Why nurses deserve a seat at the health IT development table

by Dan Bowman, FierceHealthIT As the use of technology in healthcare becomes more ubiquitous, one question that deserves more attention is that of the role of nurses in making development and implementation decisions; essentially, what should that role be? In a recent interview, Elizabeth "Betty" Jordan, R.N., an assistant professor at the University of South Florida College of Nursing, said that nurses should be included in all health IT decisions. From conception to evaluation, she said, nurses deserve a seat at the IT table. Our healthcare space is getting bigger, and nurses working on those units really rely on technology to be able to communicate," Jordan said. "Once they're comfortable with it, they won't be able to live without it." In particular, Jordan talked about how often times, nurses are given demonstrations on IT tools that already exist--including tablets and other monitoring devices--but are not given the opportunity to join in on such conversations during the planning stages. FierceHealthIT Editorial Advisory Boardheresa Meadows, senior vice president and CIO at Cook Children's Health Care System in Fort Worth, Texas, agreed. Meadows, who also is a registered nurse, told FierceHealthIT that nurses can bring a unique perspective to such discussions because of their involvement in all aspects of care. Read the full article at FierceHealthIT.
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs