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James M. Walker and Pascale Carayon From Tasks To Processes: The Case For Changing Health Information Technology To Improve Health Care Health Affairs, March/April 2009; 28(2): 467-477. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] [Reprints & Permissions]

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Health IT: Effects On Workforce Are Critical

Pamela F. Cipriano   ( 23 March 2009 )

Health IT: Effects On Workforce Are Critical 23 March 2009
Pamela F. Cipriano, Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer University of Virginia Health System Send comment to journal: Re: Health IT: Effects On Workforce Are Critical PFC4N{at}hscmail.mcc.virginia.edu Pamela F. Cipriano	This article makes an important point: that health information technology (IT) should be redesigned to improve patient outcomes, while also reducing costs. They also point out that in order to make this happen, all stakeholders must be involved in the design, integration, and implementation of health IT. The authors could not be more right; all stakeholders -- including nurses, who are the largest health professional group in the United States -- must be integral participants and leaders in the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of health IT systems and devices. The research of the American Academy of Nursing Workforce Commission (of which I am chair) on technology supports the proposition that analysis of work processes must occur to identify the features and functions of technology that will create value-added processes. There needs to be a sea change in how technology is developed and deployed in order to achieve an increase in the amount of time nurses and other providers spend with patients. Additionally, implementing the smart technologies that meet the demands of the patient and the end-user can lead to increases in safety, improved clinical outcomes, and decreases in cost. Congress and the administration are investing a significant amount of money in health IT as a way to improve health care delivery, get better patient outcomes, and save the health care system money. Consequently, this is a critical time for health IT, and we, as a nation, must get it right.