Patient outcomes and the fulfillment of care goals is one of the major ways that healthcare success is measured. Measuring patient outcomes results in the generation of data that can be used to improve results. Nursing informatics can have a significant part in this process and can help to improve outcomes by improving processes, identifying at-risk patients, and enhancing efficiency. RESOURCES Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity. Click the weekly resources link to access the resources. WEEKLY RESOURCES To Prepare: Review the concepts of technology application as presented in the Resources. Reflect on how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence may help fortify nursing informatics as a specialty by leading to increased impact on patient outcomes or patient care efficiencies. The Assignment: (4-5 pages not including the title and reference page) In a 4- to 5-page project proposal written to the leadership of your healthcare organi
Patient Outcome(S) or Patient-Care Efficiencies This project is aimed at Improving
This initiative uses a digital medication management system to enhance patient outcomes and healthcare efficiency. Medication safety is one patient outcome that could be enhanced. The barcode scanning feature enables nurses to precisely match the medication to the patient and guarantee that the proper dosage is given (Ye, 2023). By doing this, medication mistakes like giving a patient the incorrect dosage or drug would be avoided. Further, increasing patient safety would be the system’s real-time alerts for possible drug interactions or allergies that could assist in averting adverse drug occurrences.
Medication reconciliation is another area of patient care that could be more efficient. The software would alert nurses and pharmacists to check the patient’s current drug list against the doctor’s prescriptions. Doing so could spot any errors or omissions from the drug list and ensure the patient takes the right ones. As an illustration, if a patient were hospitalized with an established medication schedule, the system would notify the medical staff if any prescribed pills were missing from the orders, preventing gaps in medication therapy. In addition to improving the patient’s overall effectiveness of drug management, this would increase coordination and communication among healthcare practitioners.
Technologies Required to Implement this Project
Several technologies would be needed to implement the suggested computerized medication management system. The first thing needed would be barcode scanning technology. With this technology, medical professionals may rapidly and precisely scan the barcodes on medications and compare them to the patient’s electronic drug administration record (eMAR). Medication mistakes brought on by misidentification or incorrect human entry are eliminated by barcode scanning (Kelly, 2023). It guarantees that the appropriate medication is given to the appropriate patient at the appropriate time, enhancing patient safety and the effectiveness of medication delivery.
Integration of electronic health records (EHR) is also significant. The organization’s current EHR and digital drug management systems should work together without any issues. Thanks to this integration, the medication management system, and the patient’s health record can communicate and exchange information in real-time. For safe medicine administration, it enables fast access to prescription histories, allergies, and other crucial patient data. The EHR integration also makes it easier to automatically record medication administration, eliminating the need for manual charting and helping healthcare professionals save time. Finally, the system has to handle real-time notifications and alarms. With the help of this technology, potential drug interactions, allergies, and other crucial information are communicated to healthcare practitioners at the point of care with warnings and prompts. By enabling quick intervention and the proper medication modifications, real-time warnings help to reduce medication errors and adverse drug events (Fossouo Tagne et al., 2022). These warnings can be sent via several channels, such as desktop notifications, mobile device notifications, or clinical decision support system integration. Real-time alerts boost patient safety, clinical decision-making, and effectiveness of drug management.
Overall, the digital medication management system would improve patient safety, increase the effectiveness of medicine delivery, and streamline medication management procedures by integrating barcode scanning technology, EHR connection, and real-time notifications. These innovations offer precise and fast information, lower the chance of mistakes, and improve provider collaboration and communication. Healthcare organizations can enhance medicine administration and, as a result, improve patient outcomes by utilizing these technologies.
Project Team (by Roles) and Incorporating the Nurse Informaticist in the Project Team
Nurses, doctors, pharmacists, IT experts, and administrators will be included on the project team to establish the digital drug management system. The nurse informatician would play a significant part in the project team. Their area of expertise is the confluence of technology and nursing practice. They would help by sharing their knowledge of clinical workflows, pointing out areas for development, and making sure the system complies with the requirements of the nursing staff and patient care. During the system design and implementation phase, the nurse informaticist would work with nurses, doctors, and pharmacists to solicit their ideas and comments. They would also be crucial in instructing and preparing the nursing staff to u