Improving the communication of medical information in the skilled nursing home industry: The case for a technology partnership
Abstract
This case study explores how a clinical information system assists healthcare managers in their aim to improve the accuracy of medical information communicated among the healthcare providers. Accurate communication about a patient’s medical condition from one caregiver to another is critical to the quality of care. A special focus is on the implementation of a clinical information system (IS) in the skilled nursing home industry. An important goal of the IS initiative was to codify healthcare information to help the nursing staff and their assistants reduce patient care mistakes. An interpretation of case data suggests that healthcare providers have different styles of working with digital information that they retrieve from a clinical IS. An unexpected finding from this case study supports the fact that healthcare managers must focus on hiring highly not only qualified healthcare providers but also trained knowledge workers. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research that focuses on the management of clinical IS and the exponential growth of the digital healthcare data that is contained in these clinical IS.
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Elaine Winston is Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics at Zarb School of Business, Hofstra University. She holds a PhD in Management Planning and Information Systems from Baruch College, City University of New York. Her research focuses on healthcare information system implementation and information technology security and on healthcare informatics. Her research has been published in many journals, including Computers in Human Behavior, Expert Systems with Applications, Journal of Computer Information Systems, Communications of Global Information Technology and the International Journal of Social and Organization Dynamics in IT. She has given Medical Ground Rounds at Northwell Health on physician resistance to healthcare information systems.
Randi Marquis is the Assistant Director of Nursing at Gurwin Family of Health Care Services. She earned her master’s degree and nurse practitioner degree from Stony Brook University, New York. She provides support and oversight to her staff on the long-term care unit, dementia unit and rehabilitation unit. In addition, she is responsible for the oversight of investigations that help to prevent accidents and incidents. Before joining Gurwin Family of Health Care Services, she was the Director of Nursing and the Assistant Vice President of Nursing for National Health Care.
Alexander Pelaez is Assistant Professor of Information Systems and Business Analytics at Zarb School of Business, Hofstra University. He holds a PhD in Information Systems from Baruch College, City University of New York. He has previously served as the Senior Director of Enterprise Architecture and Acting Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Group Health Insurance and also as a consultant for a host of healthcare-related firms. His research focuses on healthcare technology management, healthcare analytics, group dynamics and social networking. His research has been published in many journals, including International Journal of Electronic Commerce, Journal of Computer Information Systems, Journal of Management Systems, Journal of Information Technology Management, Information Systems, e-Business Management and the International Journal of Social and Organization Dynamics in IT.
Citation
Winston, Elaine, Marquis, Randi and Pelaez, Alexander (2019, September 1). Improving the communication of medical information in the skilled nursing home industry: The case for a technology partnership. In the Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, Volume 4, Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.69554/VYQQ3679.
Publications LLP