Studies in health technology and informatics
-
Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2017
The Journey to Become a Health Literate Organization: A Snapshot of Health System Improvement.
A health literate health care organization is one that makes it easy for people to navigate, understand, and use information and services to take care of their health. This chapter explores the journey that a growing number of organizations are taking to become health literate. Health literacy improvement has increasingly been viewed as a systems issue, one that moves beyond siloed efforts by recognizing that action is required on multiple levels. ⋯ Nonetheless, discernable progress has been made. While committed to transformation, organizations seeking to be health literate recognize that it is not a destination you can ever reach. A health literate organization is constantly striving, always knowing that further improvement can be made.
-
Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2017
Clinical Simulation: Evaluating the Usability of a Health Information System in a Telenurse Call Centre.
Telenursing is a specialized subset of nursing practice that has emerged in response to the development of health care technology. Telenurses use health information systems (HIS) as their main source of health information in order to assist callers with their health related concerns on the telephone. ⋯ The purpose of this paper is to describe usability issues that emerged during a clinical simulation study of nurses working in a call centre. Clinical simulation was thus chosen as the most comprehensive methodology in this study and its benefits will be discussed.
-
Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2017
Consumer Medication Information: Similarities and Differences Between Three Canadian Pharmacies.
Prescription medication use is prevalent. When a new prescription medication is dispensed, Consumer Medication Information (CMI) is provided to communicate various important aspects of the medication (e.g., benefits, administration instructions, potential side effects). However, CMI is not regulated and differs from pharmacy to pharmacy. ⋯ Although online CMI has the advantage of interactivity to expedite navigation to specific topics of interest (e.g., heading links) and searching for key words, this CMI was not layered but rather presented as one long continuous page. Consumers with lower eHealth literacy skills may be deterred by the length of the document. As CMI makes the shift to online presentation an improved understanding of optimal information organization and media presentation will be needed.
-
The Government of Alberta continues to improve delivery of healthcare by allowing Albertans to access their health information online. Alberta is the only province in Canada with provincial electronic health records for all its citizens. These records are currently made available to medical practitioners, but Alberta Health believes that providing Albertans access to their health records will transform the delivery of healthcare in Alberta. ⋯ Service Alberta developed the MyAlberta Digital ID program to provide a digital identity verification service. The Ministry of Health is leveraging MyAlberta Digital ID to enable Albertans to access their personal health records through the Personal Health Portal. The Government of Alberta is advancing its vision of patient-centred healthcare by enabling Albertans to access a trusted source for health information and their electronic health records using a secure digital identity.
-
Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2017
Randomized Controlled TrialCognitive Performance of Users Is Affected by Electronic Handovers Depending on Role, Task and Human Factors.
Patient handovers are cognitively demanding, crucial for information continuity and patient safety, but error prone. This study investigated the effect of an electronic handover tool, i.e. the handoverEHR, on the memory and care planning performance of nurse students (n=32) in a randomised, controlled cross-over design with the factors handover task and handover role. ⋯ Without handover experience and with low fluency to word problems, givers performed badly in the most demanding of the handover tasks. Final recommendations, however, can only be made after replicating this study in a clinical setting with mixed groups.