Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment

Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment

Our inpatient psychiatric unit has identified the existence of a high rate of medication administration errors. The errors include the giving of wrong dosages to several patients leading to complications. The error has led to an increase in patient mortality rate and a reduction in the quality of patient experiences. Nursing informatics can be applied to determine the main source of this problem. Recently, my institution has measures put in place to ensure the safety of our patient. We recently transition from paper documentation to Electronic medical records (EMR) documentation. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment.

Our IT department has recently installed desktop computers in each medication room, each computer has a scanner used to scan patient wristbands before administering medication. We currently use the MEDITECH EMR in our psychiatric hospital. During admission each patient is given a wristband with a barcode on it. In addition to using the barcode scanner, our staff are trained to use the five rights of medication administration. These measures put in place has significantly reduced medication errors in our facility. Barcode medication administration (BCMA) is recommended for the prevention of MAEs because it allows nurses to verify the five rights of medication administration (i.e., patient, drug, time, route, and dose). Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. Observational studies on BCMA technology reported a decrease in the incidence of MAEs, the implementation of a BCMA system for patients with serious psychiatric issues was associated with an 90% relative reduction of MAEs. Aside administering medication, our facility uses MEDTECH software to collect other data such as patient lab work, vital signs and, documentation of patient assessment during and at the end of each shift.

Below is a scenario in my week 1  discussion post showing the application of nursing informatics to improve clinical reasoning and judgment in nursing

Paper documentation has posed serious health consequences on the life of patient in most psychiatric facilities. A patient was once given the wrong medication meant for another patient during the paper documentation process, but luckily for that patient just about the time of discharge, the nurse decided to take a look at the medication when providing medication teaching to the patient. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. If the nurse had not taken a look at the medication it could have pose a serious health problem for the patient. Additionally, the error could have led to legal proceedings for the facility. Since the implementation of the MEDITECH software, these errors have greatly reduced.

The implementation of EMR have promoted patient safety in the healthcare industry. The ANA and other healthcare organizations are encouraging hospitals and other healthcare facilities to implement EHR. Reimbursement agencies like Center for Medicaid and Medicare are giving incentives to healthcare facilities that use EHR for documentation and clinical procedures. The use of nursing informatics has enabled healthcare institutions to collect patient data and input it in software making it possible for the healthcare team to view these data electronically, these helps the team to collectively make informed decision regarding the patients, thus promoting patient involvement in their care. With EMR patient are able to view their electronic health records and make informed decisions about their care. These promote compliance and autonomy. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment. Additionally, the use of EHR records in healthcare institutions have proven to reduce medication error, thus promoting patient safety, provide quality care and safety outcomes. (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017).

References

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLUygA8Hpfo

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Health Informatics and Population Health: Trends in Population Health [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author. Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker – NURS 6051 informatics week 2 assignment.

Lin J, Lin K, Jiang W, & Lee T. (2007). An exploration of nursing informatics competency and satisfaction related to network education. Journal of Nursing Research (Taiwan Nurses Association), 15(1), 54–66. Retrieved from https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=106105042&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Sweeney, J. (2017). Healthcare informatics. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 21(1).

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