Discussions response
| Style | APA |
| Number of words | 385 |
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| Spacing | Double |
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Question
Post a thoughtful response to at least two (2) other colleagues’ initial postings. Responses to colleagues should be supportive and helpful (examples of an acceptable comment are: “This is interesting – in my practice, we treated or resolved (diagnosis or issue) with (x, y, z meds, theory, management principle) and according to the literature…” and add the supportive reference. Avoid comments such as “I agree” or “good comment.”
References:
Response posts: Minimum of one (1) total reference: one (1) from peer-reviewed or course materials reference per response.
Words Limits
Response posts: Minimum 100 words excluding references.
Required Resources:
Textbooks Ethics and Issues in Contemporary Nursing (CO 7 & MO g)
Read chapter 10
Articles: How to Identify and Address Unsafe Conditions Associated with Health ITClick here to view the article
Recommended Resources:
Articles:A Technological Approach to Enhancing Patient Safety. Click here to view the article.The Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020. Click here to view the article.Websites: http://www.healthit.gov/sites/default/files/federal-healthIT-strategic-plan-2014.pdf
DISCUSSION ONE
Culture of Safety Related to Health Information Technology
This week’s discussion about the safety-related to health information technology is something we are all probably familiar with. Health care staff use these systems for electronic charting, prescribing of medication, and the use of electronic medication administration records (eMAR). First I will identify the two related IT incidents, talk about the case study on hand and how nurses can establish cultural safety in terms of health IT.
Health information technology is information technology that is applied to health care. The two types of health-related incidents according to the article are the computed related and human-computer related incidents (Wallace et al., 2013, p. 7). Computer-related issues deal with problems of the internet, hardware, software issues, data loss, and security breaches. That of the human-computer issues also deals with issues of human error such as data entry and documentation errors. In the article, the case study described how a medication order was not fully displayed in the eMAR, and a patient was given too much morphine and due to that, it leads to a respiratory arrest (Wallace et al., 2013, p. 13).
The IT incident seen in the case study is a computer-related incident. This is because the data was not displaying properly in the system. The dosage information about how much dosage the nurse can administer to the patient was omitted from the eMAR system. As nurses, we all know how important it is to have the right dose and regularity a patient can take medication. If that information is omitted in any way, it can put a patient’s safety in danger. The patient in this case study suffered respiratory arrest due to a morphine overdose. And I believe some potential consequences from the respiratory arrest can lead to collapsed lungs, blood clots, infection, and possible death.
A nurse leader can establish a culture of safety related to health information technology by attending and participating with care team members in developing and emulate a safety culture. This requires leaders to support and promote safety measures. They must commit to their decisions and behaviors. Leaders must encourage its members to report any error and provide continuous learning programs to avoid such errors from occurring.
In conclusion, it is essential for IT-related issues to be avoided whether it’s computer or human-related. For as to practice a safe culture of health information technology, all needed education materials should be provided and IT workers should try their possible best to build programs that work and where errors can be avoided.
ReferencesWallace, C., Zimmer, K. P., Possanza, L., Giannini, R., Solomon, R., ( 2013 ). Anticipating unintended consequences of health information technology and health information exchange; How to identify and address unsafe conditions associated with health IT.
Sentinel alert event, ( 2017 ). The essential role of leadership in developing a safety culture. Retrieved from jointcommission.org
DISCUSSION 2CULTURE OF SAFETY RELATED TO HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
The implementation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) into our health system has improved patient safety (singh & Sitting, 2016). For instance, at my job when they used to keep records on paper, there were an incidence of medication errors and sometimes part of the records were not found when needed. But after the introduction of the Electronic Health Record, it is easy to access records at any time and anywhere you be present. The system also displays medication due times, physician orders, lab results, assessment data and so. In this week’s discussion, I will be talking about the culture of safety related to health information technology. According to Wallace et al, two IT-related incidents are Human-computer related and computer-related. Under the Human-computer related IT incidents, issues occur between the user and the computer (Wallace et al 2013). Examples of human-computer issues are data entry errors, test results uploaded up wrong patient, inefficient IT user training, and ignored safety alerts (Wallace et al 2013). Under the computer-related IT incidents, issues that occur are related to computer systems and displays, slowing down of network or servers, device malfunctions, out-of-date software, and security breaches or hacks (Wallace et al 2013). The case study “Health IT Event Report Leads to Safety Improvements” is about a cancer patient who had respiratory arrest due to a human-computer and computer-related IT error after the hospital had implemented a new electronic medication administration record (eMAR) system. The patient had an order for both extended-release Morphine and immediate release Morphine and was mistakenly given both medications at the same time when requested for pain medication. After the error was reported to authorities, an investigation was done and together with the Health IT developer the problem that led to giving each medication was resolved (Wallace et al 2013). The type of IT incidents seen in this case study is incorrect data entry and missing data about the medication. Because the order for both morphine was not correctly differentiated in the eMAR, the error for administering both at the same time would not have happened. Also, the staff members did not get enough training with the new eMAR system since their transition from the paper MAR.The potential consequence that could have happened to the patient in the case study was death. The patient was able to survive because the side effect of the morphine was recognized early and was intubated and resuscitated. There should be various protocols to check eMar’s and frequent updates should be encouraged. Nurse leaders can establish a culture of safety related to health IT by implementing a culture of safety such as staff education, providing adequate resources, establishing a protocol for reporting IT issues such as a 24/7 helpline. For instance, at my job whenever orders are placed in the eMAR, the ADON and DON will also verify the order in the system to make sure everything is correct.In conclusion, the implementation of EHRs has enhanced patient care and decrease medical errors such as the one in the case study. It has increased patient safety overall although there are sometimes some glitches. Also, Health IT-related issues can result in patient harm and potentially cause death. Nurses and other healthcare works must also pay attention when entering any data in the EHR so that issues can easily be rectified and will not cause harm to our patients
References
Wallace C, Zimmer KP, Possanza L, Giannini R, Solomon R,(2013) The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology; How to identify and address unsafe conditions associated with health IT. 1-33.Singh, H., & Sittig, D. F. (2016). Measuring and improving patient safety through health information technology: The Health IT Safety Framework. BMJ Quality & Safety, 25(4), 226–232. https://doi-org.proxy.library.ohio.edu/10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004486
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