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How EHRs Help Nurses Balance Care Planning

how ehrs help nurses balance care planning ehr

May 6-10 in National Nurses Week. Going on 18 years, the nursing profession has exhibited the highest levels of honesty and ethical standards as ranked by Gallup poll.

It's clear that nurses have, and will continue, to play an integral role in promoting care quality across the industry. However, the demand for trained care professionals, especially in the areas of nursing, continues to be a critical issue.

An aging patient population – which includes a retiring nurse demographic – has contributed heavily to continued shortages for care providers. Healthcare initiatives like expanding full-practice authority and redirecting a focus on community-based care have helped address demand. Providers may also want to take a look at how healthcare technologies can play a role in attracting and empowering these essential care providers.

The Importance of a Nursing Plan of Care

Practicing nurses are constantly dealing with rising job demands and patient volumes. It is critical that nurses have access to supportive resources that allow them to spend less time on-screens and more time at bedsides.

For the gaps human resources can’t fill, nurses often need to rely on technologies that help inform their core evidence-based practices (EBP). The EBPs nurses rely on can change at any time and follow along the lines of:

  • Assessments
  • Nursing Diagnosis
  • Planning
  • Implementation
  • Evaluation

While each stage is of equal importance, the planning of care is an essential task. A clear plan of care enables nurses to perform their duties with both competence and compassion. A properly built, monitored, and executed plan of care can also help nurses balance outside pressures with the promise of delivering patient-centered care.

Even when patients are fighting the same ailment, they may respond differently to care plans. Because of the fluidity of nursing diagnosis, treatments, and responses, a nursing plan of care can often require a change of course. Managing changes to a patient's care plan requires intuitive systems like an EHR that can effectively facilitate such an at-flight science.

New technologies that create new care workflows are an area where time away from the hospital may pose distinct challenges. However, comprehensive onboarding for both new and previously retired nurses on a properly implemented EHR can be an effective solution when executing a plan of care.

EHR Nurse Plan of Care Musts

The demands put on a nurse require a high level of mobility and multitasking while maintaining compassion and attentiveness.

Plans of care and the tools used to generate and manage them should function in ways that allow nurses to spend their time in more meaningful ways.

An EHR solution should include these core characteristics to help nurses balance care planning and external pressures with patient-centered care.

  1. Customization to hospital workflows
  2. Integration with other healthcare data technologies
  3. Integration with patient engagement tools
  4. In-assessment care plan notifications
  5. Intuitive alerts and visual indicators
  6. Timed worklists and built-in nurse support systems
  7. Clearly marked documentation prompts
  8. Straightforward data fields

The nurses on the MEDHOST team who work as managers, product specialists, trainers, etc. understand the creed: “You never stop being a nurse.” Nursing remains an intricate practice with many moving parts that can often pull nurses away from their core duties, especially during unexpected emergencies or disasters.

When longer shifts and higher patient volumes can take a toll on the mental and physical endurance of nurses, technology can help give them back the time and energy needed to spend towards patients. Healthcare IT should minimize time on screens and maximize time with patients in all situations.

To learn more about how MEDHOST helps hospitals and their clinicians effectively deliver patient-centered care, promote positive outcomes, and increase patient satisfaction, email inquiries@medhost.com or call 1.800.383.6278.

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