Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff: Making Decisions to Use Informatics Systems in Practice
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
The healthcare system has designed policies and guidelines to ensure the Nursing Informatics staff follows the standard procedure for providing effective healthcare services. These policies and guidelines ensure that the healthcare staff integrates healthcare services with Information Technology (ICT) while assessing, diagnosing, managing, preventing, implementing, and evaluating the respective patient’s condition.
Policy and Guidelines
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
Electronic Health Record (HER) system integrates healthcare services with technological aids to enhance the standard of care safety offered to patients. The technological tool which has been chosen is eMAR (Electronic Medication Administration Record). It is a system that automatically updates medication administration information in the EHR system through electronic tracking and radio frequency identification.
Evaluation of Function
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
According to Fei et al. (2029), the eMAR system helps nurses to provide healthcare services remotely to patients. It increases the quality and safety of care by checking medication records and dispensing through the automated system. It ensures no drug-drug interactions and correct medication is dispensed to the correct patients. It prevents medication errors, reduces readmission rates, increases care safety, and enhances patient satisfaction and positive health outcomes.
According to Moore et al. (2020), the nurses were able to spend more quality time with the patient and were able to provide them with care. It also helped decrease the medication administration time, which increased the time nurses spend with patients and providing care based on care coordination and a patient-oriented approach.
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
According to Joseph et al. (2020), the eMAR system helped monitor the administration of infusion medication such as Epinephrine and helped administer the correct medication dosage to patients. This increased the efficacy of healthcare services as the inbuilt system had an alarm system that triggered when the wrong drug, wrong frequency, and wrong dosage were administered to the patients. This helped to increase the safety that was offered to the patient and prevent medication errors.
According to Hunt and Chakraborty (2021), the eMAR system reduced the minute errors that led to serious adverse events and endangered the patient’s life. These errors were associated with drug dosage, which was left unnoticed by healthcare providers and contributed to serious medical emergencies. The design function of the eMAR helped to assess, evaluate, detect, and pinpoint the area of error. It alerted the healthcare providers about it while preventing the discharge of infusions through automated IV pumps. It helped to improve the standard of care and promoted better health care for the patients.
Analysis of Work Setting
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
Evidence-based practice reflects the use of the eMAR system in the healthcare systems to facilitate the healthcare providers, especially the nurses. This system has been integrated into various healthcare systems and is actively used to limit medication errors. According to Rodziewicz et al. (2022), medication errors are the primary reason for deaths in the US. These medication errors occur due to a lack of attention from healthcare providers due to work overburden. To prevent the healthcare disparities caused by medication errors, the eMAR system effectively analyzes and assesses areas that contribute to them and prevents them by alerting healthcare providers.
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
According to Sorensen et al. (2020), in Randers Reginal Hospital (Emergency Department), using eMAR has helped reduce the workload on nurses. It has provided them time to help in the counseling and care coordination with the patient. The system detected prescription, dispensing, and administration errors, thus enhancing patient safety and promoting positive health outcomes (Spinewine et al., 2021). The system also monitored medication and its administration route to ensure the quality of care.
e-MAR Supports Strategic Plan
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
e-MAR supports the strategic plan to minimize healthcare disparities caused by medication errors and to promote positive patient health outcomes. It reduces the work burden on the healthcare providers, especially the nurses, by doing their work and double checking if the medication provided is safe for administration in the respective patient. It counterchecks with its updated data to assess if the medication dosage, frequency, and concentration are acceptable and can be used in the patient or if it has any interactions. It ensures that the patient is administered the correct dosage, at the correct time, with the correct frequency, and to suitable patients. It helps simplify the healthcare process and eliminates errors contributing to health disparities. The system helps to increase communication between healthcare providers and patients by connecting them to healthcare services through the electronic system. It also keeps the healthcare providers in the loop with the patient’s medication regime and the medication being administered to analyze the effect of healthcare services on patients (Karnehed et al., 2022). Patient information is used carefully, and the data is only accessible by the healthcare providers involved in the patient’s care plan. The healthcare providers who can access the patient’s information collaborate to devise healthcare plans to increase the quality of care that the patient receives.
Assessment of Workflow
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
Following the eMAR system’s introduction, healthcare providers’ workflow efficacy has increased. Healthcare providers are now less burdened with their duties and claim to have ample time to spend with their patients. This helps to increase the efficacy of the work, and the standard of care offered also increases. As a result, patients experience patient-centered care, care coordination, autonomy and non-malicious care, and justified and equitable healthcare services. This increases collaboration among the patient and healthcare providers, increases patient compliance with healthcare regimes, digitalization reduces adverse events and near-miss events, thus increasing patient satisfaction. This reduces readmission rates and therapy costs and enhances positive clinical outcomes. Fewer errors cause less stress and anxiety and increase the healthcare providers’ productivity and morale. This increases the quality of healthcare services that are provided and improves the workflow of the healthcare providers as eMAR helps to reduce the workload and improve the workflow of healthcare providers (Albagmi, 2021).
e-MAR Contributes to Interprofessional care and Patient Satisfaction
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
e-MAR enhances the collaboration and communication of healthcare providers and contributes to patient satisfaction. As patient information is updated in the EHR system, healthcare providers have access to it. They collaborate to devise effective, patient-centered care plans to increase positive health outcomes and reduce interactions. The collaboration ensures that the patient’s health condition is carefully assessed and evaluated from each perspective of the relevant healthcare provider to prevent any valuable information. This interprofessional collaboration and communication enhance the quality of care that will be provided to the patient as information about the patient is given importance each minute. The resultant healthcare plan is productive, safe, and according to the patient’s needs. The care process also gives the patient the autonomy to choose the healthcare regime. As a result, patient compliance increase, and the chances of errors reduce, enhancing patient satisfaction (Vos et al., 2020).
