Developing an Information Systems Strategy for Nursing, Essay Example

Introduction

Improving the quality of patient care and delivery requires nurses to actively contribute to the development, integration, and improvement of information systems at all levels. Nurses are critical to this process because they provide an opportunity to examine the different constructs of care that that impact patients and that enhance the care and treatment that patients receive. Nurses must be able to share their experiences regarding what is required to meet quality of care standards when implementing any type of technology that will directly impact their roles. The implementation of technology to impact change requires nurses to support any decisions that are made regarding direct patient care and treatment.

Body

At all stages of decision-making and implementation, nurses must be involved to ensure that the chosen system is cost-effective and has the patient’s best interests in mind. Technologies of this nature must reflect the nature of the entire life cycle and incorporate a number of different concepts to ensure that quality of care is optimized above all else (Black et.al, 2011). Nurse involvement in this process is essential because it supports the delivery of care to patients that is of the highest possible quality (Black et.al, 2011). Nurses working as part of a team to incorporate new technologies must share their experiences in this area that will address criteria to enhance quality and promote patient satisfaction at all levels (McHugh & Stimpfel, 2012). It is expected that nurses will also be involved in this process in order to contribute to the criteria under which quality should be measured so that the impact of the technology has the greatest possible benefit for patients (McHugh & Stimpfel, 2012). This practice also ensures that organizations have considered how nurses play a critical role in quality of patient care and how tis has an impact on general health and wellbeing for those who will be served by the system that is in place (McHugh & Stimpfel, 2012).

Nurses must also be involved in making decisions regarding technology because they provide significant value to the healthcare enterprise on many levels, including their capacity as leaders (Naylor, 2012). This is an important reminder of the need to develop a strategy that considers the value of not only the technology itself, but how it supports patient care in an effective manner (Naylor, 2012). At the same time, any technology that is selected for implementation must reflect a high degree of acceptance by staff members, including nurses, in order to achieve optimal effectiveness (Pai & Huang, 2011). This process will enable nurses to identify how the technology might support their delivery of care and how it might improve quality at the desired level to ensure that patient wellbeing is not compromised in any way (Pai & Huang, 2011). Therefore, nurse involvement in the decision-making also requires their buy-in and acceptance of the technology that is chosen for implementation to ensure a more seamless transition (Pai & Huang, 2011).

Conclusion

An organization must be proactive in its efforts to deliver high quality care and treatment at all times, and the integration of technology into this process is of critical importance. Nurses must be able to provide input and support these objectives at a high level and encourage the development of new ideas to ensure that patient care needs are effective and timely. This practice requires full nurse input in technology decision-making and implementation from start to finish in order to accomplish the intended objectives. When nurses are on board with these considerations, it is likely that the transition will be smooth and effective in capturing the needs of the system at the highest possible level.

References

Black, A. D., Car, J., Pagliari, C., Anandan, C., Cresswell, K., Bokun, T., … & Sheikh, A. (2011). The impact of eHealth on the quality and safety of health care: a systematic overview. PLoS medicine, 8(1), e1000387.v

McHugh, M. D., & Stimpfel, A. W. (2012). Nurse reported quality of care: a measure of hospital quality. Research in nursing & health, 35(6), 566-575.

Naylor, M. D. (2012). Advancing high value transitional care: the central role of nursing and its leadership. Nursing administration quarterly, 36(2), 115-126.

Pai, F. Y., & Huang, K. I. (2011). Applying the Technology Acceptance Model to the introduction of healthcare information systems. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 78(4), 650-660.