NURS 5051/6051: Transforming Nursing and Healthcare Through Information Technology Introduction Resources Discussion Week in Review ☰ Menu × NURS 5051/6051: Transforming Nursing and Healthcare Through Information Technology Back to Blackboard Syllabus Course Calendar Course Overview Course Information Resource List Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Student Support Walden Links Guidelines and Policies Back to Blackboard Help Currently Reading Introduction Resources Discussion Week in Review Week 1: Nursing Informatics and Patient Safety In 2011, Mason General Hospital was named by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine as one of the “Most Wired” hospitals in the United States. What makes this particularly significant is that Mason General is a small, 25-bed, rural hospital in the state of Washington. It credits its success to nurse Eileen Branscome, director of clinical informatics. Under her leadership, the hospital adopted such innovations as visual smart boards where real-time patient information is always available. According to the magazine, those hospitals designated as “Most Wired” “show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted mortality rates, and other key quality measures through the use of information technology (IT)” (Mason General Hospital and Family of Clinics, 2012). Developments in information technology have enabled patients and health care providers to collaborate for quality improvement at an unprecedented level, and nurses have consistently been at the forefront of these efforts. This week you focus on the IOM report “To Err Is Human” and consider how health information technology has helped to address the issues of patient safety and quality health care. References: Weinstock, M., & Hoppszallern, S. (2011). Health care’s most wired 2011. Hospitals & Health Network Magazine, 85 (7), 26–37. Mason General Hospital and Family of Clinics. (2012). MGH&FC named most wired - Again! Retrieved from http://www.masongeneral.com/most_wired.html Learning Objectives Students will: Analyze the utilization of health information technology to address issues raised in the IOM report “To Err Is Human” Assess the role of informatics in improving health care safety Photo Credit: Angela Schmidt/iStock/Getty Images Learning Resources Note: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus. Required Readings American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope & standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Springs, MD: Author. “Introduction” This portion of the text introduces nursing informatics and outlines the functions of the scope and standards. McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. Chap.

1. NURS 5051/6051:
Transforming Nursing and Healthcare Through Information
Technology
Introduction
Resources
Discussion
Week in Review
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2. Currently Reading
Introduction
Resources
Discussion
Week in Review
Week 1: Nursing Informatics and Patient Safety
In 2011, Mason General Hospital was named by
Hospitals & Health Networks
magazine as one of the “Most Wired” hospitals in the United
States. What makes this particularly significant is that Mason
General is a small, 25-bed, rural hospital in the state of
Washington. It credits its success to nurse Eileen Branscome,
director of clinical informatics. Under her leadership, the
hospital adopted such innovations as visual smart boards where
real-time patient information is always available. According to
the magazine, those hospitals designated as “Most Wired”
“show better outcomes in patient satisfaction, risk-adjusted
mortality rates, and other key quality measures through the use
of information technology (IT)” (Mason General Hospital and
Family of Clinics, 2012).
Developments in information technology have enabled patients
and health care providers to collaborate for quality
improvement at an unprecedented level, and nurses have
consistently been at the forefront of these efforts. This week
you focus on the IOM report “To Err Is Human” and consider
how health information technology has helped to address the
issues of patient safety and quality health care.
References:
Weinstock, M., & Hoppszallern, S. (2011). Health care’s most
wired 2011.
Hospitals & Health Network Magazine, 85
(7), 26–37.
Mason General Hospital and Family of Clinics. (2012).
MGH&FC named most wired - Again!

