NR 361 Week 2 Graded Discussion:
Experiences with Healthcare
Information Systems
NR 361 Week 2 Graded Discussion: Experiences with Healthcare Information Systems
Share your experiences with healthcare information systems in the past or present. How
have the needs of a diverse patient population been met by your systems? If you were assigned to
improve the healthcare information systems or electronic health record, what would you suggest to
better meet the needs of all patients and of nurses? Why?
, ANSWER
Response:
According to Silow-Carroll , Edwards, & Rodin (2012), “for an EHR system to be used
successfully, it must be integrated through a well-designed process and into a receptive culture”
(p. 21). In last week’s discussion I shared an experience regarding an incident when Cleveland
Clinic first introduced the ESI department to the EPIC ASAP system. The younger nurses,
including myself, were excited about its arrival. Senior nursing staff was less optimistic. During
an 8-hour EPIC ASAP competency course one senior nurse who had at last 30 years of
experience never returned to class after the lunch break. Even though she asked lots of questions
she had a negative attitude towards the change. That same nurse put in her retirement shortly
after the course and made her exit out 2 weeks before EPIC ASAP went live. Although I believe
having EMR improves the workflow of nurses my own personal challenge has been with barcode
medication administration systems. “The barcode systems are designed to prevent common
medication errors at the bedside, document medication administration, and capture charges”
(Hebda & Czar, 2013, p. 117). I’ve found challenges with scanning medications in rounded vials,
such as insulin. I often feel like patients think I’m incompetent because I sit there trying to
constantly scan a vial repeatedly till the barcode picks up. This can be time consuming, slows
me down, and takes away from my patient care. Not to mention if I acquire two many
medication overrides in the system I run the risk of receiving a written incidental from my nurse
manager. The other challenge I’ve found is that many patients have newer medications that our
organization may not carry. Patients are allowed to bring their own medication for
administration, however, the medication must be verified by the staff pharmacist and a barcode
Experiences with Healthcare
Information Systems
NR 361 Week 2 Graded Discussion: Experiences with Healthcare Information Systems
Share your experiences with healthcare information systems in the past or present. How
have the needs of a diverse patient population been met by your systems? If you were assigned to
improve the healthcare information systems or electronic health record, what would you suggest to
better meet the needs of all patients and of nurses? Why?
, ANSWER
Response:
According to Silow-Carroll , Edwards, & Rodin (2012), “for an EHR system to be used
successfully, it must be integrated through a well-designed process and into a receptive culture”
(p. 21). In last week’s discussion I shared an experience regarding an incident when Cleveland
Clinic first introduced the ESI department to the EPIC ASAP system. The younger nurses,
including myself, were excited about its arrival. Senior nursing staff was less optimistic. During
an 8-hour EPIC ASAP competency course one senior nurse who had at last 30 years of
experience never returned to class after the lunch break. Even though she asked lots of questions
she had a negative attitude towards the change. That same nurse put in her retirement shortly
after the course and made her exit out 2 weeks before EPIC ASAP went live. Although I believe
having EMR improves the workflow of nurses my own personal challenge has been with barcode
medication administration systems. “The barcode systems are designed to prevent common
medication errors at the bedside, document medication administration, and capture charges”
(Hebda & Czar, 2013, p. 117). I’ve found challenges with scanning medications in rounded vials,
such as insulin. I often feel like patients think I’m incompetent because I sit there trying to
constantly scan a vial repeatedly till the barcode picks up. This can be time consuming, slows
me down, and takes away from my patient care. Not to mention if I acquire two many
medication overrides in the system I run the risk of receiving a written incidental from my nurse
manager. The other challenge I’ve found is that many patients have newer medications that our
organization may not carry. Patients are allowed to bring their own medication for
administration, however, the medication must be verified by the staff pharmacist and a barcode
