The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation

The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation

Health information technology has been part of the current healthcare system for more than a decade by now. With recent advancements in technology, new information systems are being implemented in healthcare organizations. The implementation process requires an interdisciplinary team comprising of nurse leaders and technology specialists, to enhance change outcomes. The technology specialists have a better understanding of the new technology. In the same case, nurses are experts in their field with a better understanding of the flow of patient care and frequent interaction with other healthcare providers to promote the provision of quality and safe care (Al-Hawamdih, & Ahmad, 2018). As such, it is essential for the nurse leader to understand the new technology and for the technology specialist to familiarize with how the new equipment or software will need to interface with the facility’s existing systems. Involving nurse leaders in the implementation of changes is however associated with both benefits and challenges as demonstrated in this paper.

Planning and Requirements Definition

The system development life cycle (SDLC), is a project management tool that defines the stages involved in change implementation from planning to completion. The SDLC phases include planning, system analysis, design, development, implementation, integration, testing, and operations management (Verma & Gupta, 2017). In the planning process, the nurse leader plays a significant role in determining the health problem that needs change and how the change can be implemented to promote outcome. However, it might be challenging for the organization as additional costs will be required to fund the training of the nurse leader on required computer and informatics skills.