3. Retrieved from
http://www.masongeneral.com/most_wired.html
Learning Objectives
Students will:
Analyze the utilization of health information technology to
address issues raised in the IOM report “To Err Is Human”
Assess the role of informatics in improving health care safety
Photo Credit: Angela Schmidt/iStock/Getty Images
Learning Resources
Note:
To access this week’s required library resources, please click
on the link to the Course Readings List, found in the Course
Materials section of your Syllabus.
Required Readings
American Nurses Association. (2015).
Nursing informatics: Scope & standards of practice
(2nd ed.). Silver Springs, MD: Author.
“Introduction”
This portion of the text introduces nursing informatics and
outlines the functions of the scope and standards.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2015).
Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge
(3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning.
Chapter 1, “Nursing Science and the Foundation of Knowledge”
This chapter defines nursing science and details its relation to
nursing roles and nursing informatics. The chapter also serves
as an introduction to the foundation of knowledge model used
throughout the text.
Chapter 2, “Introduction to Information, Information Science,
and Information Systems”
In this chapter, the authors highlight the importance of
information systems. The authors specify the qualities that
enable information systems to meet the needs of the health care
industry.
Wakefield, M. K. (2008). The Quality Chasm series:

4. Implications for nursing. In R. G. Hughes (Ed.),
Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for
nurses
(Vol. 1, pp. 47–66). Rockville, MD: U. S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
Pages 1–12
These 12 pages highlight the issues raised by the Quality Chasm
Series and examine their long-term implications for nursing.
The text reviews external drivers of safety and quality, design
principles for safe systems, and guidelines for health care
redesign.
Cipriano, P. F., & Murphy, J. (2011). Nursing informatics. The
future of nursing and health IT: The quality elixir.
Nursing Economic$, 29
(5), 282, 286–289.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
In this article, the authors focus on how nurses can use health
information technology to help transform health care using the
recommendations included in the 2010 Institute of Medicine
report “The Future of Nursing, Leading Change, Advancing
Health.” The author also discusses the 2011 National Strategy
for Quality Improvement in Health Care.
Plawecki, L. H., & Amrhein, D. W. (2009). Clearing the err.
Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 35
(11), 26–29.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article presents a summary of the Institute of Medicine
report “To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System.” The
authors provide an overview of what has been accomplished in
the decade following the IOM report, focusing in particular on
health information technology.
Required Media
Laureate Education (Producer). (2012e).
Introduction to nursing informatics

5. . Baltimore, MD: Author.
Note:
The approximate length of this media piece is 8 minutes.
In this video, Doris Fischer, Richard Rodriguez, Carina Perez,
and Carmen Ferrell introduce the concept of nursing
informatics. These individuals provide insight into how
informatics is transforming the health care system by improving
efficiency and quality of care.
Optional Resources
Hilts, M. E. (2010). Up from the basement.
Health Management Technology, 31
(9), 14–15.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Institute of Medicine. (1999).
To err is human: Building a safer health system
. Retrieved from
http://iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/1999/To-Err-is-
Human/To%20Err%20is%20Human%201999%20%20report%20
brief.pdf
Kohn, L. T., Corrigan, J. M., & Donaldson, M.S. (Eds.). (2000).
To err is human: Building a safer health system
. Washington, D. C.: Institute of Medicine. Retrieved from the
National Academies Press website:
https://download.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9728
Discussion: The Effects of “To Err Is Human” in Nursing
Practice
The 1999 landmark study titled “To Err Is Human: Building a
Safer Health System” highlighted the unacceptably high
incidence of U.S. medical errors and put forth recommendations
to improve patient safety. Since its publication, the
recommendations in “To Err Is Human’ have guided significant
changes in nursing practice in the United States.

6. In this Discussion, you will review these recommendations and
consider the role of health information technology in helping
address concerns presented in the report.
To prepare:
Review the summary of “To Err Is Human” presented in the
Plawecki and Amrhein article found in this week’s Learning
Resources.
Consider the following statement:
“The most significant barrier to improving patient safety
identified in “To Err Is Human” is a “lack of awareness of the
extent to which errors occur daily in all health care settings and
organizations (Wakefield, 2008).”
Review “The Quality Chasm Series: Implications for Nursing”
focusing on Table 3: “Simple Rules for the 21st Century Health
Care System.” Consider your current organization or one with
which you are familiar. Reflect on one of the rules where the
“current rule” is still in operation in the organization and
consider another instance in which the organization has
effectively transitioned to the new rule.