demonstrate that the care they provide is connected with optimal patient outcomes, along with a high level of safety and quality. By using standardized nursing terminologies in the documentation of care, nurses can generate evidence connected to nursing practice (Strudwick & Hardiker, 2016). NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay

Utilization of SNTs can augment the visibility of nursing and produce the data required to show how nursing care influences patient implementation of SNTs improves the superiority of documented nursing diagnoses and interventions as well as patient outcomes (Huard & Monsen 2017).  For example, nursing intervention classification entails collaborative and independent interventions that a nurse performs or directs others to undertake, on behalf of patients. It involves treatments that a nurse carries out in all specialties and settings. NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay. Since every intervention possesses a coded number, the utilization of nursing intervention classification interventions enhances t electronic gathering of standardized nursing information to assess how effective interventions are.

Optimal communication among health care provides is essential for the safety of the patient and continuity of care.  Nurses are at the frontline in planning care and communicating crucial information. The utilization of SNTs in documenting care can lead to better care continuity by improving how nurses communicate with one another and with providers and capturing of additional nursing procedures to determine the costs of nursing, offer standards for improving care quality and permit collection of data which enables evaluation of patient outcomes (Adubi et al, 2018). For example, the nursing outcome classification lists the can understand the measures, definitions, and concepts that define patient outcomes affected by nursing interventions. A nurse can identify and measure how her nursing practice impacts patient outcomes when she chooses a nursing outcome classification outcome. NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay.

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The implementation of SNTs has several benefits to patients, nurses and the nursing profession. However, there are several challenges in implementing SNTs in nursing practice. A key barrier to the implementation of SNTs is the absence of hospital policy concerning the utilization of standardized nursing terminologies.  Another challenge to the adoption of SNTs in nursing practice is the nurses’ lack of know-how on standardized nursing language (Sani & Sani, 2017). The majority of nurses do not adequately understand what standardized nursing language really is, which impedes its use.  Additionally, decision-makers and nurse leaders find it to implement sets of standardized nursing terminology because of lack of comprehensible selection criteria along with directions for utilization (Tastan et al, 2014) NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay.

Conclusion

The utilization of standardized nursing terminologies in documenting nursing care is crucial to both nurses and the nursing profession. Utilizing standardized nursing terminologies has numerous essential and significant benefits. These benefits include optimal communication among nurses and other health care team members and improved visibility of nursing intervention and resulting in patient outcomes. NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay

 

References

Adubi, I., Olaogun, A., & Adejumo, P. (2018). Effects of standardized nursing language continuing education programme on nurses’ documentation of care at University College Hospital, Ibadan.
Nursing Open
, 5(1), 37-44. doi: 10.1002/nop2.108

Huard, R., & Monsen, K. (2017). Standardized Nursing Terminology Use in Electronic Health Records in Minnesota.
Modern Clinical Medicine Research
, 1(1), 13-19. doi: 10.22606/mcmr.2017.11003

Sani, A., & Sani, S.   (2017). Nurses Attitudes and Barriers toward Utilization of Standardized Nursing Language in Sokoto State, Nigeria. 
Asian Journal of Medicine and Health
, 2(2), 1-6.   doi:
10.9734/AJMAH/2017/29433

Strudwick, G., & Hardiker, N. (2016). Understanding the use of standardized nursing terminology and classification systems in published research: A case study using the Internal Classification for Nursing Practice.
International Journal of Medical Informatics,
94, 215-221. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.06.012.

Tastan, S., Linch, G., & Keenan, G et al. (2014). Evidence for the Existing American Nurses Association-Recognized Standardized Nursing Terminologies: A Systematic Review.
International Journal of Nursing Studies
, 51(8), 1160-1170. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2013.12.004 NURS 6051C Assignment: The Impact of Standardized Nursing Terminology Essay