Influence of Health Information Technology | Essay

Running head:INFLUENCE OF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
INFLUENCE OF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
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INFLUENCE OF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Introduction
Nurses play a pivotal role in a health care system, and a nurse with effective decision-
making quality bring a difference in the quality of patient care. This essay will shed light on
the positive and negative influential factors affecting clinical decision-making. The potential
impact of Health Information Technology (HIT) concerning patient care and clinical
decisions will be assessed.
PART A
Clinical decision-making is about making good quality judgment among two
alternatives which can be gained by experience over time. It is a continuous and evolving
process which includes collecting data, interpreting and evaluating to take an evidence-based
choice of action (Revathy, 2015). Clinical decision-making becomes successful when it
comes with critical thinking. Critical thinking includes logical reasoning, discriminating,
cognitive skills of analysing, transforming knowledge, applying standards, predicting and
applying standards in their nursing practice. Clinical decision-making is important for making
the best possible decision for the patient and maintaining financial support. Three clinical
decision-making models are information –processing, quantitative approach and the intuitive-
humanistic model. Few factors have been identified that affects the clinical decision-making
process. Some factors facilitate nurses decision making, while others inhibit nurses decision-
making practice. Knowledge gathers during basic professional education, good knowledge on
the guiding principles, knowledgeable about the rules and regulation, constant reviewing of
literature, medical diagnosis, sound knowledge on the personal characteristics of the patient
and their previous experience in the health care can be considered as the facilitating factors
for nurses clinical decision making. Along with this, regular study, good cooperation among
the other health workers, support from the supervisors, and feeling competent can be added as
the facilitating factors. The factors that inhibit the nurse's clinical decision making includes

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INFLUENCE OF HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
the previous experience of the nurses, the environment of the healthcare, the attitude of the
staffs, hospital policy, level of self-confidence, time constraints and outcome of the nurse's
decision. After a critical analysis, five main themes have been selected as the prime factors
that help in making an effective clinical decision. The five themes are as follows:
 Feeling competent
 Being self-confident
 Structure of the organization
 Support from supervisors
 Educating nurses
In the work environment getting support from the supervisors or other nurses is highly
important to cross the barrier and make effective clinical decisions. The support experience is
sub-categorized in three parts: provision of care, provision of emotional support and
provision of financial welfare. However, when being unsupported predominated in the work
culture, it becomes difficult to deliver effective clinical decision making. Lack of support to
the nurses by the managers lowers down their morality, and it is evident to feel frustrated
when the decision is not acknowledged. It is believed that managers are in charge of the
provision of financial welfare for the nurses. This leads to lack of concentration of nurses on
patient's problem, and thus they fail to make effective decisions. Managers are also
responsible for the provision of care facility, which is not achieved by them; thus, lack of care
facility act as a barrier to clinical decision making. Minimum care is provided to the patients
as the nurses fail to meet the patient's needs. Lacks of legal support, emotional support, and
interpersonal support are also the reason behind ineffective decision-making. In addition to
this, the doctors and the managers do not care about the nurse's decision due to which
reluctance is seen among the nurses, and this fails to deliver effective decisions (Shaban,
2015).