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© 2024. This work is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background:Although intended to support improvement, the rapid adoption and evolution of technologies in health care can also bring about unintended consequences related to safety. In this project, an embedded researcher with expertise in patient safety and clinical education worked with a clinical informatics team to examine safety and harm related to health information technologies (HITs) in primary and community care settings. The clinical informatics team participated in learning activities around relevant topics (eg, human factors, high reliability organizations, and sociotechnical systems) and cocreated a process to address safety events related to technology (ie, safety huddles and sociotechnical analysis of safety events).

Objective:This study aimed to explore clinical informaticians’ experiences of incorporating safety practices into their work.

Methods:We used a qualitative descriptive design and conducted web-based focus groups with clinical informaticians. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

Results:A total of 10 informants participated. Barriers to addressing safety and harm in their context included limited prior knowledge of HIT safety, previous assumptions and perspectives, competing priorities and organizational barriers, difficulty with the reporting system and processes, and a limited number of reports for learning. Enablers to promoting safety and mitigating harm included participating in learning sessions, gaining experience analyzing reported events, participating in safety huddles, and role modeling and leadership from the embedded researcher. Individual outcomes included increased ownership and interest in HIT safety, the development of a sociotechnical systems perspective, thinking differently about safety, and increased consideration for user perspectives. Team outcomes included enhanced communication within the team, using safety events to inform future work and strategic planning, and an overall promotion of a culture of safety.

Conclusions:As HITs are integrated into care delivery, it is important for clinical informaticians to recognize the risks related to safety. Experiential learning activities, including reviewing safety event reports and participating in safety huddles, were identified as particularly impactful. An HIT safety learning initiative is a feasible approach for clinical informaticians to become more knowledgeable and engaged in HIT safety issues in their work.

Details

Title
Clinical Informatics Team Members’ Perspectives on Health Information Technology Safety After Experiential Learning and Safety Process Development: Qualitative Descriptive Study
Author
Recsky, Chantelle  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rush, Kathy L  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; MacPhee, Maura  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Stowe, Megan  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Blackburn, Lorraine  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Muniak, Allison  VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Currie, Leanne M  VIAFID ORCID Logo 
First page
e53302
Section
Development and Evaluation of Research Methods, Instruments and Tools
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
JMIR Publications
e-ISSN
2561326X
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3228641605
Copyright
© 2024. This work is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.