Introduction
Healthcare systems have advanced tremendously as a result of innovative technology and the adoption of information management systems. The use of information systems in healthcare involves collecting and storing organized patients’ data that can be used when determining relevant interventions (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). It is crucial that healthcare organizations find new ways to apply these innovations to enhance care delivery and patient outcomes and improve communication with and involve patients in care modalities. The purpose of this paper is to present a project to leaders in my healthcare organization that will use nursing informatics to enhance patient outcomes or patient-care efficiencies.
Proposed Project
As more individuals manage their health through technology and the widespread use of mobile devices, healthcare systems have acknowledged the need for increased patient engagement in the in-patient setting (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018). A requirement of the meaningful use program of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) of 2009 is that health providers use technology as a tool to make patients full participants in their care. Although meaningful use criteria have led to patient portals and personal health records being utilized in outpatient settings, there remains a gap in the in-patient use of electronic health tools to access their health information (Dykes et al., 2013). Many opportunities to address healthcare needs exist with infrastructure growth to support and adopt mobile devices (Ng et al., 2018).
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The proposed project involves designing and implementing a nursing informatics electronic health patient-centered tool (EPCT) to engage patients. This e-health tool will be a computer application that integrates the hospital’s health information technology (HIT) capabilities and the electronic health record (EHR) available for use on mobile devices at the bedside. The EPCT will enable collaboration and communication between care providers and patients and facilitate patient engagement in their care plan. The EPCT will also be used as a patient resource for health education information.
Stakeholders Impacted by Proposed Project
An organization’s readiness to adopt e-health initiatives and stakeholders’ buy-in is critical to successful implementation (Nilsen, 2020). The EPCT project will impact several identified groups of stakeholders. The first group is patients who will use the application to get accurate treatment and care information that empowers them to make informed care decisions. Other stakeholders are patient’s families who assist them in using EPCT; nurses and physicians who enter information in the EHR and interact directly with the patient; and department and organization leaders who gather data to assess meaningful use of the EPCT. Additional stakeholders are nurse informaticists and information technology (IT) specialists who ensure design usability and data accuracy (Van Velsen et al., 2013).
Patient Outcomes or Patient Care Efficiencies Project Aims to Improve
A growing development in healthcare today focuses on patient engagement and finding opportunities to use technology as a strategy to facilitate in-patient involvement in care. Many hospitalized patients feel dis-empowered, experience anxiety, and are unclear about treatment plans due to inability to access their health records, limited engagement in care, frequent staff changes, and poor communication with healthcare providers (Vawdrey et al., 2011). Prey et al. (2014) assert that providing patients with opportunities to retrieve personal health information and information about clinical status increases patients’ participation in care, patient satisfaction, and outcomes. Additionally, “providing patients with access to their health information, including increased patient participation in health-related decision-making, decreased decisional conflict, and increased adherence to care” (Prey et al., 2013, p 742).
The goal of the EPCT project is to provide hospitalized patients easy access to their PHR and needed patient education information, and a means of communicating effectively with their healthcare providers, so as to enhance patient-provider relationship and empower patients to become full partners in their care. Implementation of the EPCT should help patients make informed care decisions, decrease the risk of preventable adverse events, and enhance communication regarding expected care goals (Dykes et al., 2013). Utilizing a mobile application such as the EPCT will improve patient self-efficacy and medication information ownership (Prey et al, 2014).
Patients can use the mobile device/ tablet at the bedside to login into EPCT with a secure password and view medications, test results, documented treatment goals, and related health education materials at any time during their admission. The communication function will allow patients to send messages and questions to their care providers. The EPCT will give patients the information needed to partner with providers in making informed care decisions. Utilizing EPCT will also increase patient efficacy and help decrease patient anxiety.
Technologies Required to Implement Proposed Project
The continuing growth of new technology, such as e-health devices and other nursing informatics tools, increases the efficiency and quality of care provision, and have tremendous implications for in-patients during hospitalization (Ball, 2005). Implementation of EPCT requires mobile computerized tablet devices (e.g., iPad) for patient use at the bedside, a server to integrate the existing IT system and current EHR data into the EPCT interface, and a secure wireless network. Additionally, a mobile device management software with security controls that manage passwords and policy compliance, along with tracking of the device, and software to manage content and restrict iPad use to EPCT activities only (i.e., Kiosk Pro Lite) (Dykes et al. 2013), are also needed.
