Importance of Workflow Mapping and Health Information Support for Evidence-Based Practice The process of mapping the cur

Importance of Workflow Mapping and Health Information Support for Evidence-Based Practice

The process of mapping the current workflow and the projected workflow that may occur in the future is important in any healthcare technology project since the new systems must meet the actual clinical practice and not to interfere with the actual clinical practice. Workflow mapping can enable nurse leaders and informaticists to have a clear picture of the current care delivery and the areas where inefficiencies can be identified and how technology, like electronic health records (EHRs) can either facilitate or impede the care delivery. McGonigle and Mastrian (2024) also claim that improperly structured health information systems tend to increase clinician load, workaround, and poor quality of care. Through the comparison of future and current workflow, project teams can develop interventions that can improve the efficiency, patient safety, and provider satisfaction.

In technological-focused projects, such as Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) projects, the implementation and sustainability of the project require a good fit with clinical operations. To provide such an example, the screening process within a psychiatric clinic included into a DNP project centered on the early detection of anxiety with the help of standardized screening tools has to be smoothly incorporated into normal patient intake or assessment processes. In case the anxiety screening tools integrated in the EHR need extra actions, re-documentation, or clinicians are unwilling to use it, repeat of such actions might occur. (Sutton et al., 2020).

HIT systems are also useful in facilitating evidence-based practice (EBP). EHRs avail standardized data, clinical guidelines and patient outcomes, which enable clinicians to utilize the most effective evidence available in the point of care setting. As an example, the structured data on anxiety screening can be summed and analyzed to determine prevalence, treatment efficacy, and gaps in care in the psychiatric clinic. This information is used to promote quality improvement efforts and to drive clinical decision-making using evidence as opposed to intuition (Melnyk et al., 2022). Besides, the role of health information technologies in translating research findings into practice is that it has the capacity to embed evidence-based protocols and outcome tracking into clinical processes, which enhances the inclusion of EBP in nursing practice.

References

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2024). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (6th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Melnyk, B. M., Gallagher-Ford, L., Long, L. E., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2022). The establishment of evidence-based practice competencies for practicing nurses and advanced practice nurses in real-world clinical settings. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 19(1), 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12555

Sutton, R. T., Pincock, D., Baumgart, D. C., Sadowski, D. C., Fedorak, R. N., & Kroeker, K. I. (2020). An overview of clinical decision support systems: Benefits, risks, and strategies for success. NPJ Digital Medicine, 3(17), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-020-0221-y

Topaz, M., & Pruinelli, L. (2022). Big data and nursing: Implications for the future. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 290, 301–305. https://doi.org/10.3233/SHTI220741