NUR 514 enhanced care and patient safety in the healthcare sector
NUR 514 enhanced care and patient safety in the healthcare sector
Over the years, there has been a higher demand for enhanced care and patient safety in the healthcare sector. While various strategies have been explored to meet such demands, technology has been at the center of almost every effort. One of such technological applications that have attracted a lot of interest and experienced growth in recent years is electronic health records (Garcelon et al., 2020). Electronic health records have widely been applied in the healthcare sector to improve care efficiency and enhance patient outcomes through better decision support systems. In addition, electronic health records improve the clarity and accuracy of patients’ medical information, which helps lower the chances of medical errors occurring.
Leadership theory continues to evolve time after time. Throughout the years leading role has been more complex . “Various behavioral theories were developed between 1940 and 1980 describing common leadership styles such as authoritarian, democratic and laissez-fair. Situational and contingency theories between 1950 and 1980 recognized the importance of considering the needs of the worker, the task to be performed, and the situation or environment. Interactional leadership theories focus on influence within the specific organizational environment and the interactive relationship of the ‘leader’ with the ‘follower’”.(Calhoun ,JG 2008) As a leader it’s imperative to develop supportive skills , which states that empower and building relationships with employees . Over the years as a unit supervisor I’ve learned of to teach , empower my staffs to grow and develop your skills to better care for the patients.We’re leaving in a society when you are meeting different people from different cultures. Therefore if you don’t have a good understanding of your role , believe me or not you’re at the greatest risk to fail . A lots of researchers concluded that people are happier and more satisfied in their work when they have supportive leaders who
empathize and value their performances.
This paper, therefore, seeks to consider an opportunity for tracking care improvement and identify some of the
fundamental information required for an EHR database. In addition, informatics’ role in capturing the data and methodologies and management strategies for supporting the informatics initiative will be explored. Staff need for the implementation process, strategies for implementation, ethical and regulatory standards, evaluation and leadership skills, and theories will be discussed.
The Needed Key Information
As indicated earlier, EHR is critical for ensuring that patient’s medical records are accurate and clear. Various
key information is also needed for the database. One of the key patient information required includes imaging reports, laboratory results, progress notes, immunization history, vital signs, past and current medications, past medical and surgical history, current medical issues, and patient demographics (Schopf et al., 2019). With such information, patient outcomes are the center of focus. Such a focus is instrumental in coming up with or formulating appropriate interventions that can lead to the most desired outcomes. In addition, possible disease risks factors or complications can be appropriately identified timeously. The healthcare providers can then take appropriate preventive interventions.
Informatics Role in the Data Capture.
Computational systems analyzing the large volume of data, data storage, and information retrieval are central to informatics. Informatics plays various roles in capturing data for the electronic health records databases in various ways. One of the roles is the provision of operational applications and clinical tools that are primarily applied in capturing health information to boost patient care and security (Braunstein, 2018). In addition, informatics is central in the organization of the patient data obtained from various data collection devices and systems such as diagnostic systems, health tracking devices, patient portals, and electronic medical records. Informatics also helps in capturing data from various systems and databases in various formats and converts such data into the same format before the eventual storage in the database.
The Needed Staff Members and Systems of Design and Implementation
Design and implementation of a system such as EHR require the collaboration and participation of every team member. As such, it is vital to identify relevant team members that can effectively perform designed tasks and responsibilities. Since an EHR implementation needs the incorporation of medical data from various departments of the organization, it is imperative to draw team members from various departments. In addition, it is vital to integrate various systems to effectively offer the needed information in real-time (Braunstein, 2018). As such, the following systems will be needed for an efficient EHR design and implementation, a report generation system, an e-prescibing system, a billing and reimbursement system, and a documentation system.
The report generation system is useful in helping the providers formulate reports by utilizing particular information such as procedures involved, medication, and patient demographics. In addition, the e-prescribing system is essential for tracking the medications that have been prescribed for a particular patient, evaluate drug interactions, medication side effects, and allergies, thereby enabling the clinicians to come up with informed decisions regarding a patient’s medication regimen (Braunstein, 2018). Besides, the billing and reimbursement system will also be incorporated to assist in health services efficient payments and insurance company reimbursement. Finally, the documentation system will be critical for the creation of charts and structuring of information to facilitate seamless access by patients and practitioners.
Apart from the systems, various individuals will be needed to form the implementation team. The team will be obtained from both external consultants and internal stakeholders. As such, the following team members will be essential, the billing advocate, a nurse, a physician, a quality assurance test engineer, an application developer, application analysts, and a project manager (Braunstein, 2018). The project manager is responsible for leading the team and ensuring that the activities are within the proposed project timeline.
The application analysts will carry out a critical part of data migration and making the data lean before handing the work over to the application developer, who will then customize the system. The quality assurance test engineer will test the functionality and performance of the system (Braunstein, 2018). The billing advocate, nurse, and physician will represent their various departments and offer insights on the system’s testing, data, and needed training.
