NURS FPX 6426 Assessment 3 Technology Needs Assessment Summary

Technology Needs Assessment Summary

Student name

Capella University

NURS-FPX 6426

Professor Name

Submission Date

Executive Summary

This summary highlights the gaps and issues identified in the Mercy Medical Center Telemonitoring-Enhanced Electronic Health Record (EHR) Implementation Needs Assessment. The most worrying issues noted are the gaps in Mercy’s current information technology systems, which are associated with the current average inpatient length of stay of 10.53 days and an average cost of $15,799 associated with each patient admission.

As a part of this study, the needs of administration, clinical (care), IT staff/patients, and caregivers were all investigated. Each stakeholder expressed support for system improvement. The detailed plan for Mercy in the first phase of this strategic shift focuses on the integration of advanced systems over the next 18 months. This technology will support a shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to modern patient care, thus facilitating an organizational paradigm shift.

Current Informatics Structure in the Organization

Mercy Medical Center has a basic electronic health record (EHR) system that allows some patient documentation and some clinical workflow design. It does not allow telemonitoring and does not allow analysis of patient data in real-time. This organization has created and built upon annual health record modules, with patient registration, medication administration, and billing modules, and built its own continuous IT (information technology) support with eight staff members and nursing informatics personnel in all four service lines. The current system, in combination with fragmented storage of patient data, limited clinical decision support modules, and the absence of remote monitoring, results in a length of stay that is too long and in costs averaging $15,799 per patient per admission.

The organization’s informatics governance model is a multidisciplinary committee of clinical staff, IT, and management, who oversee and provide access to systems, provide user training, and ensure statutory compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) (Penedo et al., 2022). The current infrastructure provides only basic electronic documentation, and more extensive approaches will be needed to meet the goals of the organization to improve patient outcomes and decrease costs.

Recommendations for Project Implementation and Health Information Protection

A project team is being established, which includes a Chief Nursing Information Officer, two staff nurses, a physician, and additional nursing staff from information technology security. This is being created to deal with a $1.5 million investment in telemonitoring and to avoid an anticipated telemonitoring operational loss of $200,000 per year. To safeguard health information, telemonitoring includes end-to-end encryption, multi-factor authentication, and a secure virtual private network (VPN) with comprehensive protections to prevent cybersecurity breaches. It integrates systems and operates continuously.

It is proposed to improve cybersecurity by using automated backup systems and incident response teams. Measures for system reliability and response to black swan events of natural disasters have been enhanced using cloud data storage with remote access (Jaradat et al., 2024). To ensure the successful implementation of the plan to manage system integrations and continuous operations while meeting regulatory requirements and protecting client data, project champions, strong technical support, and sustained executive commitment for 18 months are required.

Fiscal Budget and Implementation Impact

Telemonitoring-supported EHR implementation will have a first-year total cost of $1.95 million. This consists of an $850,000 software license, $650,000 for hardware, and $450,000 for staff training. Starting the second year, the annual operational cost will be $200,000 for maintenance and support. It is expected that the hospital cost savings will offset this $200,000 cost within 18 months. Each patient who would have otherwise been a hospital admission costs the organization $4,760, and the total estimated cost savings for the 15,000 patient membership will be $2.3 million. This is a direct fiscal benefit to the stakeholders, and the staff time savings from the administrators will allow them to be more efficiently operational, the clinical staff will have better patient outcomes, and there will be cost savings to the organization (Suresh et al., 2024).

Change Management Strategies and Clinical System Recommendations

The current EHR utilized by Mercy Medical Center lacks basic modules and does not support telemonitoring services. Therefore, the Center should employ the use of a telemonitoring system. Predictive telemonitoring can track metrics and offer real-time patient care. Kotter’s model suggests the use of a staged approach to training, identification of the system’s early adopters who will inform the rest of the staff of the system’s benefits, and the use of effective communication to support this plan (Dykes et al., 2022).

It is anticipated that there will be a shortening of the average patient’s length of stay, a decrease in the cost for each patient, an increase in patient safety, and reduced delays in the provision of patient care. Clinical staff will be able to use more resources to manage care and monitor patients less, and keep both staff and patients satisfied with the new system. Care delays will decrease, and the administration will gain financial savings from shorter lengths of stay.

Conclusion

Telemonitoring and EHR at Mercy Medical Center may satisfy the organization’s need to improve patient outcomes as well as reduce costs. The transformation of the care model while safeguarding patient safety and the sustainability of the organization shows the importance of a lot of preparation and planning, deep engagement of stakeholders, and the inclusion of multiple contingencies. A sustained commitment to leadership, coupled with the right change management resources, has also been necessary to reduce the average length of stay for patients while improving the quality of care.

To get the next (4th) assessment of this class, visit: NURS FPX 6426 Assessment 4