Conclusion
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
The eMAR system integrates healthcare services with technological aids. This enhances the standard of care and safety provided to the system as the automated eMAR system has an inbuilt system that prevents medication errors. It helps effectively monitor and assess the medications being dispensed and administered to the patients and activates alarm systems if there are any errors. It enhances the collaboration of interdisciplinary healthcare providers to enhance the standard of care offered to the patients.
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
References
Albagmi S. (2021). The effectiveness of EMR implementation regarding reducing documentation errors and waiting time for patients in outpatient clinics: A systematic review. F1000Research, 10, 514.
https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.45039.2
Fei, L., Robinson, J., & Macneil, A. (2019). Case study: Using electronic medication administration records enhances medication safety and improves efficiency in long-term care facilities. Nursing leadership (Toronto, Ont.), 32(2), 102–113.
https://doi.org/10.12927/cjnl.2019.25958
Hunt, S., & Chakraborty, J. (2021). Dose verification errors in hospitals: A literature review of nurses’ eMAR-based systems. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 36(2), 182–187.
https://doi.org/10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000491
Joseph, R., Lee, S. W., Anderson, S. V., & Morrisette, M. J. (2020). Impact of interoperability of smart infusion pumps and an electronic medical record in critical care. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy : AJHP: Official Journal of The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, 77(15), 1231–1236.
https://doi.org/10.1093/ajhp/zxaa164
Karnehed, S., Erlandsson, L. K., & Norell Pejner, M. (2022). Nurses’ perspectives on an electronic medication administration record in home health care: Qualitative interview study. JMIR Nursing, 5(1), e35363.
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
https://doi.org/10.2196/35363
Moore, E. C., Tolley, C. L., Bates, D. W., & Slight, S. P. (2020). A systematic review of the impact of health information technology on nurses’ time. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: JAMIA, 27(5), 798–807.
https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocz231
Rodziewicz, T. L., Houseman, B., & Hipskind, J. E. (2022). Medical error reduction and prevention. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29763131/
Sørensen, C. A., Lisby, M., Olesen, C., Enemark, U., Sørensen, S. B., & de Thurah, A. (2020). Self-administration of medication: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial of the impact on dispensing errors, perceptions, and satisfaction. Therapeutic Advances in Drug Safety, 11, 2042098620904616.
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
https://doi.org/10.1177/2042098620904616
Spinewine, A., Evrard, P., & Hughes, C. (2021). Interventions to optimize medication use in nursing homes: A narrative review. European Geriatric Medicine, 12(3), 551–567.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41999-021-00477-5
Vos, J. F. J., Boonstra, A., Kooistra, A., Seelen, M., & van Offenbeek, M. (2020). The influence of electronic health record use on collaboration among medical specialties. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 676.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05542-6
Appendix A
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
Policy
The suggested technological advancement is the eMAR system explained in the policy.
Overview
The eMAR system is an initiative proposed to be implemented in the healthcare system to improve the quality and safety of healthcare services. The healthcare providers will be educated about the effective use of technology to maximize health outcomes and reduce their work burden.
Purpose
Introducing the policy is to reduce the work burden of the healthcare providers and to increase their free time for consultation, counseling, and education of patients regarding their respective healthcare plans/ regimes. The technology will help reduce medication errors related to prescription, dispensing, and medication administration. It will help reduce healthcare disparities resulting from the negligence of the healthcare providers and lead to adverse and near-miss events.
Responsibilities
- Training of healthcare providers to effectively use the eMAR system,
- Nursing Informaticist and IT Team to ensure the effective use of the eMAR system,
- The interdisciplinary healthcare providers collaborate and communicate for the effective use and provision of healthcare services through the eMAR system.
Appendix B
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
Guidelines
The guidelines for implementing the eMAR system and its effective running to reduce healthcare disparities were developed. These guidelines ensured that the system was run under proper rules and restrictions to ensure that the patient’s information was kept safe and confidential and maximum healthcare benefits were offered while reducing medical errors and increasing the collaboration of the healthcare providers.
NURS FPX 6412 Assessment 1 Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
The guidelines regarding the eMAR system are as follows:
- Integration of healthcare services with Information Technology,
- Access to uninterrupted Wi-Fi services,
- Access to power backup generators,
- Availability of backup systems (cloud-based or Google Drive) to have the patient information saved in case the data is breached, or the system is hacked,
- Strong firewalls and compliance with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act guidelines to protect patient information, maintain privacy and confidentiality,
- Care coordination, communication, and collaboration of healthcare providers with patients to increase awareness about healthcare therapies and the importance of compliance with medication therapies,
- Ensure the Alarm or alert system’s functionality to ensure patients’ health is not jeopardized.
