While nurses form the bedrock of patient care, their voices are often missing when it comes to selecting Health IT (HIT) solutions. This is a missed opportunity, as their unique experiences and insights are crucial for choosing tools that truly support optimal patient outcomes and efficient workflows.
The traditional equation links productivity solely to direct patient care, making it difficult to allocate dedicated time for nurse involvement in HIT selection. However, this perspective overlooks the immense value nurses bring beyond bedside tasks. Imagine bringing together nurses and engineers for regular, focused discussions, not for weeks on end, but perhaps in collaborative sessions designed to leverage their expertise.
Engaging nurses early on allows them to identify pain points and inefficiencies in current workflows, offering valuable input on which features and functionalities would best address them. Their clinical expertise can inform user-friendly design, ensuring HIT solutions are intuitive, logical, and minimize interruptions to patient care. Finally, empowering nurses in the selection process increases their buy-in and fosters a sense of ownership, leading to smoother implementation and higher user satisfaction.
Investing in nurses' involvement in HIT selection isn't a drain on productivity; it's a strategic investment. By leveraging their minds alongside their hands, we can unlock their wealth of knowledge and build HIT solutions that truly work for everyone, optimizing workflows, improving patient care, and building a collaborative healthcare ecosystem.
Karlene Kerfoot is a nurse executive.
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