The Multimethod Evaluation of a Nursing Information System in Taiwan

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of a nursing information system on nurses' daily practice. A multimethod evaluation was used that combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches to explore the influence of this technology from different perspectives. The data collection methods included the following: an evaluation scale of the system function, focus group interviews about the users' experiences, and work sampling observation of their work pattern. The data were collected from October to December 2006. The data analysis contained 623 valid questionnaires, 24 nurses' interview content, and 22830 observed nursing activities. Overall, the results indicated that nurses gave a positive evaluation of the technology in their work routine. However, they were concerned about the inadequacy of the hardware devices and response time, training and workflow change, and personal interactions with physicians and patients. Nurses on the night shift spent more time on documentation than on any other nursing activities during the three shifts. The users' technology adoption could be attributed to device sufficiency and function, content design, and workflow efficiency. It is recommended that organizations provide sufficient computer devices, ensure the content design for nursing documentation, and implement expectations for interdisciplinary cooperation.

Impact of Bar-code Medication Administration on Nursing Activity Patterns and Usage Experience in Taiwan

“…Moreover, after 1 year of using the system, for both day and evening shifts, the nurses' time spent on indirect care and unit-related activities during time 2 was less, but the time spent on documentation was more during time 2 than during time 1. Another study 16 showed that the day nurses spent more time on unit-related and personal activities, the evening nurses spent more time on direct care, and the night nurses spent more time on documentation and indirect care.…”

“…5,16,20,21,[24][25][26] The findings were categorized into themes to provide feedback not obtained by the questionnaires on CIS use and were used as a reference for information system evaluation. One study reported nurses' experiences of using a BCMA; they commented it was easier to find patient and drug information and that the system could prevent physicians' illegible handwriting or errors in transcribing prescriptions, although the nurses had more concerns about checking on the computer whether they might have missed a medication dose or have been unaware of the expiration date of the medication order.…”

“…[8][9][10][13][14][15][16][17] Although researchers have studied time spent on medication-related activities, they have mostly used time-and-motion observation, 11,12 but have seldom deployed the work sampling method. Nonetheless, working sampling, a method of using a small number of individual activities to estimate a large number of work patterns, seems appropriate for observing nursing activities with varied As medication safety is a foremost goal of patient safety, the adoption of bar-code medication administration can help nurses ensure safe medication administration.…”

“…Several studies have used methods such as time and motion [8][9][10][11][12] or work sampling [13][14][15][16][17] to measure and analyze nurses and other healthcare providers' activities as a result of technology use, but most have focused on documentation outcome only. [8][9][10][13][14][15][16][17] Although researchers have studied time spent on medication-related activities, they have mostly used time-and-motion observation, 11,12 but have seldom deployed the work sampling method.…”

Evaluation of an Online Orientation Program for New Healthcare Employees

“…This feedback should cover areas of overall user experience such as task performance or user satisfaction. 14 Evaluations using multiple evaluation methods provide a better overview for system designers and developers 15 ; therefore, this study used several measured methods and then triangulated between them to investigate the acceptance of online courses by new healthcare employees. The purpose was to identify factors related to online learning outcomes and to offer references for designing better orientation programs.…”