Project Team Members
The project development approach will follow a systems-level process, which includes a steering committee, a clinical expert team, a team of technical experts, and a team of subject matter experts (Mosier et al., 2019). The steering committee members will include hospital nurse executives and the department manager. Their responsibility includes securing project approval, project coordination, outlining the project’s objectives, acquiring financial resources, ensuring that the project guidelines are followed, and creating policies for implementing EPCT. The clinical expert team will consist of nurses and physicians who will provide evidence-based patient clinical content (Mosier et al., 2019) and patient education material to be incorporated in the application. Members of this team will also evaluate the effectiveness of EPCT after implementation. The nurses will also research the best location, cleaning method, and storage of the mobile tablet. The Subject matter team will consist of risk management, legal and regulatory experts. These experts will advise the project team of regulatory, legal, information management, and standards requisites or identify concerns related to EPCT design and implementation (Mosier et al., 2019).
The last team is the technical team comprised of a nursing informaticist, IT specialists, and health information management (HIM) leader. This team will be responsible for applying informatics and information science to design a web-based application for use on a mobile tablet. The final application will interface with the hospital’s EHR system and information system to display patient personal health information. It will have functions that allow the patient to communicate with their care providers about their care plan, have security controls, and follow HIPAA guidelines (Dykes et al., 2013).
The nurse informaticist will play an essential role in project development through information concepts, devices, and practices. The nurse informaticist will aid in designing and producing the web-based application and support team-members in project decision-making that results in desired outcomes (Sipes, 2016). The nurse informaticist will ensure the integrity and reliability of EHR data, educate staff on the application’s use before initial patient usage, and interact with all stakeholders to ensure the safe use of EPCT. Additionally, after implementing the EPCT, the nurse informaticists will serve as a consultant providing expert recommendations based on informatics and clinical knowledge (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2018).
Conclusion
Increased use of technology and e-health devices has revolutionized healthcare delivery and patient’s involvement in their care. Implementing the EPCT project will provide patients information on their health status, a chance to review their PHR, enhance communication, and facilitate patient empowerment and engagement in care. Patients that are well informed become fully involved in their plan of care. Healthcare systems must continue to find strategies to enhance patient engagement because engaged patients have increased satisfaction and comprehension of care; additionally, they increased assurance in healthcare providers, make informed care choices, and have better health outcomes (Prey et al., 2014).
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References
Ball, M. J. (2005). Nursing Informatics of tomorrow. Healthcare Informatics Online, 2(5). Retrieved from http://www.providersedge.com/ehdocs/ehr_articles/Nursing_Informatics_of_Tomorrow.pdf
Dykes, P. C., Carroll, D. L., Hurley, A. C., Benoit, A., Chang, F., Pozzar, R., & Caligtan, C. A. (2013). Building and testing a patient-centric electronic bedside communication center. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 1, 15.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Nilsen, E.R., Stendal, K. & Gullslett, M.K. (2020). Implementation of eHealth Technology in Community Health Care: the complexity of stakeholder involvement. BMC Health Services Reserarch 20, 395 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05287-2
Prey, J.E., Woollen, J., Wilcox, L, Sackeim, A.D., Hripcsak, G., Bakken, S., Restaino, S., Feiner, S., and Vawdrey, D.K. (2014). Patient engagement in the inpatient setting: a systematic review. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 21(4), 742–750. https://doi-org/10.1136/amiajnl-2013-002141
Sipes, C. (2016). Project management: Essential skill of nurse informaticists. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 225, 252-256.
Van Velsen, L., Wentzel, J., & Van Gemert-Pijnen, J. E. (2013). Designing eHealth that Matters via a Multidisciplinary Requirements Development Approach. JMIR Research Protocols, 2(1), e21. https://doi-org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.2196/resprot.2547
Vawdrey, D. K., Wilcox, L. G., Collins, S. A., Bakken, S., Feiner, S., Boyer, A., & Restaino, S. W. (2011). A tablet computer application for patients to participate in their hospital care. AMIA … Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium, 2011, 1428–1435. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3243172/
Assignment: The Impact of Nursing Informatics on Patient Outcomes and Patient Care Efficiencies
In the Discussion for this module, you considered the interaction of nurse informaticists with other specialists to ensure successful care. How is that success determined?
Patient outcomes and the fulfillment of care goals is one of the major ways that healthcare success is measured. Measuring patient outcomes results in the generation of data that can be used to improve results. Nursing informatics can have a significant part in this process and can help to improve outcomes by improving processes, identifying at-risk patients, and enhancing efficiency.
To Prepare:
- Review the concepts of technology application as presented in the Resources.
- Reflect on how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence may help fortify nursing informatics as a specialty by leading to increased impact on patient outcomes or patient care efficiencies.
The Assignment: (4-5 pages not including the title and reference page)
In a 4- to 5-page project proposal written to the leadership of your healthcare organization, propose a nursing informatics project for your organization that you advocate to improve patient outcomes or patient-care efficiency. Your project proposal should include the following:
- Describe the project you propose.
