Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff Analysis 2022

Running head: POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR THE INFORMATICS STAFF 1
Policy and Guidelines for the Informatics Staff
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POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR THE INFORMATICS STAFF 2
Policy Reflections
An Evaluation of the Function of the Tool Related To Evidence-Based Practice
Nurses need correct and timely information to incorporate evidence-based
information into patient care and general practice. The right time refers to the the diagnostic
process, at the patient’s bedside or during the examination and treatment continuum.
Electronic health records (EHR) can support nurses to access evidence-based information,
which is an appropriate strategy for clinical decision support. Electronic health record are
essential in assisting nurses to utilize evidence-based practice even when attending to a large
number of patients within a short time. The incorporation of EHRs in clinical decision-
making tools helps to provide nurses with straightforward strategies that they can use to
review alternative diagnosis prior to finalizing the treatment plan (Fowler et al., 2014).
Electronic health records are generate data that is used to derive evidence-based tools that
nurses use in practice and improvement of healthcare processes. Electronic documentations
helps to support holistic approaches to healthcare, research and improvement of patient
outcomes (Bowles 2014).
An Analysis of the Work Setting Using Evidence-Based Practice
The policies ensure autonomy in access to health data for nurses. There are three main
factors that determine the readiness of a work setting to implement evidence-based practice
include access to knowledge and information, availability of resources and leadership
engagement. For instance, transformational leadership is often associated with success rates
of evidence-based practice. The transformational leadership has proved to be facilitative and
is characterised by a close supervisory relationship, sensitivity to the needs of the
supervisees, support for individualized feedback, and increased motivation. Workplace
culture also plays a critical role determining the use of evidence-based practice by nurses.
Poor organizational culture precipitates turnover, which results in inconsistency of workforce

POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR THE INFORMATICS STAFF 3
and stressful workplaces. Therefore, positive organizational culture are essential in
supporting nurses to implement evidence-based practice. Funding and technological
resources are vital in ensuring availability of information in a timely manner. Funding also
facilitates trainings of nurses to adopt evidence-based practice, appropriate leadership fosters
positive work climates and enhance sustainability (Bonham et al., 2014).
An Analysis of How the Tool/System Supports the Strategic Plan for Evidence-Based
Information Use in the Organization or Practice Setting
Accurate data helps to inform planning for nursing professionals. Electronic health
records provide accurate data that nurses use to facilitate change in practice and research and
improve patient outcomes. The systems support nurses to create new knowledge and derive
evidence-based tools to support the improvement of healthcare processes. The nurses use the
data stored in EHRs to make predictions and support decision-making (Bowles 2014).
Predictions in healthcare is a critical component of strategic planning. The use of accurate
and up-to-date information ensures that healthcare teams make informed decisions and plan
appropriately. Recently, the use of EHRs in surveillance of public health issues has
significantly increased. The evidence from surveillance initiatives has helped to inform
evidence-based practice, particularly focusing on improving the overall health of populations,
and improving accessibility of healthcare to low-income populations. The EHR provide
valuable support as repositories for population surveillance data that nurses and leaders can
use to strategically plan on healthcare improvement (Kruse et al. 2018).
An Analysis of How the Tool/System Contributes To Creating Efficient Workflows and
Safe Practice within the Context of Evidence-Based Practice
The main goal of EHRs to improve safety and quality of patient care. The EHRs
achieve the goals of improving healthcare by facilitating coordination of care, providing
clinical decision support, and providing accurate, up-to-date and timely data regarding a

POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR THE INFORMATICS STAFF 4
patient. The EHRs support organizations to utilize their staff efficiently, and manage
healthcare information such as third party reimbursement. (Fields et al. 2015). Electronic
health records can significantly support nurses in clinical decision-making when incorporated
in clinical decision support systems. The EHRs can be developed to incorporate sophisticated
algorithms that utilize past and recent information to make meaningful recommendations.
The EHRs are used to provide personalized and drug-specific advice. The systems have also
contributes to the reorganization of workflow in healthcare settings to facilitate appropriate
recommendations and visit planning by nurses (Gilmer et al. 2012).
An Assessment of How the Tool/System Contributes to Interprofessional Care and
Patient Satisfaction
Limited access to data ensures effective use of information within the teams. Inter-
professional care is characterised by trust and respect, coordination which entails the timing
and management of the order of activities, communication, trust and respect between
members of different professions. Electronic health records can support nurses in the
realization of effective collaboration by playing for important roles which include repository,
monitoring, messenger and orchestrator. The EHRs contain all the accessible and quality data
that nurses require. The EHRs also facilitate information transfer and easier communication
between the nurses, and with other members of the healthcare team. EHRs also enhance
coordination by facilitating organization and workflows and effective utilization of staff.
EHRs also provide an analytic tool for helping nurses to identify gaps in care, and to measure
performance (Chase et al. 2014). EHRs improve patient satisfaction by facilitating effective
and timely communication between the patient and the nurses. The systems also support
clinicians to negotiate the complex healthcare system and provide patient-centred care (Wolfe
et al. 2018).

