Every part of our society is experiencing different changes, with the healthcare system also being on the lead. In the United States, most healthcare systems recognize the importance of embracing technology amidst the growing number of individuals seeking healthcare services (Salmon & Echevarria, 2017). With the emergence of information technology, one central question lies in the nursing’s role in decision making regarding the selection of information systems. Nursing is one profession that requires one to have an array of skills, including leadership, communication, and deciding on the measures that can result in positive outcomes in health care delivery (Salmon & Echevarria, 2017). As a result, the success of an organization largely depends on the decisions made by nurses since they spend most of their time with patients and are aware of what might work well for the different groups.
Nurses have numerous roles to play, especially concerning the selection of information systems. When analyzing nurses’ roles in healthcare, they must offer clinically useful patient records, support quality monitoring, evaluate outcomes, and share information between health care providers, community health providers, and organizations concerned with supporting the delivery of healthcare services (Salmon & Echevarria, 2017). Nurses are required to make accurate documentation since this determines the quality of care delivered to patients. Nurses are required to make decisions regarding information technologies that can be used in electronic medication, prescribing, telehealth, making online appointments, and conducting tests online. When nurses are not involved in this process, a health care institution may end up selecting a technology that does not support providing these services (Salmon & Echevarria, 2017). As a result, healthcare institutions need to ensure that they involve nurses in this process since they know which technology may work best under which circumstances.
The patient’s needs mainly guide most practices that nurses undertake. The electronic patient record is one of the crucial aspects that lays a foundation for the effective flow of information across departments and different healthcare providers. Documenting every detail of a patient serves as a cornerstone for communicating about a patient’s condition and organizing care based on these needs (Collins et al., 2017). Before the digital era, nurses were required to document all the patient’s records on paper. This created room for engaging in medication errors, an aspect that compromised the quality of care delivered to patients. However, with the emergence of information technology, nurses are tasked with deciding which system will work best (Collins et al., 2017). For instance, they are tasked with selecting information systems supporting electronic documentation, which contain flow sheets that can aid in gathering information about patients’ needs which in the long run can be used to enhance the quality of patient care.
One of the common challenges that affect the nursing profession is the massive workload in their places of work (Collins et al., 2017). Information systems provide an avenue for electronic chatting: a method that has the ability to enable nurses to have access to information quickly and efficiently. As a result, nurses need to be involved in implementing information systems that they can use with much ease. Lastly, nurses are often regarded as agents of change and educators. Nurses are required to educate patients on various healthy living habits and strategies that can be adopted to prevent the emergence of particular lifestyle-based diseases (Collins et al., 2017). Therefore, it is the responsibility of nurses to decide on information systems that will facilitate the efficient flow of information between healthcare providers and patients. If all the above aspects are embraced, it will help in the delivery of quality healthcare services to patients.
References
Collins, S., Yin, P. Y., Phillips, A., & Kennedy, M. K. (2017). Nursing informatics competency assessment for the nurse leader: The Delphi study. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 47(4), 212-218.
Salmon, S. W., & Echevarria, M. (2017). Healthcare transformation and changing roles for nursing. Orthopedic nursing, 36(1), 12.
