Thanks to All CARING Volunteers Past, Present, and Future

Practical Advice for System Selection, Development and Implementation
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live–you are NOT done. System
deployment must include support for
users that match their work schedule.
For example, support should be
provided 24 hours per day for units
that function 24 hours per day.
Feedback needs to be incorporated
back into the system. Thank and
appreciate your volunteers and
recruits (often assigned as super
users). Understand that their first
priority is patient care and operations
supporting patient care. It is not easy
for staff to balance the needs of daily
operations with the needs of a system
implementation. Encourage
recognition of various levels of effort;
always give positive feedback and
recognition for a job well done.
Evaluation
Plan on revisiting implemented areas to observe how end users are using the
system. Regular enhancements to the system will be needed to tweak the system
to enhance workflow as well as reflect practice changes. Watch users using the
system. Often, you might be surprised that they are using a long way to
accomplish ordering or charting a medication, instead of using a quicker way. At
other times, you may be surprised by what they are doing with the system and you
may learn something from the users. Be aware, most users need to perceive an
overall positive effect to be satisfied. Often they do not remember what life was
like before implementation and they may need to be reminded. Celebrate success!
Collect help-desk feedback; examine user calls for additional training
opportunities or system configuration changes. Correct and re-educate users on
system functionality, and consider implementing functionality that was not
installed initially. Revisit the intended outcomes for the system and ensure capture
of outcomes data. Choose your evaluation criteria early to ensure that meaningful
data are captured. Gather pre- and post-implementation data and evaluate
expected outcomes and related statistics. These data
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Table 1: Comparison of Nursing Process and System Implementation Phases
Nursing Process
System Implementation Phases
Assessment
Requirements
Needs Assessment
Vision, Mission, Goals
Scope, Timeline, Resources
Stakeholders
Budget
Diagnosis
System Selection
RFI, RFP
Demonstration, Site visits
Contract
Planning
Planning/Design
Finalized plans
Budget
Implementation
Implementation
Configuration, Testing
Training, Deployment
Evaluation
Evaluation
Evaluate:
Use of the System, Implementation Process, Need
for Enhancements, Return on Investment (ROI),
Redirection of Employees
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