NURS 6431 Week 4 Environmental Scan of Health Information Technology Essay Assignment
NURS 6431 Week 4 Environmental Scan of Health Information Technology Essay Assignment
Health care technology is advancing at a breathtaking pace. The future will place a greater emphasis on research that aims to use new technologies, such as telehealth and Internet-based communication for patients and health care professionals, genetics-based diagnostics, and even smartphone applications, as innovative ways to provide better health care.
—NINH Strategic Plan, 2011, p. 26
Reflect on the health-related technological changes you have seen over the past years. New technologies are changing the way health care professionals treat patients. It is important, as a nurse informaticist, that you stay current on new trends, technologies, innovations, and issues so you can help make data-driven decisions and give credible advice to those in your health organization.
This week, you focus on key issues and trends in the health information technology field. As you review these topics, consider which are most relevant to you, your organization, and your future plans. You also complete Part 1 of your Evaluation Project.
Learning Objectives
Students will:
- Evaluate the relevance of major topics in health care information technology
- Assess health care technology evaluation goals and viewpoints for an evaluation plan
- Create graphic representations of research models in information technology evaluation
- Critique the applicability of a health information technology (HIT) system to a health care organization
- Formulate a goal and viewpoint for a health information technology system evaluation plan
NURS 6431 Week 4 Discussion: Key Topics in Health Care Technology Evaluation
The amount of new information and data, and the number of available technologies are growing at an ever-accelerating rate. Did you know that during any given 24 hours, humanity generates enough new information to fill the Library of Congress 70 times (Smolan & Erwitt, 2012)? As a nurse informaticist, it is important to keep current on new developments in the field, but with the rapid pace of change, that effort can be overwhelming. It is easier to keep current with key trends if nurse informaticists focus on selected issues.
In this Discussion, you consider key topics in the field of health care technology. You then consider the different approaches you could take when designing an evaluation in these areas. For example, if you are interested in usability, your goal could be to determine if a system is user friendly from the viewpoint of a nurse. A different goal might be to determine if the location of the system facilitates ease of use from the viewpoint of physicians.
Note: This Discussion serves as practice for the first part of your Evaluation Project. What you derive from your Discussion with colleagues will likely inform the work that you do in Part 1 of the Evaluation Project.
The Discussion focuses on the following major topics in the health care information field:
Implementing HIT Systems
- Consumer health information
- Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE)
- Decision support systems
- Electronic health records (EHR)
- Tele-medicine and eHealth
- Nursing documentation
Other Issues Related to the Use of HIT Systems
- Interoperability
- Unforeseen consequences
- Usability
To prepare:
- Select at least two topics from the lists above that are relevant to your current organization or that are of particular interest to you. Read the articles in this week’s Learning Resources that relate to these topics. Consider why these topics are of interest to you, what relevance they have to health care organizations, and how they impact your professional responsibilities. Choose one topic to be the focus of your Evaluation Project, and consider potential evaluation goals.
- Determine the viewpoint from which you would approach the evaluation, and why.
By Day 3
Post the two topics you identified as most relevant to your organization or to you personally, and explain why you selected those topics. Identify the topic you selected for your Evaluation Project, and propose three potential evaluation goals for this topic. Identify the viewpoint you would use with each goal, and explain why.
By Day 6
Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days, using one or more of the following approaches:
- Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence, or research.
- Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
- Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.
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