Chapter 14: Health Information Technology and Digital Communication

Question 1

What have HIT and social media introduced?

Answer 1

new ways of communicating in healthcare systems and the nursing practice

Question 2

what must nurses be aware of within HIT?

Answer 2

personal and professional abilities associated with digital communication (email and social media)

Question 3

what should the individual and collective voices of nurses at all levels have?

Answer 3

major influence on development of technology associated with patient care

Question 4

challenges of HIT

Answer 4

implementation, standardization, utilization, and patient safety

Question 5

what are fundamental communication skills related to?

Answer 5

success of failure of any health information technology system

Question 6

what are two important health information technology systems that nurses will utilize?

Answer 6

electronic medical records and bar code medication

Question 7

what are electronic medical records? (EMRs)

Answer 7

Contain a patient’s medical history from a particular hospital,
outpatient, or home health facility, with sections for nurses’ notes,
doctors’ orders, laboratory results, and so on

Question 8

potential benefits of EMR’s

Answer 8

-better tracking of patient information over
time
-easy identification of a patient’s need for screening
-prevention measures

Question 9

barriers of EMR’s

Answer 9

• financial
• technical
• time
• psychological, social, legal, organizational, and change process

Question 10

additional concerns about patient safety with EMR’s

Answer 10

poor human-computer interactions and loss of info.

Question 11

what is bar code medication administration (BCMA)?

Answer 11

utilizes bar-coded medication doses, patient identification bracelets, and nurse staff badges to facilitate the five rights of medication administration (Gooder, 2011, para. 7).

Question 12

what are the five rights

Answer 12

• right patient
• right medication
• right dose
• right time
• right route

Question 13

potential benefit of BCMA

Answer 13

significant reduction in medical errors

Question 14

major concern of BCMA

Answer 14

dissatisfaction and frustration of nurses using the system, resulting in workarounds or shortcuts

Question 15

for the implementation of any health information technology to be successful…

Answer 15

• stakeholders engaged in design and implementation
• opportunities for feedback loops
• team members share, help, and solve; manage conflict
• move from silo mentality to multidisciplinary perspective

Question 16

what are workarounds?

Answer 16

alternative process that does not follow protocols or policies

Question 17

when do workarounds occur?

Answer 17

when staff members have problems with new processes or equipment but have no channels for having those issues addressed in an effective or timely manner

Question 18

what is the ultimate result of workarounds?

Answer 18

they undermine the safe practices that the technology is intended to ensure

Question 19

how can workarounds be discouraged?

Answer 19

ongoing and timely feedback loops must be cultivated in the design, implementation, and quality improvement processes

Question 20

what is telenursing?

Answer 20

any nursing practice that takes place over the phone, through electronic communication such as email and text, or through any virtual medium that provides live video streaming

Question 21

benefits of telenursing

Answer 21

• cost-effective care for p’s at home or in rural areas

- elimination of barriers associated with time zones

Question 22

what must nurses be cognizant of?

Answer 22

the differences between face-to-face or video dialogue vs. strictly electronic communication

Question 23

roles of digital communication in the healthcare environment

Answer 23

• nurses can text colleagues (quick communication)
• immediate access to info, treatment guidelines, or patient teaching materials
• online forums for common interests
• blogging and twitter let nurse send out message

Question 24

nurse responsibility in social media

Answer 24

maintain patient privacy

Question 25

who can nurses share info with?

Answer 25

other healthcare professionals also caring for patient or those patient has authorized to disclose info to

Question 26

professional demeanor

Answer 26

Maintaining a respectful presence online