The information age: influencing practice and academic environments

Technologic forces are transforming both the nursing profession and nursing education. How will these changes affect nurses? What is at stake? As society moves to an information economy, one's value will be determined by the ability to access and use information (knowledge).

Technology: nursing the system. Technology and the potential for entrepreneurship

Many nurses are stepping beyond the boundaries of traditional practice and creating their own business or service centers. New entrepreneurial opportunities include working on computer-based patient records, providing consulting services, developing policies and more. Getting involved--joining informatics groups, taking classes--is the first step.

CIOs and trends in health care computing

What are the chief information officers thinking? The 1997 Health-care Information and Management Systems Society/Hewlett Packard Leadership Survey gives us a glimpse. The study's results involving information technology present some ambitious plans.

Point-of-care technology: a new perspective

Technology advances transform the staff nurses' work processes. Most importantly, however, they provide the potential to help nurses do what they've always wanted to do--spend more time with the patient, delivering nursing care. The nurse who has the tablet personal computer or "cart" computer right at hand can capture all the information that needs to be captured. Thus, the nurse executive has a greater body of automated information and data upon which to make managerial decisions.

Finally, a central place to evaluate nursing systems

Nurses now have a central place to check standards and evaluate systems. The Nursing Information and Data Set Evaluation Center develops, disseminates and evaluates nursing practice sets used by vendors. This center, established by the American Nurses Association, ensures that interventions and outcomes related to nursing diagnosis are appropriate and accurate.

The Nursing Management Minimum Data Set initiative needs you!

The Nursing Management Minimum Data Set, as established by the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) in partnership with researchers from the University of Iowa, focuses its data management efforts in three primary areas: nursing environment, nurse resources and financial resources. These categories are organized into identifiable key data elements that can then be accessed easily by computer for quick analysis.

Technology vendors: how to get what you really want

Influencing vendors to satisfy the institution's needs is paramount to success. When defining your system's vision, work with the vendor; share the larger picture. Guidelines to influence a vendor or consultant are provided.

Including nursing in medical outcomes research

Standardization efforts are going a long way to improve the quality of medical outcomes research, yet is nursing represented? Nursing's contributions to patient outcomes must be assessed properly and included in medical outcomes research.

Take advantage of managed care opportunities

Looking at the positive outcomes of managed care emphasizes the opportunities specific to nursing: continuum of care, critical pathways and patient education. With advanced information systems and managed care, nurses can demonstrate how models of preventive care, patient education and self-care should be set up and managed.

State regulation in a world of "boundary-less" technology

Today's technology links health care providers and patients across town, in the next state or even another country. Nursing across state lines poses complications: state-bound regulatory and licensure issues.

To your computer, the world really will end soon

As the year 2000 approaches, we see it as a time filled with great promise. Our computer sees it as the year 1900. Systems will begin to fail as date-sensitive materials start to clog the works. Are existing lines of code being rewritten or is a new calculator-application being plugged into your computer system to handle the situation?

Security threats are usually an inside job

Although most health care providers fear the unnamed backer, the real risk of computer security danger lies in the hands of seemingly innocuous or harmless individuals within the institution. Creating information security from the inside out is the key to ensuring privacy and confidentiality.

Wireless communications: a new frontier in technology

Within the last 5 to 10 years, health care has seen a plethora of "breakthrough" technologies--client/server computing, multitasking, multi-user operating systems, E-mail, CD-ROM data storage, the Internet, etc. Now, a newer technology is coming of age. This point-of-care technology uses radio-based systems to transmit signals through the air without physical connections.

What we have here is a failure to communicate

Implementing large-scale information system (IS) projects can be challenging; projects can get bogged down with technical and logistical details. Yet, the biggest threat is a communication style that does not meet the needs of the team involved.

Agreement on nursing terminology: the key to technology-based outcomes management

Automated technology is critical to the efficient and effective documentation and aggregation of outcomes data. Although the technology exists to accomplish this, it is impeded by the lack of agreement within the nursing community about outcomes-related terminology. To be measured, outcomes must be codified, referring to consistent expression and definition of outcomes. This goal has not yet been reached in nursing. Minimum data sets have been established for nursing, and work is under way to develop the related terms. The development of terms will be accelerated by mapping, in which like terms are grouped (or mapped) together to indicate the same meaning.

Protecting nursing's interests: negotiating with vendors

When making technology system selections or upgrades, nurse executives are expected to negotiate with vendors as well as the CIO and department directors. Guidelines to use at the bargaining table are given.

Back to basics--Part 2: common technology terms

Technology will continue to change and adapt at a furious pace. Nobody expects nurse executives to be high-tech gurus. However, understanding the general principles behind many of the technological tools today can help.

Back to basics--Part I: System selection

Technology management involves continually making decisions about upgrades, changes or adjustments. Suggestions for managing the process of system selection and ongoing technology management are given.

Managing the social and behavioral impact of technology change

When business-critical systems fail, most people look at the technological reasons. Yet, studies report the problem may be the people using the system. Social and behavioral reengineering of clinical work processes and work flows must involve key clinicians.

Formic acid inhalation injury: a case report

We report a case in which a patient sustained an inhalation injury as a result of aerosolized formic acid. The patient sustained a partial-thickness burn to the face from a chemical spray; however, as a result of aerosolization, he also inhaled formic acid. This resulted in a reversible pulmonary chemical injury. Inhalation of formic acid results in a reactive airway dysfunction syndrome--a common response to inhalation of an occupational irritant.

A guide on integrating clinical information

Clear action plans can guide nurse executives toward creating an integrated clinical environment. A guide identifies how each environment is affected by changing delivery models.