Objectives: Describe the role of the clinical informaticist (CI) in securing new technology to enable healthcare transformation. List three tactics implemented by the CI which support technology redesign to optimize patient outcomes.

Purpose: Evidence reveals the importance of ambulation during labor, as it can reduce the duration and decrease the likelihood of operative delivery (Sundin & Johnson, 2019). Nursing leadership at an academic, community Magnet® hospital identified that five network labor and delivery units varied in their fetal monitoring technology. A capital need for standardized, wireless fetal monitor devices was a priority to provide optimal care for laboring patients. This presentation details an initiative highlighting interprofessional collaboration, inclusive of clinical informatics stakeholders, to ensure best practices in system design/functionality and quality improvement for intrapartum patients.

Description: In March 2022, nurse leaders collaborated with the organization’s clinical informatics team to identify potential wireless fetal monitor vendors and equipment, create an implementation plan, and develop processes to integrate new wireless fetal monitoring technology into current workflows. A clinical informaticist (CI) assisted the team by researching potential product vendors. In May 2022, the CI coordinated two vendors’ product demonstrations for the nursing team. Additionally, the CI distributed a survey to labor and delivery unit clinical nursing and nursing leadership teams and conducted a gap analysis to ensure the proposed technology would meet operational needs. The CI and nursing team jointly reviewed the survey results and collaboratively determined the product which would best serve the population’s needs.

To support the initiative, the CI coordinated virtual meetings between current vendor customers and the nursing teams, providing an unbiased perspective on the equipment. Furthermore, CI facilitated operations by developing a chart discussing unit needs and the types of fetal monitors planned for unit implementation. The CI met with the vendor and labor and delivery unit teams to ensure appropriate inventory numbers and obtain product pricing information. Currently, network nurse leaders are securing capital funds to purchase wireless fetal monitors.

Outcomes: This presentation highlights the importance of interprofessional collaboration to enhance patient care in clinical practice. The role of the CI was crucial in creating strategies and workflow redesign for optimizing healthcare technology throughout the continuum of care (Najjar & Shafie, 2022). Future project direction includes continued collaboration to provide product implementation, facilitate vendor communication, and support unit education needs.

References
1) Najjar, R. I. A., & Shafie, Z. (2022). Impact of nursing informatics on the quality of patient care. International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Research Studies, 02(05), 418–421. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijmscrs/v2-i5-19
2) Sundin, C. A., & Johnson, M. L. (2019). Decreasing cesarean rates in nulliparous women. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic &Amp; Neonatal Nursing, 48(3), S32–S33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jogn.2019.04.056

Sofia Bassett MSN, RN

Appearances