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The integration of information technology has changed many processes and operations in the field of nursing. Overall, the adoption of new technologies is anticipated to make the daily workflow of nurses faster and smoother. However, this is not always the case due to a variety of challenges that occur when such technologies are introduced. In this paper, the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) will be discussed in relation to common challenges and solution strategies.
EHR Implementation Approaches
As specified by McGonigle and Mastrian (2018), ideally, all nurses entering healthcare organizations should have nursing informatics skills and be able to use information technologies. In reality, the integration of technologies often causes confusion and slows down working processes. Even though the use of EHRs is recognized as highly effective and important for the overall safety of care, most healthcare organizations continue to rely on paper records (Gupta & Murtaza, 2009).
When considering the implementation of EHRs, organizations can approach it differently. However, every approach requires careful planning. It is possible to start the implementation by training staff members to use the technology or by preparing the existing systems for the integration and adjustments. Usually, different approaches focus on legal, financial, and security aspects and challenges such change brings (American Nurses Association, 2015).
Implementation Challenges and Solutions
The first common EHR implementation is resistance to change experienced by the staff. Regardless of its potential efficiency, a technology that is resisted, feared, or misunderstood by the personnel will not provide any benefits. Resistance can cause occupational stress and job dissatisfaction. To resolve this problem, leaders and managers are to prepare their employees for the upcoming change. The preparation activities include informing the staff about the technology, its importance, reasons why it is implemented, and the advantages it will offer.
Another challenge is the usability and efficiency of the technology once implemented. Flawed or incomplete integration prevents EHRs from working as expected. To address this challenge, it is critical to plan the change based on similar projects in other organizations, monitor each implementation stage, and test the results making necessary adjustments. Finally, the third challenge is data migration – the need to transfer the existing data into the HER system. This lengthy and complex project involves security challenges and time management. To avoid confusion and errors, the most recent data needs to be moved first so that professionals could use it as soon as possible (Vant, 2016).
Personal Experience
In my personal experience, staff resistance was the major observable challenge during the implementation of EHRs. Many staff members were reluctant to learn how to operate the new format of records because it involved a number of activities that they have never done before. Interestingly, many resisting professionals admitted that EHRs were highly useful in terms of safety and quality. They were hesitant about the adoption because they did not believe that this technology could be learned easily and that it could be beneficial for the staff.
Seeing the resistance, managers and leaders took measures and conducted several meetings with the staff that involved real-life presentations of the interface and how it worked. They handled the overall frustration of the personnel by demonstrating that it was possible to learn how to use the technology and that the professionals experiencing difficulties adjusting to the system would have all the necessary support from the IT department. This was a positive aspect of the implementation process because it improved the staff-leadership communication and boosted the confidence of hesitating professionals. The one suggestion I could make for this situation was carrying out the presentation at an earlier stage in order to prevent the negative response of employees.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope & standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Springs, MD: American Nurses Association.
Gupta, V. & Murtaza, M. B. (2009). Approaches to electronic health record implementation. Review of Business Information Systems, 13(4), 21-28.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Vant, A. (2016). The top three EHR implementation challenges faced by practices. Web.
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