Clinical Input Is Key to Solving Clinical Problems
It’s a critical time for the industry to amplify the nursing experience. Research shows that annual job turnover for registered nurses exceeds 16%. What’s more, new nurses are caring for an aging population with complex conditions and confronting care documentation burdens.
“The more we learn about cognitive load, the more we see the challenges clinicians face by carrying so much information in their heads,” says Dr. Margaret Lozovatsky, chief medical information officer at the American Medical Association and the group’s vice president of digital health innovations.
That’s why Mayo Clinic assembles key stakeholders before building technology, Cognetta-Rieke says: “Technology and informatics can’t solve clinical pain points without clinical input. We need to bring them together from the beginning so we can first deeply understand the problem.”
Tonychris Nnaka agrees. He’s the associate dean for research and associate professor of nursing at UNT Health Fort Worth’s College of Nursing, and he emphasizes the role of establishing a “clear line of partnership” between academic and nursing settings.
“Leading institutions are bringing together biomedical engineers, computational engineers and the clinical arm,” Nnaka says. Collaboration with technology industry, community and government partners is a plus, but it requires commitment from senior leadership.
However, organizations that succeed in bridging gaps, Nnaka adds, are “breeding an environment where these groups can coexist, brainstorm, come up with a viable solution that’s clinically meaningful, and fund it.”
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Tech Adoption Must Meet Business Needs
The process Nnaka describes sets the stage to address one of healthcare’s most pressing challenges: aligning technology with business needs.
“You need clear governance and decision-making structure, and you need to make sure the governance model aligns with your organization’s top strategic initiatives,” Lozovatsky adds.
Organizations should create a problem statement and look for technology that meets that need, notes Kerry O’Brien, senior director of clinical systems at NYU Langone Health. That means asking key questions: Does it support quality, safety and excellence? Does it integrate with clinical workflows? How will it improve the patient experience?
Ambient clinical documentation is one type of technology that has met the brief. Alice Nash, senior director of nursing professional development and clinical outcomes at NYU Langone Health, says it’s more than just facilitating data collection.
“Nurses can do a head-to-toe assessment while also being present. Patients aren’t asking questions from behind a screen, and they can see the nurse’s body language. It’s more inviting and nurturing,” she says.
