Healthcare Information Technology and Medical-Surgical Nurses

Abstract

Healthcare information technology in US hospitals and ambulatory care centers continues to expand, and nurses are expected to effectively and efficiently utilize this technology. Researchers suggest that clinical information systems have expanded the realm of nursing to integrate technology as an element as important in nursing practice as the patient or population being served. This study sought to explore how medical surgical nurses make use of healthcare information technology in their current clinical practice and to examine the influence of healthcare information technology on nurses' clinical decision making. A total of eight medical surgical nurses participated in the study, four novice and four experienced. A conventional content analysis was utilized that allowed for a thematic interpretation of participant data. Five themes emerged: (1) healthcare information technology as a care coordination partner, (2) healthcare information technology as a change agent in the care delivery environment, (3) healthcare information technology-unable to meet all the needs, of all the people, all the time, (4) curiosity about healthcare information technology-what other bells and whistles exist, and (5) Big Brother is watching. The results of this study indicate that a new care partnership has emerged as the provision of nursing care is no longer supplied by a single practitioner but rather by a paired team, consisting of nurses and technology, working collaboratively in an interdependent relationship to achieve established goals.

A Critical Review of the Theoretical Frameworks and the Conceptual Factors in the Adoption of Clinical Decision Support Systems

“…9 Over the years, several studies and reviews have been conducted focusing on practitioners' acceptance and use. 2,4,6,10 One study showed that nurses were not overtly influenced by the use of information technology despite its potential to support their clinical practice. 2 For example, several studies have explored the relationship between nurses and technology in practice and concluded that the value of The clinical decision support system is utilized to translate knowledge into evidence-based practice in clinical settings.…”

“…2,11,12 However, to date, the body of literature on the merits of information technology is scarce and inconsistent. 2,11,12 A recent study reiterated that there is an apparent mismatch between the benefits of CDSS and the adoption of CDSS to support evidence-based decision making, hence not guaranteeing its uptake. 12 As such, it is important to understand the conceptual factors related to its adoption.…”

“…2,3 The CDSS utilizes patient-specific assessments and recommends treatment using embedded rules and decision-tree algorithms to aid practitioners in their clinical decision making. 2,4,5 For effective use of the CDSS, users need to adopt it to achieve its ultimate purpose of improving patient clinical outcomes and safety. 1,4,[6][7][8] The assurance of success in translating knowledge into evidence-based practice lies in the adoption of the CDSS after implementation.…”

Actor‐Network Theory as a sociotechnical lens to explore the relationship of nurses and technology in practice: methodological considerations for nursing research

“…Nursing researchers have also noticed the importance of exploring human–technology relationships and called for future examinations to explore interactions between nurses and technology, given the increasing volume of technology in nursing workplaces (Henderson ; Lapum et al. ; Moore and Fisher ). For example, in an analysis of nurses using technology for practice, Gough et al.…”

Nurses’ Clinical Decision Making on Adopting a Wound Clinical Decision Support System

“…41,42 The Wound CDSS should have increased nurses' autonomy and control in practice, as it is an intelligent, evidence-based, innovative technology developed to support nurses in quality clinical decision making. 1,2 In this study, the Wound CDSS was not entirely seen to provide control and autonomy to practice. Be that as it may, it was uncertain whether there was any ''hidden and unknown'' motive to take the simpler route of trusting peers' decisions rather than seeking evidencebased information.…”