Health Information Technology Commons^™

Specimen Labeling Improvement Project: Slip, Traci Hoiting

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Blood specimens are labeled at the time of acquisition in order to identify and match the specimen, label, and order to the patient. While the labeling process is not new, it is frequently laden with errors (Brown, Smith, & Sherfy, 2011). Wrong blood in tube (WBIT) poses significant risk. Multiple factors contribute to mislabeling errors, including lax policies, limited technological solutions, decentralized labeling processes, multi-tasking, distraction from the clinician, and insufficient education and training of staff. To reduce blood specimen labeling errors, a large academic medical center implemented an innovative technological solution for specimen labeling that integrates patient identification, physician …

Implementing And Evaluating A Clinical Information Interface Between An Electronic Medical Record And A Patient Classification System, Tanya Osborne-Mckenzie

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

As a result of the Affordable Care Act and the Institute of Medicine’s initiatives, hospitals are challenged to improve outcomes as efficiently as possible. How does the national initiative of RNs partnering with other healthcare professionals to improve the quality of patient care at a lower cost, cascade down to individual organizations? One answer may come by focusing on nurse staffing in acute care hospitals. Considering the impact RNs have on patient quality outcomes and the bottom line of hospitals, appropriate management of the RN workforce is one of the most important areas hospitals can focus on in order to …

Implementation Plan For Emr And Beyond, Lori Katterhagen

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Change is never easy for anyone, but how we implement change can make the difference in how an innovation is accepted. Over the last two years, a small community hospital in California has introduced a new electronic medical record (EMR) to meet the requirements of meaningful use mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) for all hospitals across the United States. EMRs are expected to improve quality in many areas, especially to improve outcomes, while safely reducing costs (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2012). Adoption of EMR’s is not optional, if facilities want to avoid penalties …

The Design, Implementation And Evaluation Of A Technology Solution To Improve Discharge Planning Communication In A Complex Patient Population, Susan M. Manfredi

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Unnecessary delays in discharge planning can extend the length of stay (LOS) and add non-reimbursable days for socially and medically complex patients thereby increasing the financial burden to healthcare organizations. The literature supports enhanced discharge communication strategies and the use of checklists to facilitate safe and timely discharges. Following root cause analyses of significant discharge delays, one hospital identified gaps in communication as key precursors associated with discharge planning breakdown when discharging patients to skilled nursing facilities. Review of these events demonstrated the need for concurrent communication strategies between multidisciplinary care team members in planning for complex discharges.

Following a …

If You Build It They Will Come: Growth Of An Online Community For Intensive Care In Australia, K Rolls, D Kowal, Margaret M. Hansen Edd, Msn, Rn, D Elliott

Nursing and Health Professions Faculty Research and Publications

Rolls, K., Kowal, D., Hansen, M., Group learning and networking are integral to contemporary views of organisational and knowledge management, and learning. Current healthcare structures however create practice silos that promote professional isolation and limit the flow and uptake of knowledge. Computer mediated communication (CMC) technologies transcend time and geography, enabling clinicians to communicate and interact with a broad range of colleagues continuously. This contrasts with traditional approaches to networking that rely on limited personal contacts and/or professional events. In 2003 the NSW Intensive Care Coordination and Monitoring Unit established ‘ICUConnect’, a listserv to network intensive care (IC) clinicians. Initially …