Information Overload In The NICU

It is no secret that the medical profession deals with some of population’s most valuable records; their health information. Not so long ago there was only one method of keeping medical records and this was utilizing paper charts. These charts, although still used in many practices today, have slowly been replaced by a more advanced method; electronic medical records or EMR’s. “The manner in which information is currently employed in healthcare is highly inefficient, which slows down communication and can, as a result, reduce the emergence and

There are more than 70% of premature babies that are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation a year. When a baby is born early, or born with birth defects, the Neonatal Intensive Care unit is its first home. The nurse’s in the NICU have the difficult job of preparing baby’s and parents for a health life together. A baby who has been put into the NICU will stay there until it is healthy enough to go home.

I am interested in pursuing a career in nursing. A career that really interests me is a neonatal intensive care nurse. This is a type of nurse that works in a neonatal intensive care unit. These nurses often work with infants who were born prematurely, born with birth defects, or infants who are having critical complications during the first month after birth. Infants in the neonatal intensive care unit require constant monitoring and are often being treated for life threatening diseases. According to The National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN) approximately 40,000 infants are born each year in the United States needing specialized NICU care. NICU nurses are always present when a baby is being delivered so they can provide immediate

EMR system documents the examination, diagnosis, and treatment of a patient. This information is vital for the current and

Steele, A. M., & DeBrow, M. (2008). Efficiency gains with computerized provider order entry. In: Henriksen K, Battles JB, Keyes MA, Grady ML (eds) Advances in patient safety: new directions and alternative approaches AHRQ publication no 08–0034-4, vol 4. Technology and Medication Safety Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/advances2/

During the past few shifts, I have been astonished, and thankful about how often the nurses, doctors, and respiratory therapists have been providing me with learning opportunities. I feel this is because they have observed my enthusiasm and willingness to learn. For example, I asked a nurse if I could observe her giving care to a 24-week old preemie with necrotizing entercolitis. This nurse explained, that because of this baby’s immature age, she had to cluster the baby’s cares, and monitor this baby’s oxygen saturation. If the baby was overly stimulated her oxygen saturation would decrease, and the nurse needed to stop working with the baby. This nurse also pulled up a PowerPoint about NEC, so I had a visual of this baby’s condition. She provided me with a NICU parent book, and I read the section about NEC. This nurse said that she gives NICU parents this book to read, so that they have a better understanding about their baby’s condition. This is an awesome education technique that I want to adopt. This is because the parents will hear the diagnosis explained from the doctor and nurse. They may or

EMR concerns are plaguing the health care industry today that requires change. Healthcare professionals, such as nurses, are on the front lines in the defense against medical errors. Closing the gap between current clinical and hospital practices and the various approaches to improving patient safety requires changes that are cultural and systemic in nature. The greatest challenge to hospitals using an EMR system is the expense of the new system, and the challenge nurses face with technology adoption in usage of EMR and protection of records. Even though spending depends on both the hospital size and the technologies were chosen, implementation and installation of a Health Information Technology system, which includes EMR, are often multi-year investments. The transition from a paper-based system to an electronic system is a very complicated process within every hospital establishment. The transformation is time-consuming and involves numerous staff from across the hospital, including Information Technology personnel, physicians, nurses, ancillary providers, etc. Although hospitals work hard at managing the changes required to move toward an electronic environment, there is no guarantee that hospital personnel will properly utilize the expensive new IT system or EMR. Therefore, the training in the EMR integration is required to all medical staff to have an efficient and uncomplicated system.

Databases are in place for improving outcomes of NICU patients such as data warehouse, regional data, and Public Health Information Network (PHIN), and Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). The Pediatrix BabySteps Data Warehouse is an individualized electronic data capture system used for the assessment of neonatal outcomes, exploration of significant research questions in the NICU, and management of quality improvement (CQI) initiatives (Shah, Warre, & Lee, 2013).Enterprise data warehouse (EDW) collects and reports patient data from inpatient and outpatient EMRs and allows integration and analysis of patient records. EDW data is used for clinical decision support, patient care management, and strategic decision-making.

Today’s healthcare is changing, and more hospitals are commencing to go paperless using computers for both medical records and charting. Computers are widely accepted, in personal and professional settings. It is an essential requirement for computer literacy. Numerous advances in technology during the past decade require that nurses not only be knowledgeable in nursing skills but also to become educated in computer technology. While electronic medical records (EMR’s) and charting can be an effective time management tool, some questions have been asked on how exactly this will impact the role and process of nursing, and the ultimate effects on patient safety and confidentiality. In order to

Besides the disadvantages of (EMR)’s the advantages pose great benefits to patient care and efficiency. The greater use of electronic medical records or health records can reduce wait times, of seeing doctors or waiting for test results. All staff would need to cohesively work out the technical challenges and software data. With sophisticated IT

Nowadays we rely heavily on technology from the coffee maker that brews our favorite coffee to smartphones and virtual reality augmentation. The healthcare industry has done the same thing, which is adapting to the evolving technological advancement. I think that information technology helps improve negatives outcomes that are associated with errors - be it life-threatening or not. Yoder-Wise (2015) stated that "information technology entails recording, processing, and using data and information for the purpose of delivering and documenting patient care" (p. 187). I agree with Yoder-Wise (2015) that it requires an accurate and faster processing when dealing with patient information to provide a timely patient care. With the use of eMAR, it

Communication is the key to relating in all environments. When communication lines are broken, it makes take in jobs and personal relationship suffer. In medical environment communication is key in running hospital, nursing home and community care providers. With technology our communication has advanced because now we have electronic medical records. Electronic medical records are a way of providing the medical staff and insurance on the patient health information and insurance coverage. As stated by About.com, “This also provide the doctors away to for individual patients, access to good care becomes easier and safer when

In order for one to understand the risks involved in the use of electronic medical records one needs to understand the meaning behind what it is. An electronic medical record (EMR) is a

Electronic medical records had a great impact in the ushering in of the age of Nursing Informatics. (Himss, 2010)EMRS present healthcare professionals with the ability to retrieve and organize data in a quick and efficient approach. With information so readily available, patient safety increases and we know that patient cost goes down. This happens because patient medications, allergies, history, demographic, and treatment information is more collectively available.

In today’s medical field technology plays a big role when it comes to patient care. Technology is huge when it comes to giving the patient the best type of quality care when they are in the hospital. In the old days people would just write it down on a sheet of paper and record it by hand, which caused mistakes. Now with the Electronic Health Record those mistakes are drastically declining. Statistics have shown that using the Electronic Health Record has lowered Nursing mistakes as well as improved patient care. Our society has progressed through the years and has been introduced with the Electronic Health Record which has drastically improved our health care system. The Electronic Health Record provides great communication between