Nursing and IT
Artificial intelligence tools, combined with Internet of Things and RTLS, can help hospitals and health systems protect their staff members while optimizing workflows. This is the future of healthcare operations, says one chief nursing officer.
As AI continues to evolve, the role of nursing informaticists in steering its integration into clinical workflows is becoming indispensable, says Penn Medicine's VP of digital health.
Daniel O'Connor, RN, a former chief information officer, discusses the fundamental value of including caregivers on IT teams and help-desk support. He also describes the differing viewpoints of physicians and nurses, and gives tips on how CIOs can cost-justify hiring clinicians full time.
For nurse practitioners and physician assistants in states with restrictive practice rules, it matches them with other clinicians, automates licensing compliance and provides EHR-agnostic chart sharing and a HIPAA-compliant chat.
Nurse groups are focused on fixing what they say are untenable nurse-to-patient ratios. As legislation mandating staff ratios looms, AI and virtual care may offer a way forward.
The California Nurses Association recently organized a San Francisco protest aimed at Kaiser Permanente, saying its use of artificial intelligence in patient care is a dangerous shortcut. One new report offers perspective that could build nurses' trust.
The collaboration aims to enhance patient care by streamlining data reporting, saving time for nursing leaders and accelerating quality improvement efforts.
Before deploying the technology, staff was 67% core staff, 8% flexible staff and 25% agency staff. Afterward, the mix became 69% core, 23% flexible and gig staff, and only 8% agency staff.
The accomplishment puts the health system in a better position to attract and retain the talent that is so critical to its ability to serve its patients, says its VP of operations.
Trained on vast datasets, machine learning applications can spot trends and predict patient outcomes. A researcher details how these new approaches are giving nurses the evidence they need to make more informed decisions and deliver higher-quality care.