- Identify the stakeholders impacted by this project.
- Explain the patient outcome(s) or patient-care efficiencies this project is aimed at improving and explain how this improvement would occur. Be specific and provide examples.
- Identify the technologies required to implement this project and explain why.
- Identify the project team (by roles) and explain how you would incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team.
- Use APA format and include a title page and reference page.
- Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.
| Excellent | Good | Fair | Poor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In a 4- to 5-page project proposal written to the leadership of your healthcare organization, propose a nursing informatics project for your organization that you advocate to improve patient outcomes or patient care efficiency. Your project proposal should include the following:
· Describe the project you propose. · Identify the stakeholders impacted by this project. · Explain the patient outcome(s) or patient-care efficiencies this project is aimed at improving, and explain how this improvement would occur. Be specific and provide examples. · Identify the technologies required to implement this project and explain why. · Identify the project team (by roles) and explain how you would incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team. |
77 (77%) – 85 (85%)
The response accurately and thoroughly describes in detail the project proposed. The response accurately and clearly identifies the stakeholders impacted by the project proposed. The response accurately and thoroughly explains in detail the patient outcome(s) or patient-care efficiencies that the project proposed is aimed at improving, including an accurate and detailed explanation, with sufficient supporting evidence of how this improvement would occur. The response accurately and clearly identifies the technologies required to implement the project proposed with a detailed explanation why. The response accurately and clearly identifies the project team (by roles) and thoroughly explains in detail how to incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team. Includes: 3 or more peer-reviewed sources and 2 or more course resources. |
68 (68%) – 76 (76%)
The response describes the project proposed. The response identifies the stakeholders impacted by the project proposed. The response explains the patient outcome(s) or patient-care efficiencies that the project proposed is aimed at improving, including an explanation, with some supporting evidence of how this improvement would occur. The response identifies the technologies required to implement the project proposed with an explanation why. The response identifies the project team (by roles) and explains how to incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team. Includes: 2 peer-reviewed sources and 2 course resources. |
60 (60%) – 67 (67%)
The response describing the project proposed is vague or inaccurate. The response identifying the stakeholders impacted by the project proposed is vague or inaccurate. The response explaining the patient outcome(s) or patient-care efficiencies the project proposed is aimed at improving, including an explanation of how this improvement would occur, is vague or inaccurate, or includes little to no supporting evidence. The response identifying the technologies required to implement the project proposed with an explanation why is vague or inaccurate. The response identifying the project team (by roles) and an explanation of how to incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team is vague or inaccurate. Includes: 1 peer-reviewed sources and 1 course resources. |
0 (0%) – 59 (59%)
The response describing the project proposed is vague and inaccurate, or is missing. The response identifying the stakeholders impacted by the project proposed is vague and inaccurate, or is missing. The response explaining the patient outcome(s) or patient-care efficiencies the project proposed is aimed at improving, including an explanation of how this improvement would occur, is vague and inaccurate, includes no supporting evidence, or is missing. The response identifying the technologies required to implement the project proposed with an explanation why is vague and inaccurate, or is missing. The response identifying the project team (by roles) and an explanation of how to incorporate the nurse informaticist in the project team is vague and inaccurate, or is missing. Includes: 1 or fewer resources. |
| Written Expression and Formatting – Paragraph Development and Organization:
Paragraphs make clear points that support well developed ideas, flow logically, and demonstrate continuity of ideas. Sentences are carefully focused–neither long and rambling nor short and lacking substance. |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity.
|
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity 80% of the time.
|
3.5 (3.5%) – 3.5 (3.5%)
Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity 60%- 79% of the time.
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0 (0%) – 3 (3%)
Paragraphs and sentences follow writing standards for flow, continuity, and clarity < 60% of the time.
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| Written Expression and Formatting – English writing standards:
Correct grammar, mechanics, and proper punctuation |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Uses correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation with no errors.
|
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Contains a few (1-2) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
|
3.5 (3.5%) – 3.5 (3.5%)
Contains several (3-4) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
|
0 (0%) – 3 (3%)
Contains many (≥ 5) grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors that interfere with the reader’s understanding.
|
| Written Expression and Formatting – The paper follows correct APA format for title page, headings, font, spacing, margins, indentations, page numbers, running head, parenthetical/in-text citations, and reference list. |
5 (5%) – 5 (5%)
Uses correct APA format with no errors.
|
4 (4%) – 4 (4%)
Contains a few (1-2) APA format errors.
|
3.5 (3.5%) – 3.5 (3.5%)
Contains several (3-4) APA format errors.
|
0 (0%) – 3 (3%)
Contains many (≥ 5) APA format errors.
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| Total Points: 100 |
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