NURS 6051 THE ROLE OF THE NURSE INFORMATICIST IN SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

Our textbook explains that SDLC stands for system development life cycle which is a way to deliver efficient and effective information systems that work with the business plan or organization (Mcgonigle & Mastrian, 2022).  With the enhancements in technology, healthcare organizations have one goal, to utilize the advancements in technology to make staff work efficiently and that will benefit the company financially.  There are several phases in the SDLC life cycle. Project planning, analysis, design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance (Thampy, 2019).

Recently, the company I work for wanted to switch our claims systems to a more enhanced system that can be utilized in all health plans- Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial. The company wanted everyone to be the same across the board. Our nursing team had no input in this new system. I work on the Medicaid side for the state of Kentucky but am also a float and can work for other states as well.  When this new system was in the project planning phase, we had no say, we were told by an email that we would be switching to this new system in phases, and training would be set up through email. The training was not optional, and we could not take PTO during this time. After the training, we learned quickly that this system was not user-friendly and very time-consuming. But, with any other new system, we had to get used to it, but I will say, we hate it.  During the analysis and design phase, there were meetings set up for questions and concerns after the training and we did mention a lot of valid points, but our voices were not heard. My issue was that each state has its own codes they use for claims and with this system we had to all use the same code across the board.  I try to inform the company that after an authorization is submitted to claims, it will get kicked out because every state is different and has different codes and turnaround times.  But the system was implemented and there has been problems since day one. Most problems IT has been able to fix, but not on the claims side.  We have had two states back out of the system entirely and for Kentucky, we have not even launched it yet. There has been a lot of time wasted on training and many upset nurses. I feel if the company would listen to us that this new system will not be beneficial, it would have saved the company time and money. All they hear is us complaining as if we can’t embrace change, but in reality, we are the ones in the systems day in and day out, we know what will work best.

Reference:

Mcgonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2022). Nursing Informatics And The Foundation Of Knowledge. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Thampy, R. (2019). 7 Stages of SDLC | 7 Phases of SDLC Software Development Life Cycle | Betsol. Www.betsol.com. https://www.betsol.com/blog/7-stages-of-sdlc-how-to-keep-development-teams-running/