User-Centered Design Practices to Redesign a Nursing e-Chart in Line with the Nursing Process.

Regarding the user-centered design (UCD) practices carried out at Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires, nursing e-chart user interface was redesigned in order to improve records' quality of nursing process based on an adapted Virginia Henderson theoretical model and patient safety standards to fulfil Joint Commission accreditation requirements. UCD practices were applied as standardized and recommended for electronic medical records usability evaluation. Implementation of these practices yielded a series of prototypes in 5 iterative cycles of incremental improvements to achieve goals of usability which were used and perceived as satisfactory by general care nurses. Nurses' involvement allowed balance between their needs and institution requirements.

Computerization of a Nursing Chart According to the Nursing Process.

The benefits associated with the computerization of clinical records are known since a long time ago. Documentation evolution from paper to electronic format aims to always improve communication, reduce errors and facilitate continuity of care. Ideally when improvements to nursing records are contemplated, they should consider the nurses needs, new functionality workflow impacts and correspondence with representation models of standardized data that are specific to their domains practices. The aim of this study was to describe the development and implementation of computerized nursing record at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires.

Changing Educational Paths in an Informatics Course According to the Needs and Expectations of Nursing Degree Students.

Informatics education in the nursing career varies in each curriculum, and directly impact in training and future development of nurses in the professional field. While the proposed curriculum is based on essential minimum content for professional training, it was necessary to update it according to current technological development, considering the different profiles of students and practice settings, labor and academia. The pedagogical proposals were redesigned in two informatics courses of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. We adapted the curricula tailored on prior knowledge, educational path and needs of the students identified and made explicit by them at the beginning of the courses. At the end of the courses, the students surveyed said that the changes were appropriate.

Evaluating the Feasibility of Using Mobile Devices for Nurse Documentation.

The use of electronic health records (EHR) has changed the quality of clinical documentation and improved quality of patient assistance, allowing better communication between health professionals and increased data recording that helps the nursing assistance process. The use of mobile devices for compiling data at the assistance moment has increased, and more studies have demonstrated its usefulness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of mobile devices in the nursing staff of the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, in a pilot test to measure their use and user satisfaction.

Pre-Implementation Study of a Nursing e-Chart: How Nurses Use Their Time.

In clinical practice, nurses perform different activities that exceed direct care of patients, and influence workload and time administration among different tasks. When implementing changes in an electronic nursing record, it is important to measure how it affects the time committed to documentation. The objective of this study was to determine the time dedicated to different activities, including those related to electronic documentation prior to implementing a redesigned nurse chart in an Electronic Health Record at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. An observational work sampling study was performed. Nursing activities observed were categorized as direct care, indirect care, support, non-patient related, and personal activities. During the study, 74 nurses were observed and 2,418 observations were made in the Intensive Care Unit (32.22%), the Intermediate Care Unit (29.57%), and the General Care Unit (38.21%). Nurses' activities included 37.40% of direct care, 41.18% of indirect care, 0.43% support tasks, 11.14% non-related to patient tasks, and 9.77% personal activities. The results allow for the estimation of the impact of a nursing e-chart on nurses' activities, workflow and patient care.