Moving To Computerized Charting

The hospital where I teach pediatric clinicals has recently made the transition to computerized charting.  Everyone held their breath during the preparation time and now it seems people are learning to use the system, kicking and screaming if they like it or not.  Nursing informatics is here to stay and so we had all better get on board.  However, watching from a slight distance and having no bias one way or the other to the outcome of this huge project I have made some interesting observations.

There seem to be many pros and cons to computerized vs paper charting.  The first biggie is the sheer size of implementing a project like this.  The training goes on and on and on to every single member of the team.  There is a sharp learning curve that creates momentary frustration and in the meantime, the nurse especially, is not spending as much time at the bedside.  When I walk on the floor early in the morning gone are the days when the staff are chatting with each other, now they are glued to individual computers on wheels, catching up on their documentations and trying to figure out what the heck all those icons mean.  I also have noticed that when the nurse enters a room to conduct an admission she now takes her trusty new BFF (said computer on wheels) with him/her and stares at that while feverishly inputting data and the family do not get much of a glance.

Having said that it is a huge bonus to be able to now read the chart with legible handwriting and not to be wasting mounds and mounds of paper that previously had to be securely shredded!  It is also worthy of note that the new system has automated reminders, which has to help decrease the incidence of medical errors.

A patients status can be updated quickly and all who are involved in the care can see that status promptly, this can only help improve cross-team communication.  

However, approaching week 5 of the semester, despite lots of training, begging and weeping I still have to receive access to computerized charting and then it will be in Read Only Status!  As a result me and my students have been conducting clinicals pretty much blindfolded having very limited access to the patient chart.  The students also have no opportunity to do any charting which I think is a huge loss for their clinical experience.

Am I a fan of transitioning to computerized charting?  I think inevitable I am, but it has many many teething problems in the meantime.