Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle NURS 5051

Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle NURS 5051

Healthcare organizations are moving more and more towards acquiring or upgrading electronic information systems in a process usually termed as systems development life cycle (SDLC). One of the most preferred strategies in the SDLC process is user involvement. Nurses make up the largest portion of care providers in healthcare facilities across the world and as such, are the majority of end-users for such information systems (McBride & Tietze, 2018). This makes the participation of nurses in the SDLC process crucial and vital. In order to provide safer and efficient care, nurses should be involved in the acquisition and upgrade of health information systems.

The first step of the SDLC process involves planning for and determining the feasibility and usability of the system. Exclusion of nurses from this process may

Discussion The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle NURS 5051

lead to the creation of information delivery processes and procedures that are unclear or faulty (Wang et al, 2019).  This will further complicate the entire patient-care process that the system is designed to solve in the first place. Secondly, the IT staff may not understand how to analyze the system’s efficiency. This may hinder the ability of end-users to utilize the system. Nurses must, therefore, be fully involved in this step given their understanding of the healthcare system.

The third step is the actual designing of the system. This is perhaps the most crucial step given that the structure of the system determines the overall efficiency of the healthcare delivery process. Exclusion of nurses will undermine the implementation success of the entire system given the fact that if they do not understand it, they may not use it, to begin with (Lin, 2017). For instance, incorporation of hospital standard operating procedures into the system is best done through input from nurses and nurse managers. The implementation of the system, as well as monitoring and evaluation of its performance, is best done with feedback from its end-users. The inclusion of nurses will also help in the maintenance of the system as they give input on the different adjustments to be made with time or how to fill any gaps.

References

Lin, H. C. (2017). Nurses’ satisfaction with using nursing information systems from technology acceptance model and information systems success model perspectives: a reductionist approach. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 35(2), 91-99.

McBride, S., & Tietze, M. (2018). Nursing informatics for the advanced practice nurse: patient safety, quality, outcomes, and interprofessionalism. Springer Publishing Company.

Wang, J., Gephart, S. M., Mallow, J., & Bakken, S. (2019). Models of collaboration and dissemination for nursing informatics innovations in the 21st century. Nursing Outlook, 67(4), 419-432.

Discussion: The Inclusion of Nurses in the Systems Development Life Cycle NURS 5051

According to the media introduction to this module, you, as a nurse, play a critical role in the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC). Nurses may not always view themselves as contributors to the development of new systems due to their focus on patient care and outcomes. However, as you may have observed in your own experience, leaving nurse contributions out of system implementation can have dire consequences.

In this Discussion, you will consider the role you might play in systems development and the ramifications of not being an active participant in systems development.

To Prepare:

Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) as presented in the Resources.
Reflect on your own healthcare organization and consider any steps your healthcare organization goes through when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system.
Consider what a nurse might contribute to decisions made at each stage of the SDLC when planning for new health information technology.
By Day 3 of Week 9

Post a description of what you believe to be the consequences of a healthcare organization not involving nurses in each stage of the SDLC when purchasing and implementing a new health information technology system. Provide specific examples of potential issues at each stage of the SDLC and explain how the inclusion of nurses may help address these issues. Then, explain whether you had any input in the selection and planning of new health information technology systems in your nursing practice or healthcare organization and explain potential impacts of being included or not in the decision-making process. Be specific and provide examples.

By Day 6 of Week 9

Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, by offering additional thoughts regarding the examples shared, SDLC-related issues, and ideas on how the inclusion of nurses might have impacted the example described by your colleagues.

*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 9 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 9

To participate in this Discussion:

Week 9 Discussion

Portfolio Assignment: The Role of the Nurse Informaticist in Systems Development and Implementation

Assume you are a nurse manager on a unit where a new nursing documentation system is to be implemented. You want to ensure that the system will be usable and acceptable for the nurses impacted. You realize a nurse leader must be on the implementation team.

To Prepare:

Review the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and reflect on the scenario presented.
Consider the benefits and challenges associated with involving a nurse leader on an implementation team for health information technology.
The Assignment: (2-3 pages not including the title and reference page)

In preparation of filling this role, develop a 2- to 3-page role description for a graduate-level nurse to guide his/her participation on the implementation team. The role description should be based on the SDLC stages and tasks and should clearly define how this individual will participate in and impact each of the following steps:

Planning and requirements definition
Analysis
Design of the new system
Implementation
Post-implementation support
Use APA format and include a title page and reference page.
Use the Safe Assign Drafts to check your match percentage before submitting your work.
By Day 7 of Week 10

Submit your completed Role Description.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK10Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
Click the Week 10 Assignment Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
Click the Week 10 Assignment link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.
Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK10Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.
Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 10 Assignment Rubric

Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:

Submit your Week 10 Assignment draft and review the originality report.

Submit Your Assignment by Day 7 of Week 10

To participate in this Assignment:

Week 10 Assignment

Next Module

To go to the next module:

Module 6

Module 6: Policy and Regulation Supporting Informatics and Technology Integration (Week 11)

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Policy and Regulation [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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Learning Objectives

Students will:

Evaluate legislative policies and regulations for health and nursing informatics
Create fact sheets for health and nursing informatics
Analyze impact of legislative policies and regulations for clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflows
Evaluate healthcare organizational policies and procedures to address legislative policies and regulations
Due By
Assignment
Week 11, Days 1–2
Read/Watch/Listen to the Learning Resources.
Begin to compose your Assignment.
Week 11, Days 3-4
Continue to compose your Assignment.
Week 11, Day 5
Deadline to submit your Assignment.

Learning Resources

Required Readings

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Chapter 8, “Legislative Aspects of Nursing Informatics: HITECH and HIPAA” (pp. 145–166)

American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2018). MACRA/MIPS: The transition from fee-for-service to quality-based reimbursement. Retrieved from https://www.aanp.org/legislation-regulation/federal-legislation/macra-s-quality-payment-program

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (n.d.). MACRA. Retrieved January 18, 2019, from https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality-initiatives-patient-assessment-instruments/value-based-programs/macra-mips-and-apms/macra-mips-and-apms.html

HealthIT.gov. (2018a). Health IT legislation. Retrieved from https://www.healthit.gov/topic/laws-regulation-and-policy/health-it-legislation

HealthIT.gov. (2018b). Meaningful use and MACRA. Retrieved from

https://www.healthit.gov/topic/meaningful-use-and-macra/meaningful-use-and-macra

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Laws & Regulations. Retrieved September 27, 2018, from https://www.hhs.gov/regulations/index.html

Required Media

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). Health Informatics & Population Health Analytics: Privacy, Security, and Ethics [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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