Including the members of the medical personnel in the decision-making process and healthcare transformation is essential since it allows them to participate in medical organization improvement and be aware of the new initiatives. In terms of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC), it is also necessary to engage nurses in every process concerning the IT development of the medical institution. This paper aims to identify the consequences of nurses’ inclusion and non-inclusion.
In the planning and analysis stage, nurses may take part in discussing the benefits and disadvantages of the new healthcare equipment or software. As their responsibilities include direct patient care and the use of technology, the phase of design would be essential for the creation of easy-to-use equipment (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). Non-inclusion of nurses may result in incorrect the ineffective use of IT systems or their malfunction. The implementation stage requires the minimum involvement of nurses because it is associated with technological processes. However, understanding the principles of the equipment or software work may help nurses avoid cases of their misuse. In the stage of testing, the nurses’ involvement allows recognizing the impact of technology on workflow, both clinical and administrative (“Workflow assessment for health IT toolkit,” n.d.). For example, nurses may indicate if the equipment facilitates work or makes it more complicated. For example, the evaluation of time spent on direct patient care may demonstrate the effectiveness of IT technology (AHRQ, 2009). Finally, in the stage of deployment and maintenance, nurses’ non-involvement may lead to incorrect technology implementation and service.
In my nursing practice, I took part in some of the SDLC stages. The phase of the planning was especially significant since nurses could provide clinical data, suggestions, and ideas for improvement, which were used in the technology design. In conclusion, it is possible to say that nurses’ inclusion does not only allow them to contribute to healthcare institution technological development, but also ensures the correct use and maintenance of the system. For example, the knowledge of software and its principles may lead to faster and more effective work. In contrast, if nurses do not take part in the decision-making process, it may result in a lack of medical IT knowledge, incorrect software or equipment use, and less effective patient care.
References
AHRQ. Impact of health IT on nurses’ time spent on direct patient care [PDF document]. (2009). Web.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Workflow assessment for health IT toolkit. (n.d.). Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Web.