Improving Effective Communication with Critical Lab Values
Willie Mary Bolden
Walden University
NURS 6051, WEEK 6 Transforming Nursing and Healthcare through Information Technology
October 24, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey Smith
Improving Effective Communication with Critical Lab Values
Many have their idea about the nursing profession and the skills nurses perform on a daily basis to provide a standard of care. A professional nurse gives a standard of care by showing compassion and treating each client with human dignity. A career in nursing is priceless. Being a professional nurse can lead an individual in many directions in the health care profession. The opportunities are limitless. Having an appropriate workflow is very vital in any health …show more content…
Focusing on communicating critical lab values effectively between nurses, physicians, and patients are essential to providing quality, safe, and patient center care within the organization I work. Labs have an enormous impact on a dialysis patient treatment plan. The flowchart process aims to prevent delays in taking actions in responding to critical tests that may have the potential for serious harm to the patient. The process begins when spectra lab calls the clinic with a critical lab value. Once the critical lab value is received from spectra lab the authorized staff such as clinic manager or registered nurse have to receive the information and communicate the critical lab value by writing it down and reading back the lab value to the spectra lab staff. It is the authorized staff responsibility to notify the patient-physician of the critical lab value. If the lab is normal, the nurse will send certified letter to the patient. If the lab is abnormal, the physician will be informed. If the authorized staff cannot reach the provider, then the doctor should be called or paged within 15 minutes up to three attempts. And if still unable to reach physician the on-call doctor should be paged, and if unsuccessful follow the chain of command. The read back process and action taken should be documented in the patient’s …show more content…
It will help in areas of improvement such as using proper protocol for critical lab values and help with the decision-making process. The article Implementation of Workflow Engine Technology to Deliver Basic Clinical Decision Support Functionality by Huser, V., Rasmussen, L. V., Oberg, R., & Starren, J. B. (2011) was fascinating to read. It gave me insight on workflow process and the use of flowcharts within an organization to help with the decision-making process. According to Huser, V., Rasmussen, L. V., Oberg, R., & Starren, J. B. (2011) stated that they were able to come up with a system called Health Flow, which is an implementation of a workflow engine in the context of an EHR system. This software category article aims to provide implementation details for informatics and champion clinicians at healthcare organizations that may be considering workflow engine technology to enhance their decision support functionality. I believe that this system would help strengthen the technology system my organization has in
Willie Mary Bolden
Walden University
NURS 6051, WEEK 6 Transforming Nursing and Healthcare through Information Technology
October 24, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey Smith
Improving Effective Communication with Critical Lab Values
Many have their idea about the nursing profession and the skills nurses perform on a daily basis to provide a standard of care. A professional nurse gives a standard of care by showing compassion and treating each client with human dignity. A career in nursing is priceless. Being a professional nurse can lead an individual in many directions in the health care profession. The opportunities are limitless. Having an appropriate workflow is very vital in any health …show more content…
Focusing on communicating critical lab values effectively between nurses, physicians, and patients are essential to providing quality, safe, and patient center care within the organization I work. Labs have an enormous impact on a dialysis patient treatment plan. The flowchart process aims to prevent delays in taking actions in responding to critical tests that may have the potential for serious harm to the patient. The process begins when spectra lab calls the clinic with a critical lab value. Once the critical lab value is received from spectra lab the authorized staff such as clinic manager or registered nurse have to receive the information and communicate the critical lab value by writing it down and reading back the lab value to the spectra lab staff. It is the authorized staff responsibility to notify the patient-physician of the critical lab value. If the lab is normal, the nurse will send certified letter to the patient. If the lab is abnormal, the physician will be informed. If the authorized staff cannot reach the provider, then the doctor should be called or paged within 15 minutes up to three attempts. And if still unable to reach physician the on-call doctor should be paged, and if unsuccessful follow the chain of command. The read back process and action taken should be documented in the patient’s …show more content…
It will help in areas of improvement such as using proper protocol for critical lab values and help with the decision-making process. The article Implementation of Workflow Engine Technology to Deliver Basic Clinical Decision Support Functionality by Huser, V., Rasmussen, L. V., Oberg, R., & Starren, J. B. (2011) was fascinating to read. It gave me insight on workflow process and the use of flowcharts within an organization to help with the decision-making process. According to Huser, V., Rasmussen, L. V., Oberg, R., & Starren, J. B. (2011) stated that they were able to come up with a system called Health Flow, which is an implementation of a workflow engine in the context of an EHR system. This software category article aims to provide implementation details for informatics and champion clinicians at healthcare organizations that may be considering workflow engine technology to enhance their decision support functionality. I believe that this system would help strengthen the technology system my organization has in