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References
Bonham, C. A., Sommerfeld, D., Willging, C., & Aarons, G. A. (2014). Organizational
factors influencing implementation of evidence-based practices for integrated
treatment in behavioral health agencies. Psychiatry journal, 2014, 802983.
doi:10.1155/2014/802983
Bowles K. H. (2014). Developing evidence-based tools from EHR data. Nursing
management, 45(4), 18–20. doi: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000444881.93063.7c
Chase, D. A., Ash, J. S., Cohen, D. J., Hall, J., Olson, G. M., & Dorr, D. A. (2014). The
EHR's roles in collaboration between providers: A qualitative study. AMIA ... Annual
Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium, 2014, 1718–1727.
Fields, D., Riesenmy, K., Blum, T. C., & Roman, P. M. (2015). Implementation of Electronic
Health Records and Entrepreneurial Strategic Orientation in Substance Use Disorder
Treatment Organizations. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 76(6), 942–951.
doi:10.15288/jsad.2015.76.942
Fowler, S. A., Yaeger, L. H., Yu, F., Doerhoff, D., Schoening, P., & Kelly, B. (2014).
Electronic health record: integrating evidence-based information at the point of
clinical decision making. Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA, 102(1),
52–55. doi:10.3163/1536-5050.102.1.010
Gilmer, T. P., O'Connor, P. J., Sperl-Hillen, J. M., Rush, W. A., Johnson, P. E., Amundson,
G. H., Asche, S. E., & Ekstrom, H. L. (2012). Cost-effectiveness of an electronic
medical record based clinical decision support system. Health services
research, 47(6), 2137–2158. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2012.01427.x
Kruse, C. S., Stein, A., Thomas, H., & Kaur, H. (2018). The use of Electronic Health Records
to Support Population Health: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Journal of
medical systems, 42(11), 214. doi:10.1007/s10916-018-1075-6

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University Hospital New Jersey (2011). Policy and Procedure Manual. Retrieved from
http://www.uhnj.org/mdstfweb/documents/Access%20to%20Electronic%20Health
%20Records%20at%20UH%20Policy%20MEC%20amended%2008%20%2011.pdf
(accessed 15 April 2020)
Wolfe, L., Chisolm, M. S., & Bohsali, F. (2018). Clinically Excellent Use of the Electronic
Health Record: Review. JMIR human factors, 5(4), e10426. doi.org/10.2196/10426

POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR THE INFORMATICS STAFF 7
Appendices
Appendix 1: Policy Statement
Categories of individuals by job function or title who require access to the EHR at Hospital
are as follows:
1. Nurses for a specific individual patient will be granted limited access to that
individual EHR in order to perform their respective function.
2. Students matriculated at partner schools who require access to the EHR for
educational programs that involve the Hospital’s patient care duties will be issued
limited access to the EHR.
3. Individuals employed by Hospital who are performing a hospital function that
requires information from the EHR to perform that job as approved by their
supervisor. In these situations, access will be limited by job description or by specific
activity to specific parts of the EHR upon request.
4. Individuals employed by other affiliated entities who are performing a function at the
hospital that requires information from the EHR to perform that job, as approved by
their supervisor. In these situations, access may be limited by job description or by
specific activity to specific parts of the EHR, subject to approval.
5. Students not matriculated at partner institutions who require access to the EHR for
educational programs that involve the hospitals patient care duties will be issued
limited access to the EHR, subject to approval.
6. Individuals who are performing research involving the hospitals EHR data and that
research has been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and by the
Office of Clinical Research Administration (OCRA) may be issued limited access to
the EHR by request (Reference Medical Records Policy), subject to approval

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(University Hospital New Jersey 2011).
Appendix 2: Guidelines
1. Individuals to be granted access to the University Hospital EHR will complete
approved compliance training programs, will be trained on each EHR system and will
be issued a personal identification and password prior to granting of access, as per the
Policies and Procedures.
2. Individuals listed in category 1, 2, and 3 of the policy above will be granted
automatic limited access to the appropriate EHR programs, without requirement for
application to Medical Informatics Committee.
3. Medical Students will be granted limited access through the Medical Informatics
Committee as defined curriculum set forth by the Curriculum Committee. No
application to the Medical Informatics Committee for access will be needed, provided
that the student fits into category A2.
4. All individuals engaged in any approved clinical research (category 6 above) who
require initial access or additional access to UH EHR, will complete an “Access to
Electronic Health Record Request” and submit this request with a copy of the IRB
approval to the Medical Informatics Committee for consideration and approval.
5. Any other individuals who require access to the University Hospital EHR, will
complete an “Access to Electronic Health Record Request” and submit this request to
the Medical Informatics Committee for consideration and approval, including
individuals in category A. 4, 5 and 6.
6. The Medical Informatics Committee will consider each written request for access.
The Medical Informatics Committee will give each approved request to implement
and will notify Medical Records of this approval.

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7. The Medical Informatics Committee will track and report approval of access to the
EHR to Hospital Systems &Technology department, who will issue access.
(University Hospital New Jersey 2011).