NURS 5051/6051: Transforming Nursing and Healthcare Through Information Technology | Week 7

Consider a clinical process or task that you perform on a frequent basis. Do you do it the same every time? Why do you proceed the way you do? Habit? Protocol? Each day nurses complete certain tasks that are considered routine, but have you ever stopped to reflect on why things are done the way they are? Perhaps you have noticed areas where there is a duplication of efforts or an inefficient use of time. Other tasks might pass seamlessly from person to person. In order to design the most efficient flow of work through an organization, it is useful to understand workflow and the ways it can be structured for the most optimal use of time and resources.

This week, you examine the concept of workflow and how the design of the workflow impacts the effectiveness and quality of an organization. You analyze a current workflow design and formulate a new workflow design to improve a process.

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Analyze the effect of system design and workflow on health care quality
• Analyze the steps in a current workflow design
• Formulate a new workflow design to improve a process

Learning Resources

Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.

Required Readings – NURS 5051/6051:Week 7: Systems Design and Workflow Assignment

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.

• Chapter 13, “Workflow and Beyond Meaningful Use”This chapter reviews the reasons for conducting workflow analysis and design. The author explains specific workflow analysis and redesign techniques.

Huser, V., Rasmussen, L. V., Oberg, R., & Starren, J. B. (2011). Implementation of workflow engine technology to deliver basic clinical decision support functionality. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(1), 43–61.

In this article, the authors describe an implementation of workflow engine technology to support clinical decision making. The article describes some of the pitfalls of implementation, along with successful and future elements.

Koppel, R., & Kreda, D. A. (2010). Healthcare IT usability and suitability for clinical needs: Challenges of design, workflow, and contractual relations. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 157, 7–14.

This article points to many health information technology designs and workflow decisions that limit their value and usage. The authors also examine the structure of the conceptual relationships between HIT vendors and the clinical facilities that purchase HIT.

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (n.d.b). Workflow assessment for health IT toolkit. Retrieved, June 18, 2012, from http://healthit.ahrq.gov/portal/server.pt/community/health_it_tools_and_resources/919/workflow_assessment_for_health_it_toolkit/27865

This article supplies a toolkit on the planning, design, implementation, and use of health information technology. The sections of the website provide a definition of workflow, examples of workflow tools, related anecdotes, and research.

Document: Sample Workflow of Answering a Telephone in an Office (Word document)

Note: You will use this document to complete this week’s Assignment.

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2012f). System design and workflow. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Discussion: Understanding Workflow Design

As you explored last week, the implementation of a new technology can dramatically affect the workflow of an organization. Newly implemented technologies can initially limit the productivity of users as they adjust to their new tools. Such implementations tend to be so significant that they often require workflows to be redesigned in order to achieve improvements in safety and patient outcomes. However, before workflows can be redesigned, they must first be analyzed. This analysis includes each step in completing a certain process. Some systems duplicate efforts or contain unnecessary steps that waste time and money and could even jeopardize patient health care. By reviewing and modifying the workflow, you enable greater productivity. This drive to implement new technologies has elevated the demand for nurses who can perform workflow analysis.

In this Discussion you explore resources that have been designed to help guide you through the process of workflow assessment.

To prepare:

• Take a few minutes and peruse the information found in the article “Workflow Assessment for Health IT Toolkit” listed in this week’s Learning Resources.
  • As you check out the information located on the different tabs, identify key concepts that you could use to improve a workflow in your own organization and consider how you could use them.
  • Go the Research tab and identify and read one article that is of interest to you and relates to your specialty area.

By Day 3

Post a summary of three different concepts you found in “Workflow Assessment for Health IT Toolkit” that would help in redesigning a workflow in the organization in which you work (or one with which you are familiar) and describe how you would apply them. Next, summarize the article you selected and assess how you could use the information to improve workflow within your organization. Finally, evaluate the importance of monitoring the effect of technology on workflow.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses. Focus particularly on questions raised for which you can add comments based on your experiences or situations. Consider how your colleagues’ postings reflect and/or differ from your own perceptions and opinions. Review the Learning Resources for any clarification needed before responding.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:

• Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, evidence or research.
• Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
• Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own research in the Walden Library.
• Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.
• Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
• Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence. NURS 5051/6051:Week 7: Systems Design and Workflow Assignment

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION;

Discuss effects of system design and workflow on healthcare quality

Introduction

Healthcare systems are complex, and they can have a huge impact on healthcare quality. In this article, we’ll explore some of the ways that workflow affects healthcare quality by looking at how system design and workflow affect your office’s processes.

Effects of system design and workflow on healthcare quality

The system design and workflow of a healthcare organization can impact its ability to meet the needs of patients. This may be due to issues such as:

• Lack of communication between departments

• Poor planning or coordination between departments

• Inefficiency in care delivery

What are the effects of system design and workflow on healthcare quality?

• How workflow affects healthcare quality: The way you design your system and the way it’s implemented is crucial to the success of your organization. If you don’t know what your current business processes look like, then start by finding out how they work in other offices across the country. By working with other healthcare organizations and comparing notes, you can better understand how things are done elsewhere—and learn from their successes as well as their mistakes. You’ll be able to make those changes without having to reinvent the wheel every time!

