Open AccessFacilitating the Implementation of Standardized Care Plans in Municipal Healthcare
Author(s) -
Elisabeth Østensen,
Nicholas R. Hardiker,
Ragnhild Hellesø
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
computers, informatics, nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1538-9774
pISSN - 1538-2931
DOI - 10.1097/cin.0000000000000798
Subject(s) - documentation , workflow , health care , nursing , best practice , standardization , standardized test , business , process management , medicine , psychology , computer science , political science , mathematics education , database , law , programming language , operating system
Standardized care plans have the potential to enhance the quality of nursing records in terms of content and completeness, thereby better supporting workflow, easing the documentation process, facilitating continuity of care, and permitting systematic data gathering to build evidence from practice. Despite these potential benefits, there may be challenges associated with the successful adoption and use of standardized care plans in municipal healthcare information practices. Using a participatory approach, two workshops were conducted with nurses and nursing leaders (n = 11) in two Norwegian municipalities, with the objective of identifying success criteria for the adoption and integration of standardized care plans into practice. Three themes were found to describe the identified success criteria: (1) "facilitating system level support for nurses' workflow"; (2) "engaged individuals creating a culture for using standardized care plans"; and (3) "developing system level safety nets." The findings suggest success criteria that could be useful to address to facilitate the integration of standardized care plans in municipal healthcare information practice and provide useful knowledge for those working with implementation and further development of standardized care plans.