How to Influence Change in the EHR and/or other Health IT Solutions

Years ago I was speaking to a nurse in direct care about some of the challenges she saw in documenting in the electronic health record (EHR). She looked at me and told me she felt like a glorified data entry specialist. We talked about what small things might make it better. She shared some thoughts but then said, who would I even go to about this? Who is here to help us make it better? 

That memory has sat with me for years. I remember it vividly and it is brought back every time I hear another nurse or healthcare professional discuss something similar. 

As a PhD prepared board certified informatics nurse, I've encouraged nurses and healthcare professionals that they have an ability to influence change in the EHR and/or other Health IT solutions. Some of the comments I've received have been: 

"I don't even know where to even start."

"Who would I even talk to about my ideas?"

"I don't have an informatics or health IT background."

Informatics nurses and clinical IT professionals are typically working on projects to help support change for the benefit of the end users (e.g., clinicians, patients, and more). 

However, these professionals often cannot know all of the areas that could be affecting optimal use for the users. Additionally, there are often just a few individuals for an entire organization. I often hear from informatics nurses who are responsible for the entire organization! 

So what can we do? 

Well, a few months ago, I got to thinking about a way to help nurses and/or health care professionals around this issue in a different way. 

Perhaps you are a nurse and/or health care professional who believes that there is an opportunity to influence change in an electronic health record (EHR) or any other Health IT clinical information system.

 - OR - 

Perhaps you may also be someone who is frustrated with seemingly obvious opportunities to be improved that continue to remain unchanged and take you extra time to complete. Frustration is often a catalyst for change. 

- OR - 

Perhaps you may be someone who wants to focus on your patients but find yourself needing to also focus on the electronic health record (EHR) or Health IT clinical information systems to complete documentation. The split between caring for the patient and caring for the EHR or Health IT system can at times be frustrating and inconvenient. You may see opportunities to improve the way in which you and your colleagues enter, access, and use patient data and information to deliver care. However, you may not know how improvements get made in the EHR or other Health IT clinical information systems.

If any of these situations sound familiar or relatable to you, we at iCare are very close to sharing a new program, How to Influence Change in the EHR and/or other Health IT Solutions, that is meant for you. 

In this program, I will be your guide you through 10 lessons that can offer small but impactful steps to influence change within an EHR and/or other Health IT clinical information systems to benefit your data and/or workflow needs. 

Using insights from my near 20 years of hands on experience in this field, I will be sharing how you too can make a difference and perhaps even find yourself interested in learning more about the specialty nursing practice of informatics. 

Additionally, this program is designed specifically for those who do not have an informatics or health IT background. I will guide you through the parts you will need to know and who to go to to get that informatics and/or health IT expertise. 

We are currently putting the finishing touches on this program which will be released very soon. 

Stay tuned for how to enroll and become a catalyst for positive change in your healthcare environment!

Looking forward to working with you soon,

Tiffany

Tiffany Kelley PhD MBA RN

Founder & CEO 

iCare Nursing Solutions LLC