• What should I do if my workflow isn’t optimal? There are many ways that people use information technology (IT) systems throughout their day-to-day lives; however, some people may not have realized until now just how much impact these systems have had on their lives over time.*

However, we need to understand how the way doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals work can impact quality.

However, we need to understand how the way doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals work can impact quality.

Workflow is the way things are done in a healthcare setting. It’s how patients are treated and procedures are conducted. Workflow can be improved by understanding how it affects healthcare quality; however, there are many factors that affect workflow (e.g., culture). For example:

• Some offices have similar workflows as others because they share similar goals; for example, all offices want to meet patient needs effectively and efficiently so they follow similar processes such as completing paperwork quickly before moving on with other tasks such as seeing new patients or handling phone calls from other departments within their organization.* In addition some organizations may have different policies about which documents should be kept on file at all times – this could lead them

What is workflow?

Workflow is the process of getting a patient from the time they enter a clinic to the time they leave with a diagnosis or treatment plan. It’s different in every office, but some things are similar:

• Workflow takes place at every level of care—from doctors and nurses communicating with each other to patients receiving care from other providers outside your facility.

• The more complex your workflows are (e.g., if there are multiple departments involved), the more difficult it will be for everyone involved to understand what should happen next and when they should do it.

• To improve workflow, you’ll need to understand how it works best so that everyone can make informed decisions about what needs doing when during each step in their workflow process—and then communicate those plans effectively!

Workflow describes the steps that happen between a patient’s need for care and the overall delivery of that care.

Workflow describes the steps that happen between a patient’s need for care and the overall delivery of that care. A workflow can be described in one sentence: “The patient comes in, you ask them some questions about their medical history, then perform an exam and diagnosis.”

Workflow is different in every office because each office has its own unique culture and environment that influences how quickly things move along during an appointment. For example, some offices may have more time devoted to paperwork at each step; others might not even require any paperwork before moving forward with treatment plans or tests. While this may seem like common sense—it’s important to consider how your own culture might affect workflow!

It’s also important to note that while systems design plays a role in determining who gets what treatment based on their individual needs (and thus affects workflow), so does workflow itself: The way we assign tasks within our systems will ultimately determine whether those tasks are completed efficiently enough within those systems’ margins of error so as not cause delays when needed most often.”

Workflow is different in every office. However, some things are similar.

Workflow is different in every office, but some things are similar.

For example, we all need to be able to access our files and report tools from a variety of devices. This includes phones, tablets and laptops. And we also want the ability to share documents with other people within the same department or across departments so that everyone can access them easily.

Workflow can be improved through better communication between members of an organization as well as better understanding of how they use technology at home or on their own devices (like laptops).

How does workflow affect healthcare quality?

How does workflow affect healthcare quality?

Workflow affects healthcare quality by improving the time spent with patients, waiting for patients and waiting for paperwork or lab results. When a patient is seen by their doctor, they will spend less time in the office waiting for the doctor. They can then spend this time at home or going about their daily business. This reduces the amount of money spent on medical care as well as reducing stress levels on both parties involved in care delivery – doctors and patients alike!

If you knew every step of your clinic’s workflow, you could improve it!

The best way to improve workflow is to know what is happening in the clinic. If you knew every step of your clinic’s workflow, you could adjust it to make it better.

You can do this by making sure that all staff members are following the same procedures and using the same tools as they do at other clinics. You should also make sure that every patient has an appointment with a doctor or nurse before they leave the office so that they don’t have to wait around for any longer than necessary—this will save time overall!

Waiting room time

Waiting room time is a big problem for healthcare providers. Waiting room time can be reduced by being more efficient and having the right number of staff on hand. For example, if you have ten patients waiting to be seen, then you will need one nurse per patient and two receptionists working together. This means that they should be able to handle all their duties without getting behind or forgetting any tasks that need doing.

If your hospital has too many patients in its waiting rooms at once (more than twenty), then this could lead to overcrowding or even poor quality care because employees may spend too much time dealing with other people’s needs rather than focusing on providing good service for themselves and others who are waiting for their turn.”

Time spent with doctor or nurse

The time spent with doctor or nurse is an important aspect of healthcare quality. It is one of the key factors that affect patient satisfaction and helps in determining the overall experience. A study conducted by the National Cancer Institute shows that people who had poor experiences with their doctors were less likely to recommend them as a source of care for a friend or family member than those who had better experiences with them.

Time spent in exam room by patient or doctor waiting for paperwork or lab results

• In some offices, the patient can fill out paperwork while they wait in the waiting room. This means that they are not sitting idle while waiting for their paperwork or lab results.

• In other offices, doctors can fill out paperwork while they’re with their patients and get them back in less time.

Paperwork that needs to be filled out by hand instead of electronically (such as at checkout)

• Reducing time spent on paperwork.

• Reducing errors in paperwork.

• Reducing time spent waiting for paperwork to be completed.

• Reducing the need to review or sign off on documents that have already been completed by others (such as doctors or nurses).

Conclusion

Healthcare is a complex and stressful field that can cause patients to lose trust in their doctors, which can lead to poor quality of care and poorer outcomes for both the patient and his or her family. This puts an enormous burden on providers as well; they need to work smarter with fewer resources but also with less time than before.