Usability: the ease with which people can use an interface to achieve a particular goal. issue of human performance during computer interactions for specific tasks within a particular context. which deals with specific issues of human performance during computer interactions for specific tasks within a particular context. usability issues address the efficiency and effectiveness of an application. For example:
- the ease of learning an application
- the ease of using an application
- satisfaction with using
- efficiency of use
- error tolerance
- fit of the system to the task
- the speed of task completion and errors that occurred during application use when determining which system or application would be best used on a nursing unit.
- Heuristic Evaluation = discount usability evaluation method: to detect problems early in the design process, when they can be most easily and economically corrected.
- Formal usability test: use either experimental or observational studies of actual users using the interface to accomplish real-world tasks.
Ergonomics: the design and implementation of equipment, tools, and machines related to human safety, comfort, and convenience. commonly refers to attributes of physical equipment or to principles of arrangement of equipment in the work environment.
Scope refers to all the work involved in creating the products of the project and the processes used to create them. and Project scope management includes the processes involved in defining and controlling what work is or is not included in the project.
the nurse informatician may be involved in analyzing the business process models of the “to be” system and producing a graphic depiction such as — a data flow diagram— a data flow diagram focuses on the processes or activities to be performed
The essence of leadership is the leader’s ability to –get people to work together
During the analysis phase of the systems development life cycle, the nurse informatician (NI) will often develop use case diagrams. The NI understands that a key element of the diagram is the –external trigger for an event— use cases depict activities performed by the system in response to an external trigger.
behaviors of an effective leader include: developing oneself and others
although an information system may be replaced, which of the following answer best describes the impact on the information system’s life cycle? — the life cycle is an ongoing process that never ends.
An excellent way to keep everyone up to date on the current state of the project is to utilize a large wall to put up a “paper timeline.”. A visual plan helps keep everyone on track and understand where others are in the project. this also allows the project leader accessibility to the progress at a quick glance.
After the requirements have been gathered, the nurse informatician will work with end users and stakeholders to determine — the ranking based on need for each requirement— not all requirements are “must haves”; some are “optional.” this is very important to understand in systems development.
- motivation to change (unfreezing): dissatisfaction occurs when goals are not met. previous beliefs are brought into question and survival anxiety occurs. sometimes learning anxiety about having to learn different strategies causes resistance that can lead to denial, blaming others, and trying to maneuver or bargain without real change.
- Desire to change (unfrozen): dissatisfaction is strong enough to override defensive actions and desire to change is strong but these must be coupled with identification of needed changes.
- Development of permanent change (refreezing): New behavior becomes habitual, often requiring a change in perceptions of self and establishment of new relationships.
There are often unforeseen issues that emerge during the implementation phase of the life cycle. poor communication is considered as a barrier.
Steps to conducting usability studies include:
- Defining purpose
- evaluating constraints such as time, staff, and resources
- refining components based on evaluation of human-computer interaction (HCI) framework, determining each component and to whom or what it applies, including process, determining measures of equivalency, and choosing the setting
- determining emphasis, which may focus on one or more aspects.
- selecting methods, which must match purpose and take account of constraints and HCI
The best reason to switch from a traditional analog telephone system to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is to save money. VoIP converts analog audio signals to digital data, which can be transmitted over the internet, allowing calls anywhere in the world with Internet access, essentially for free or for low cost. The 3 means of using VoIP service are: analog telephone adaptor (ATA), IP phones (which connect directly to routers), and computer-to-computer.
The primary goal of Health Level Seven (HL7) is providing and sharing standards for exchange of electronic health information (interoperability). HL7 is a non-profit ANSI-accredited organization. Organizations must utilize the same standards if they are to share data, such as when a patient wants to transfer records from one hospital to another. HL7 is critical to development of electronic health records. HL7 has a number of different trademarks that can be applied for to use with products and services. HL7 provides specifications but does not provide software.
Interoperability is the ability to transfer, share, and utilize information from one system to another. Three aspects of interoperability include:
- technical: the ability to move data freely from one system to another
- semantic: the ability to understand data that have been moved from one system to another in the same way, attesting to the fact that data are not corrupted or misinterpreted
- syntactical: the ability to transfer data formats
- process: the ability of business functions where one system is housed to work with those housing another system
Communication during the maintenance phase of the system’s life cycle is crucial. During maintenance, the help desk personnel should be available 24/7. other ways of providing information and answering questions should also be implemented. A yearly newsletter is not published enough to support the organization.
