Explain why information and technology skills are essential for safe patient care
Seek education about how information is managed in care settings before providing care
Apply technology and information management tools to support safe processes of care
Appreciate the necessity for all health professionals to seek lifelong, continuous learning of information technology skills
Identify essential information that must be available in a common database to support patient care
Contrast benefits and limitations of different communication technologies and their impact on safety and quality
Navigate the electronic health record
Document and plan patient care in an electronic health record
Employ communication technologies to coordinate care for patients
Value technologies that support clinical decision making, error prevention, and care coordination
Protect the confidentiality of protected health information in electronic health records
Describe examples of how technology and information management are related to the quality and safety of patient care
Recognize the time, effort, and skill required for computers, databases, and other technologies to become reliable and effective tools for patient care
Respond appropriately to clinical decision-making supports and alerts
Use information management tools to monitor outcomes of care processes
Use high quality electronic sources of healthcare information
Value nurses’ involvement in design, selection, implementation, and evaluation of information technologies to support patient care
Definition: Use information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision making.
Reproduced from Cronenwett, L., Sherwood, G., Barnsteiner J., Disch, J., Johnson, J., Mitchell, P., . . . Warren, J. (2007). Quality and safety education for nurses. Nursing Outlook, 55(3), 122–131. Copyright 2007, with permission from Elsevier.
Quality and safety education for Nurses As nursing science evolves, it is critical that patient care improves. Sometimes, un- fortunately, patient care is less-than-adequate and is unsafe. Therefore, quality and safety have become paramount. The QSEN Institute project seeks to prepare future nurses who will have the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) necessary to con- tinuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare systems within which they work.
Prelicensure informatics KSAs include the following (QSEN Institute, 2014c):
16 CHAPteR 1 Nursing Science and the Foundation of Knowledge
Graduate-level informatics KSAs include the following (QSEN Institute, 2014b):
INFoRMAtICs
Knowledge skills Attitudes
Contrast benefits and limitations of common information technology strategies used in the delivery of patient care