Nursing Leadership & Technology

The integration of technology in healthcare system transforms patient care from a physical, activity-based care model to a virtual, consumer-driven model. The challenge to nursing leadership is the integration of rapid technological advances with safe clinical practice. The adopting of the electronic health record (EHR) and informatics has become a core competency at every level in the practice of nursing including nursing leadership. The rapid nature of change requires a framework for design and integration into practice. For this integration to be successful, the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) sets guidelines to assist nurse leaders in leveraging technology.

 

Nurse leaders play a vital role in navigating the needs and requirements of technology to enhance clinical outcomes. Leveraging programs such as The Alliance for Nursing Informatics (AN) Emerging LeaderProgram can help nurse leaders to have better understanding of informatics and their roles in utilizing this change. Also, nurse leaders should plan for long-term goals and a well-defined roadmap with clear steps to successful integration and adoption of technologies. Moreover, the communication and decision-making process should be defined and understandable for all participants. It is important that nurse leaders ensure engagement for all to be part of the change. Thus, identifying evidence base practices and guidelines for nursing leadership will facilitate the process of leveraging technology. For more information please visit: (AONE) guiding principles.

An example to the future of utilizing technology in healthcare: 

References

Page, C. K. (2011). Leveraging Technology for Excellence. Nurse Leader, 9(5), 32-34. doi:10.1016/j.mnl.2011.07.005

Retrieved from http://nursing.advanceweb.com/features/articles/informatics-the-future-of-nursing-practice.aspx

Human-Technology Interface

Human-Technology Interface (HTI) is the interaction between human and technology. With the evolution of technology and computer science, healthcare has been through many developments in respond to tech-world. Human-Technology Interface in nursing defined as the application of computer technology to all fields of nursing. It is hardware and software through which the user interacts with any technology (e.g., computers, patient monitors, and digital screens). Indeed, the use and the development of technology in the clinical areas has become a necessity. Such technology has been already practiced in many nursing departments. For example, the cardiac monitoring systems, defibrillators, electronic thermometers, intravenous pumps, Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pumps and many others hardware. Each of these technologies is different and can even differ among different brands or versions of the same device. Information may be presented in many forms that include text, numbers, pictures, icons, or sound.

Increased attention to improving the human technology interface through human factors approaches has already led to significant improvement in many areas of healthcare. For instance, the use of Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) and the Electronic Medical Record(EMR) are evidence for improvement. The utilization of CPOE has freed nurses from order transcription and related, order-clarifying phone calls. Also, test results can be available at the point of care shortly after the tests are completed, allowing interventions to be initiated in a much more timely manner. Ultimately, the interaction of human and technology has improved the quality of patient care and outcomes as well as enhanced the relationship between the nurse and the patient.

 Here is another video about the interaction with technology: