Enabling Nurses to Enter and View Patients’ Vitals, Term Paper Example

Description of the project context and provision of a general scope of work

This is a wireless project aimed at enabling nurses to enter and view patients’ vitals and related information at the bedside using palm size hand-held computing devices. There are three phases to this project beginning with a system analysis to determine appropriateness and readiness for the intervention; implementation, which includes training and evaluation to assess whether the devices have contributed to efficiency in delivery of services. Angela Lewis (2001) contends that hand held technology in health care professions has been the greatest invention since sliced bread because wireless devices have the ability of changing the way nursing and medicine are practiced

The device is classified a personal data assistant (PDA). It contains the same applications found in a PC database, but is housed in a 5 to 8 ounce package held in the “Palm” of the practitioner’s hand.  Functionality of personal data assistants (PDAs) has extensively evolved from simple personal organizer that encompasses healthcare databases and applications. These applications are capable of checking drug interactions, analyze lab results; facilitate IV calculations, schedule functions;refill prescriptions; provide charge capture information and many other practice management tasks. Hence, its implementation could be valuable to the organization(Lewis, 2001).

Provide a narrative description of the primary costcategories you assume will be part of the project

The cost benefit analysis (CBA) of this project focuses on information technology whereby a wireless project using palm size hand-held computing devices would be introduced in the organization. Cost categories include data resource management; software application lease/license; ongoing operations costs and general administrative fees (Boardman, 2006). Add or remove cost category from those listedin the worksheet and explain why.

Since the purpose of a cost benefit analysis (CBA) is to estimate the effect of a new service on users/participants and non-users/non-participants alike in evaluating the externality influences along with option value and other social benefits; in my opinion the following cost categories are not applicable to the worksheet for this project:-

• Hard dollar
• Soft dollar

Enhanced service financial benefits should remain since in calculating these two variables hard and soft dollar values could be estimated accordingly (Campbell & Brown, 2003).

Briefly, explain your assumptions and rationalesupporting your estimate (do this in the narrative report).

Data resource management is one of the most costly ventures apart from installation of the databases technology. It encompasses building and execution of the system to maintenance of the data base cycle. If there is poor or no data resource management information technology systems will collapse. Hence, it is a very costly undertaking for any organization. However, in implementing this wireless project using palm size hand-held computing device no additional cost is anticipated since the system has already been established and these devices will just be adjuncts to that system (Dunn, 2009).

Software application lease/licenses and ongoing operations costs could fluctuate with the market, but are very import budget considerations in any health information system. Functioning without licenses is a federal violation that would put the organization in jeopardy of losing business and credibility. Hence, licensing provisions/costs are mandatory expenditure just as operations costs. General administrative fees are equally important as data resource management costs. Technicians and on some occasions experts are needs to fix breaches/irregularities which are very costly (Dunn, 2009).

Summarize the outcome of your assessment including any additionalcontingent factors or considerations that should be included inyour report and conveyed to the team.

The forgoing discussions embraced a proposal to implement a wireless project aimed at enabling nurses to enter and view patients’ vitals and related information at the bedside using palm size hand-held computing devices.Three phases to this project were outlined. It began with a system analysis to determine appropriateness and readiness for the intervention; implementation, which includes training and thirdly evaluation to assess whether the deviceusage contributed to efficiency in delivery of services(Lewis, 2001)

Quoting expert Angela Lewis’ (2001) analysis of PDAs it was highly recommended that these devices would enhance patient care delivery at exceptional additional costs. It is the newest practice tool accessible to nurses at the patient’s bedside enabling point of care entries (Lewis, 2001)

References

Boardman, N. (2006). Cost-benefit Analysis: Concepts and Practice (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Campbell, F., & Brown, R. (2003). Incorporating Risk in Benefit-Cost Analysis. Benefit-Cost Analysis: Financial and Economic Appraisal using Spreadsheets. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Dunn, N. (2009). Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction. New York: Longman.

Lewis, A. (April, 2001).  Handheld technology: The newest practice tool for nurses? Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (OJNI). Vol. 5, No. 1. Retrieved on February 4^th, 2014 from http://ojni.org/51/handheld_technology.htm