NURS 6441: Project Management: Healthcare Information Technology | Week 3

To be most effective at any task, you need the proper tools. Just as expert craftspeople seek the best tools for their trade, project managers seek the best project planning software. Microsoft Project, which was introduced last week, is one of the preeminent project planning applications on the market. Using a program such as this streamlines the planning and tracking of a project and allows you to focus your time on implementation. By gaining a working knowledge of Microsoft Project, you increase your ability to make a valuable contribution to your organization in your role as a nurse informaticist.

This week, you assess your initial proficiency in Microsoft Project.

 

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Assess personal proficiency in Microsoft Project
• Generate a project plan using Microsoft Project

Learning Resources – NURS 6441: Project Management: Healthcare Information Technology 

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

Biafore, B. (2010). Microsoft Project 2010: The missing manual. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly.

• Chapter 3, “Taking Microsoft Project for a Test Drive” (pp. 59–76)In this chapter, the author explores the key features of Microsoft Project 2010 and provides a sample case that gives an overview of the process of creating a working schedule.

Project 2010 articles. (n.d.). Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://www.dotnetheaven.com/category/office-2010/project-2010

This website provides a listing of Microsoft Project 2010 tutorials.

Microsoft Corporation. (2012a). Getting started: Introduction to project management. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/getting-started-introduction-to-project-management-HA010359477.aspx?CTT=3

Review this web page, which provides an overview of basic project management concepts. It also provides links to other pages which demonstrate how to apply the aforementioned concepts in Microsoft Project 2010.

Microsoft Corporation. (2012b). Getting started: Microsoft Project basics. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/getting-started-microsoft-project-basics-HA010355887.aspx?CTT=3

This web page provides guidelines on how to perform basic project management tasks in Microsoft Project 2010. It also provides links to help connect with other Microsoft Project users.

Microsoft Corporation. (2012d). Project management quick reference guide for Project 2010. Retrieved from http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/project-management-quick-reference-guide-for-project-2010-HA010377305.aspx

This web page summarizes the project management process. The website demonstrates how to complete each part of the process in Microsoft Project 2010.

 

Discussion: Microsoft Project Proficiency

In Week 2, you began creating a project plan in Microsoft Project. By now, you should have an idea about your level of comfort in using this software. You have most likely discovered some helpful techniques and may also have an idea of areas in which you could use help. Both your newfound skills and your areas of concern are valuable insights that could assist your colleagues.

In this Discussion, you assess your first experiences using Microsoft Project and exchange tips with your colleagues.

To prepare:

• Think about your initial comfort level in using Microsoft Project. What difficulties did you have? How were you able to move past them?
• Consider new techniques or skills you have developed through your initial use of Microsoft Project.
• Consider which of these skills or techniques might be useful to your colleagues.
• Reflect on any areas of Microsoft Project in which you could use help.

By Day 3

Post an assessment of your level of comfort in using Microsoft Project. Describe a technique or tip you learned through your initial experience with Microsoft Project that might be useful to your colleagues. Specify an area in which you could use help.

By Day 6

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

• Provide recommendations or advice to a colleague who has requested help in a specific area.
• Share how a colleague’s posting assisted you in becoming more proficient with Microsoft Project.
• Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research. NURS 6441: Project Management: Healthcare Information Technology .

 

 

ADDITIONAL INFO 

Healthcare Information Technology

Introduction

Healthcare IT is a sector that has been steadily growing over the past decade. This is because healthcare providers and consumers alike are seeking better ways to manage the growing complexity of their health information systems, while also realizing that they need to be able to access reliable data and make decisions quickly in order to improve patient outcomes. A recent study found that 67% of healthcare executives believe that “the availability of information on cloud platforms” will have an effect on their organization’s ability to respond effectively to changing industry conditions; however, 44% felt little or no effect from this phenomenon so far.”

What is Health Information Technology?

Health information technology (HIT) is the use of electronic health record systems, telehealth, and other digital tools to increase the efficiency and quality of healthcare.

It helps improve patient care by providing better access to health records, reducing errors and improving communication among patients, providers and other health professionals.

HIT can also help hospitals manage their costs more efficiently by reducing duplicate tests or procedures performed on a single patient at multiple facilities across town or state lines.

What are the Benefits of Health Information Technology?

Health Information Technology (HIT) is a rapidly growing field that has many benefits for patients, providers and health systems. It can help to improve the quality of care provided by providing information that helps patients make informed decisions about their treatment options. HIT also enables physicians to more efficiently treat patients in remote locations or when there is a shortage of specialists; it improves patient safety through increased access to patient records; it reduces medical errors by ensuring that critical data sets are available at all times; and finally, it enhances communication between physicians and other members of their staffs or teams as well as between providers inside different institutions.

While these are some of the most obvious ways in which HIT will affect your life as an individual patient or employee within an organization like yours—or even just someone who has access through their job title—there are many less obvious ones too! For example: increased efficiency means saving money on paper costs alone! And remember how much paper waste there was before? Also remember how much time was wasted dealing with those receipts every time they came home from work – now imagine being able to avoid all those things altogether!

Various services offered by Health Information Technology

Healthcare technology is a broad term that refers to the use of information technology in healthcare. It can help doctors and nurses provide better care, improve patient safety, improve the quality of care provided by health professionals, reduce costs and improve efficiency.

• Health Information Technology helps doctors and nurses provide better care:

• When a patient comes into a hospital for treatment, he or she may have a number of symptoms that could indicate serious illness. If this happens frequently enough over time (for example, if you visit your doctor every year), then your doctor may start noticing certain patterns among these visits—and they might be able to use this information to predict what kind of outcome we’re likely to see from future treatments based on those patterns. This type of prediction can help us avoid unnecessary treatments like unnecessary biopsies or procedures when there isn’t really anything wrong with us anymore!

Takeaway:

• Health Information Technology has the potential to improve your experience as a patient, but it also has the power to make your life easier.

• The benefits of using Health Information Technology are obvious: you’ll be able to access medical records and other data more easily, allowing you to make better decisions about your health care.

• Some common services offered by Health Information Technology include:

• Electronic prescription records – This service allows doctors and pharmacists to share their prescriptions with each other electronically so they can provide faster service while avoiding errors in processing orders. This can help keep costs down since there are fewer paper bills involved in this process which means less paperwork for both parties involved; if something goes wrong during transmission (i.e., lost or damaged file), then there won’t be any more issues because all information will be stored digitally instead of physically scattered around town somewhere else besides where I live now!

Conclusion

What is Health Information Technology? The term “health information technology” refers to various technologies that help people access healthcare services. It includes software, hardware and other digital devices used for storing medical data, processing it for analysis and communication purposes with health professionals or patients’ families as well as other stakeholders in the healthcare system.