As system become more complex and strategic planners attempt to create an environment where technology is the norm and understood by all stakeholders and point-of-care professionals, informaticians will have clear roles in the health care setting. Informaticians are essential members of the health care team with unique skills that facilitate the acceptance and understanding of the technology.
A “warm” site is a site with patient data that can be activated within 8 hours. This backup system should be capable of running the EHR if the home system fails. This warm site should be located at a distance as part of disaster planning, such as system failure that may result from natural events, such as hurricane, tornado, and flooding, as well as terrorist attacks. The location should be more than 50 miles away and more than 20 miles from the coast to lessen the chance that the same disaster would strike both facilities.
In the event of a scheduled or unanticipated downtime, power outage, or emergency situations in which the EHR functions are not available, the organization should have available enough paper forms for at least 8 hours (the maximal amount of time it should take to access and activate a warm site if necessary).
IF the informatics nurse does not understand the recommended practice or worksheet on a SAFER guide, the next step is to refer to “Suggested Sources of Input.” for example, in the “high Priority Practices” SAFER guide, phase 1 is “Safe Health IT” and the first recommended practice is related to backing up data and application configurations. A rationale is given as well as a list of useful practices. Suggested sources of input include a list of those who may be able to provide useful information, such as clinician, support staff, and health IT staff.
An instructor is describing the systems life cycle and compares it to the nursing process. which of the following would the instructor include as a similarity about the life cycle? –begins with assessment, uses different terminology, has a variable number of steps.
Data are classified as “dirty” when the database contains errors that render the data inaccurate. This compromises the data integrity. Dirty data may result from human errors in entering data (such as misspelling a name or incorrectly entering an ID number). Dirty data may also result from viruses, worms, or other bugs installed into a system. Hackers may enter a system and alter or remove data. Hardware and software may fail, corrupting or destroying data.
A wellness clinic was promoting a new weight loss capsule that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Over the last quarter, the clinic’s data revealed an increase in the sale of the product. this is an “growth stage” of the product’s life cycle.
With respect to the life cycle of an organization, which venture describes the necessary action to prevent decline? — consider change necessary for survival– According to Peter Drucker, an organization’s life cycle includes growth, stability, and decline. Periodic evaluations to determine necessary change to keep up performance will prevent decline. The organization should not avoid crises, as crises are important to force the organization to assess itself through periodic evaluations of the organization itself. Management should not allow only expected outcomes to occur, as sometimes unexpected outcomes are also helpful in preventing decline.
The goals of implementing the EHR in all health care systems are fraught with a number of roadlocks. The largest barrier facing most institutions is — cost–
Once the strategic plan has been developed which identifies the organization’s technology goals and needs, the selection and implementation of an information system occurs through a well-defined process known as the –life cycle–
It is essential to develop a timeline that delineates the major events or milestones when working through the various phases of the information system’s life cycle.
The nurse is expected to use new intravenous equipment. After receiving instruction on the use, the nurse is still nervous about using the new equipment. what type of change is this nurse experiencing? —planned change— Planned change is an intended, purposive attempt by an individual, group, organization, or larger social system to influence the status quo of itself, another organism, or a situation. Spontaneous change is not fully anticipated, it cannot be avoided, and there is little or no time to plan response strategies. Developmental change refers to physiopsychologic changes that occur during an individual’s life cycle or to the growth of an organization as it becomes more complex. Pendulum change refers to the ideal that, “I was wrong before, but now I’m right.”
In respect to patient data in a database, the most important factor is security, although accessibility, relevance, and transferability are also important factors. Unauthorized users must be blocked from gaining access to patients’ records in order to protect confidentiality, but authorized users must be able to easily access those same records. both physical security (preventing damage to or loss of equipment) and informational security (protecting the data) must be considered. Data must be protected during storage and during transfer.
Resources Retrieved from book reading as follow:
Essentials of Nursing Informatics 5th ed.
Handbook of Informatics for Nurses & Healthcare Professionals 5th ed.
Information Technology Project Management 8th ed.
Scope and Standards of Practice Nursing Informatics 2nd ed.
