People, Process, Technology ... in that order

Good evening all, 

I was walking down the street this evening with my AirPods in my ear, and music playing from my phone's Music app that is connected via Bluetooth. All of these technologies supported my preference to listen to a few songs while I ran some errands. When I returned home, I took the AirPods out of my ears, put them in the case, turned the Music app off and put the phone on the counter. The technology is there to use but I opted not to do so for what I wanted to do next (get dinner ready, write this blog post, and more). 

I share this as a simple every day example of how technology is there to support our needs and preferences. Those needs and preferences come from people first in the context of workflows or processes. 

If I did not want or like to listen to music while out, the AirPods and Music app would have limited relevance for me in how I use them. 

In relation to nursing and healthcare, the same concept applies to the technologies that become available for use in the delivery of patient care (individually, aggregately, and administratively). 

Technologies are developed by people and adopted by people (e.g., intended users). 

Ideally, the technologies are developed for the processes (e.g., workflows) that would support the people (e.g., intended users) who need them to effectively complete their work. 

Now, when it comes to implementation and adoption, this is where informatics nurses are able to engage with the people who are the intended users to develop relationships, listen, ask, and answer questions about the new technology(ies) to understand and analyze the current processes for the future state processes that incorporate the technology(ies) in the most effective ways. 

Even if the technology is fabulous, if the people who use it are not able to see how they can use it to make their work better, implementation can occur, but adoption can be challenging for the short and long term. 

Now, there are two additional factors that the National Academy of Medicine have recognized as important forces: the internal organization and the external environment. (See Health IT for Patient Safety report for more on this model). 

However, at a baseline, those who are in roles as super users, subject matter experts (e.g., SMEs), clinical trainers, informatics nurses and/or specialists, clinical analysts, and more, should always aim to understand the people whom they are working to help and the process(es) that need to occur to deliver optimal, high quality care. 

Have a lovely week, 

Tiffany