It wasn’t that long ago that the physical components of a nurse’s workday — thermometers, charts, prescriptions, blood pressure cuffs — required no connections to either power or data. Advances in tech have, however, changed all that, enabling quicker, more accurate data that is savable and sharable in ways that prior generations in the field couldn’t have even imagined.

Doylestown Health nurses have fully embraced this digital transformation.

“Over the last two decades, we have taken nursing fully electronic at the hospital,” says Director of Applications Lynn Miller, RN, BSN.

Hospital technology does more than just speed efficiencies. It reduces errors.

For example, computerized provider order entries eliminate handwritten notes that, if misread, can be disastrous. Also, barcoding is now ensuring accuracy for patient particulars from testing to medications. Even remote video monitoring — although no replacement for the bedside TLC that Doylestown nurses routinely supply — can boost patients’ safety.

And all this online functionality is highly sharable, making collaboration on patients’ best outcomes convenient and speedy.

Hospital MIS

In response to the innovation, hospital MIS departments have swelled nationwide, offering traditional nurses new avenues for their careers.

Jessica Morrison RN, BSN, started at Doylestown Hospital on the medical-surgical floor 20 years ago. As online equipment migrated throughout the hospital, she saw a whole new field open for her.

She’s now a Clinical Systems Analyst, overseeing the computer systems within Doylestown Hospital, developing applications, troubleshooting issues, and testing software changes.

Training

As in the private sector, more device-driven workplaces require more technical training on usage.

Kim Carson, MSN, RN, is Doylestown Health’s Nursing Education Coordinator.

Part of her role includes coordinating and implementing nursing education on new clinical processes. With a perspective of 40 years as an RN, Carson sees the rapid growth of technology as a vital tool for nursing practice.

But as good as it is, healthcare innovation doesn’t eclipse the need for compassionate, competent personnel, a point not lost on Morrison.

“We are so grateful for the training and experience of our nurses,” she said. “Their clinical education, knowledge, and critical thinking skills are most important.

“The tech just supports it.” More on Doylestown Health’s use of tech is, not surprisingly, online.