Strategies For Implementing the New EHR Proposal
Implementation of a proposed project is one of the most challenging tasks. Indeed, it is easy to have a good proposal, but the realization of the vision will only come true if proper implementation strategies are put in place. Therefore, various strategies for implementing the proposal are discussed in this section. The first strategy is to offer strong leadership that can work hard to ensure that everyone buys into the project goals and, therefore, supports the project (Fragidis & Chatzoglou, 2018). It is also important to let everyone understand why the new EHR system is needed and will be good for the organization. It is also vital to make the project clinically driven. The implication is that every clinician should be involved from the very early stages of the project and stay on course with constant communication of wins and steps.
For better outcomes, another important strategy is the optimization of workflows and configuration of the systems to ensure that efficiency is top-notch. Testing the system is key since it will help determine if there are some malfunctions that need to be addressed before starting official operations (Fragidis & Chatzoglou, 2018). In addition, it is important to arrange for training sessions for the staff, such as clinicians, for they may resist the new systems for fear of not knowing what to do. Effective management of resources will be key for a successful implementation since the whole project can end up being too expensive if the resources are wasted and not properly managed.
The Professional, Ethical, and Regulatory Standard
Since EHR involves data and confidential information about patients, it is imperative to consider the professional, ethical, and regulatory standards to be incorporated in the system design and implementation. Some of the relevant professional standards include the acquisition of the HIPAA-compliant business associate agreement document, encryption of the patient’s electronic health information, and a detailed system risk analysis (Keshta & Odeh, 2021). Upholding the professional standards will imply that if there is a system breach, then every user is informed.
The ethical standards to be incorporated include protection of patient’s private and confidential information such as clinical visiting notes, diagnostic notes, claims procession, and billing information. In addition, the regulatory standards will have to be aligned so that the system complies with the HITECH and HIPAA regulations (Keshta & Odeh, 2021). As such, the distribution, programming, system design, and software development for the system will also have to follow HITECH and HIPAA regulations.
Measures for System Evaluation
Evaluation is one of the most vital stages of implementing a system change in an organization. Through evaluation, the change leaders gain insight into the system’s success from various perspectives. Therefore, the success of the proposed new electronic health records will be evaluated by patients, setting, and staff to help accurately identify areas that need immediate improvement and long-term improvement plans (Goldstein, 2017). As such, one of the tools which will give vital information from the staff perspective is the use of surveys. An appropriate survey will be designed with system-specific questions to help get the view from the staff. The survey can prompt the staff to give their views and rate the new electronic health system in terms of documentation, evidence-based decisions, patient information access, healthcare delivery, and user-interface friendliness.
The system will also be evaluated from the perspective of the operation settings. An analysis of rates of data error will be accomplished to give an insight into how well the new system has enhanced data quality and input. The return on investments is critical for evaluating whether a project has been or is profitable or not (Goldstein, 2017). As such, the return on investment for the project will be computed after a period of operation. Patients are central to the development of the new system; therefore, evaluating their satisfaction is the suitable yardstick for evaluating the system. Therefore, the patients will be given a specially designed patient survey to complete by responding to various questions. Patient wait times will also be measured to find out if there is any improvement as compared to when the new system was still not in place.
Leadership Skills and Theories for Interprofessional Team Collaboration
Electronic health records are mainly developed and implemented to help in boosting patient outcomes. Therefore many individuals from Interprofessional teams are involved, and so there is a need for effective collaboration. Leadership skills and leadership theories can be applied in ensuring that the collaboration is effective. According to Folkman et al. (2019), competition and power wrangles between the Interprofessional teams can bring friction and confusion, hence derailing the implementation process of a project. As such, leadership skills should be used to help navigate the rough path. Some of the leadership skills that can help foster an effective collaboration include acting as a role model, meaning the team leaders have to lead by example. The other skills include the ability to initiate and maintain collaboration and to show benevolence to each and every Interprofessional collaboration team member (Hu & Broome, 2020). Applying these skills would be key for a sustained working relationship.
Some of the most appropriate leadership theories that can be applied include innovation and social cognitive theories. These theories can appropriately guide implementation, process development, and model evaluation as Interprofessional teams collaborate. While the social cognitive theory offers an understanding of the interdependence between the team members to deliver adequate care, diffusion theory gives a framework for a successful change adoption for the EHR implementation and efficient Interprofessional team collaboration.
Conclusion
In conclusion, electronic health records are essential for improved patient outcomes by ensuring that patient data is accurate and clear, hence preventing medical errors that can lead to adverse impacts on the patient. Therefore, this write-up has proposed an EHR design, implementation, and evaluation. The role of informatics in data capture, various professional, ethical, and regulatory standards, and leadership skills and theories for Interprofessional teams have been discussed.
References
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Fragidis, L. L., & Chatzoglou, P. D. (2018). Implementation of a nationwide electronic health record (EHR): The international experience in 13 countries. International journal of health care quality assurance. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA-09-2016-0136
Garcelon, N., Burgun, A., Salomon, R., & Neuraz, A. (2020). Electronic health records for the diagnosis of rare diseases. Kidney International, 97(4), 676-686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kint.2019.11.037.
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Hu, Y., & Broome, M. (2020). Leadership characteristics for interprofessional collaboration in China. Journal of Professional Nursing, 36(5), 356-363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.02.008.
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