Nursing Informatics- Computerized Management System
Joy Rivera
Western Governors University

Nursing Informatics- Computerized Management System
Using a computerized management system can improve the quality of the healthcare system. This EMR for is used throughout the healthcare spectrum throughout the world. There are a many errors that are averted through this system. Minimizing medication errors, decreasing handwriting interpretation errors, and eliminating missing charts are increasing the quality of care. Time management for nurses is a skill needed to increase the quality of care. Nurses taking report during change of shift do not need to decipher what the previous nurse has written. Reading the EMR eliminates the need to “guess” what is written. The physicians use the EMR to input orders to be carried out. This eliminates improperly written orders. Reducing errors and decreasing unneeded tests increase the quality of care for the patient. The Electronic MAR, medication administration record, will show what medications are ordered and due. Using the Electronic MAR, will notify staff of any allergies or drug interactions that the patient may have with regard to the medications ordered. The EMR will notify the nurse and physician if there are overdue orders or new orders by using color codes on the screen. Red would mean an overdue order or maybe a yellow would be a new order that was just entered and olive being orders that already have been done. Lost charts are eliminated. All the charts are archived in the EMR system sorted by the dates. The Chart can be accessed one person at a time. This system can be seen over a secure Internet system on any computer within that network.
We as nurses are patient advocates. We do what we can to do what is best for our patients. The nurses will be using this system frequently. They have to be a part of the implementation of the EMR system. The nurse on the team will be accessing the EMR frequently throughout the day and night. They will be able to give some insight to help to increase the quality of care for the patients with regard to the workflow of the EMR. The nurses will be able to give some input to help with time management and workflow between systems. They will be able to decipher which one will work best for the other nurses. Having a nurse as a super user will help support the fellow staff to be more receptive the new system.
Handheld devices in the healthcare setting would help with time management. It would help save time and the charting would be more accurate. The staff would have immediate access to patient information. The nurses would know if he/she had new orders or lab results. Paper charting would need to be reviewed throughout the shift to look for the results as well as new orders. With the hand held devices, the nurse would have more time to be with the patient at the bedside, which in turn increase patient satisfaction.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) protect the privacy of individually identifiable health information, which was initiated in 1996. (http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/index.html) This act necessitates that all the information, electronic or written, are protected from unlawful viewers. The EMR has more strict standards than the paper charts. The reason for the more stringent standards is because of the files, which are computer centered. The users for the EMR would have their own distinctive log on name and password, which is not shared with anyone else. Firewall protection has to be used to avoid hacker from accessing the information. Access to patient information from anywhere has to have a secure server. Storage for the patient files need to be encrypted for security reasons as they are being transferred to another database.
Obtaining an EMR can be costly. In order to rationalize the cost, the hospital must understand the ways the EMR can save money. Less time will be wasted by the nursing staff