Difference between revisions of "Perceived barriers of heart failure nurses and cardiologists in using clinical decision support systems in the treatment of heart failure patients"

Revision as of 03:57, 24 February 2015

The following is a review of the article, “Perceived Barriers of Heart Failure Nurse and Cardiologists in using Clinical Decision Support Systems in the Treatment of Heart Failure Patients" ^[1].

Abstract

One of the health problems that is related to aging is heart failure. Inadequate care of elderly patients with heart failure increases the chances of frequent hospital re-admissions and mortality rate (de Vries, van der Wal, Nieuwenhuis, de Jong, van Dijk, Jaarsma, Hillege, & Jorna, 2013, p. 1). The authors believe that the use of clinical decision support systems (CDSS) may help cardiac nurses and cardiologists prevent frequent hospital re-admissions and decrease mortality rate in elderly patients with history of heart failure. The authors believe that cardiac nurses and cardiologists are not utilizing the CDSS because of perceived barriers associated with the implementation of CDSS in the treatment of heart failure patients and the lack of knowledge and management of CDSS.

Methods

The authors developed a questionnaire that “consists of 49 items, focusing on perceived barriers using a 5-point Likert type rating scale” (de Vries et al., 2013, p. 2). Because the authors were based in the Netherlands, the questionnaires were sent to heart failure clinics in the Netherlands. The questionnaires were answered by 36 cardiologists and 126 cardiac nurses. 30% of the questionnaire responders had experience in working with CDSS because they used telemonitoring systems that had CDSS functions.

Results

An evaluation of the SEEDS curriculum from the nursing students showed that there were "increased satisfaction with learning skills useful for practice and improved critical thinking ability" (Connors et al., 2007, p. 132). The electronic health record (EHR) helped the students by providing cues to what needed to be documented. Also, the EHR helped the students ask more thorough questions when assessing their patients because the EHR's structured data entry screens helped them to determine what was relevant and what was not relevant. The authors encourage more health sciences schools to incorporate clinical information system into their curriculum to enhance their students' understanding of CIS.

Comments

This article serves as a good guidance in teaching the importance of documenting on an EHR. Student nurses rarely understand how to properly work the CPOE when looking up physician orders. A majority of a student nurse’s training with CPOE’s are developed when he/she begin practicing on it early in their skill developing stage. Although there exists different EHR companies that offer different formats, it is essential for the nursing student to have a basic understanding of how to navigate and become aware of how CPOE can affect the care of their patients.

References

1. ↑ de Vrie, A., van der Wal, M., Nieuwenhuis, M., de Jong, R., van Dijk, R., Jaarsma, T., Hillege, H., & Jorna, R. (2013). Perceived barriers of heart failure nurses and cardiologists in using clinical decision support systems in the treatment of heart failure patients. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 13(54), 1-8