Assessment 1 Instructions: Vila Health: Health Information Technology Needs Analysis
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• Create a 4-6-page technology needs analysis based on a Vila Health simulation.
A needs analysis is a way to address needed changes within a health care organization. Typically, when completing a needs analysis, the reviewer will look at the current state and compare it to a desired state for the organization.
This assessment provides an opportunity for you to complete a needs analysis to identify gaps in practice related to current technology within an organization. As a part of the needs analysis, you will define a problem with current technology and determine what practice improvements can be made by identifying new or updated technology to meet the needs of the patient population and improve outcomes.
Demonstration of Proficiency
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
o Competency 1: Defend the selection of a technology to meet the needs of a health care organization.
Identify gaps in practice within an organization.
Defend the relevance and importance of a needs analysis to patients, communities, and nurses.
o Competency 3: Evaluate and solve ethical and legal issues relating to health care technology.
Explain how specific practice changes will be legally and ethically beneficial for patients with respect to quality outcomes.
o Competency 4: Address assessment purpose in a well-organized text, incorporating appropriate evidence and tone in grammatically sound sentences.
Address the appropriate audience, using familiar, discipline-specific language and terminology.
You should complete this assessment first.
Note: The assessments in this course must be completed in the order presented; subsequent assessments should be built on both your earlier work and your instructor’s feedback on earlier assessments. If you choose to submit assessments prematurely, without considering and integrating your instructor’s feedback, your assessment may be returned ungraded, resulting in your loss of an assessment attempt.
Instructions
Use the following simulation to complete this assessment:
o Vila Health: Health Information Technology Needs Analysis.
Conduct a needs analysis to identify gaps in practice related to a specific health information technology and report your findings. Before you begin writing your analysis report, be sure to note the requirements below for document format and length and for citing supporting evidence.
The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Be sure that, at a minimum, you address each criterion. You may also want to read the Vila Health: Health Information Technology Needs Analysis Scoring Guide to better understand how each criterion will be assessed.
o Identify gaps in practice within the organization.
Use evidence-based practices and appropriate assessment techniques or processes to identify current gaps.
Consider the key elements of communication, data management, and patient education.
o Explain how specific practice changes will be legally and ethically beneficial for patients with respect to quality outcomes.
Include the factors that may potentially affect outcomes.
Include the legal and ethical nursing responsibilities that are applicable to technology implementation and changes.
Consider the patient’s educational and resource needs with regard to technology implementation and adoption.
o Defend the relevance and importance of a needs analysis to patients, communities, and nurses.
Determine the influence of outcome measures on patient care.
Determine the need for technology in the clinical environment.
Identify the sources of data collection.
o Address the appropriate audience, using familiar, discipline-specific language and terminology.
Write with a specific purpose and audience in mind.
Organize and structure your writing coherently.
Adhere to scholarly and disciplinary writing standards and APA formatting requirements.
Adhere to the accepted rules of grammar and mechanics.
Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult for them to focus on the substance of your assessment.
Document Format and Length
Format your document using APA style.
o Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] to help you in writing and formatting your document. Be sure to include:
A title page and a references page. An abstract is not required.
Appropriate section headings.
o Be sure your needs analysis is 4-6 pages in length, not including the title page and references page.
Supporting Evidence
Cite at least five credible sources from peer-reviewed journals or professional industry publications to support your analysis.
Vila Health Challenge
Delivering the highest quality health care in today’s world requires and creates a great deal of information and data. Managers in this field must be able to make decisions around the use of a wide variety of information systems, which are used to store, use, and analyze this data. In order to be effective at managing a complex health care organization, leaders must understand the information technology that their organization uses, and the connections between different health care information systems.
In this activity, you will gather information related to the needs of various departments within the hospital in order to conduct a needs analysis.
Health Information Technology Needs Analysis
Vila Health is a medium-sized system of health operating facilities in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area. Vila Health is growing and has recently acquired two smaller systems in Iowa and North Dakota: Delaware County Regional Health System, which consists of Independence Medical Center and Delaware County Hospital, and Red River Rural Health System, which consists of Valley City Hospital and several small clinics.
Leaders at all three organizations are now focused on providing a smooth transition for both staff and patients. Transition teams tasked with analyzing and evaluating the IT needs and current health information systems in use have been formed and the first team will focus on Independence Medical Center, Delaware County Regional Health System’s rural referral hospital. The information gathered by the transition team will be used to make strategic decisions about health information systems not only at Independence Medical Center, but throughout the entire Vila Health organization.
HIM Transition Team
From: Evelyn Unger, HIM Transition Team Project Manager
To: Dithra Cotton-Lewis
Welcome aboard! I understand that you are going to be on the HIM transition team that is tasked with identifying current status and needs for our health information technology here at Independence Medical Center. As a rural referral hospital, we have had to address technology needs that other, smaller hospitals haven’t.
I have set up a folder for you to use on the network and I uploaded some information about the hospital which I think will help you to get a sense of our organizational structure. You’ll probably want to talk to various key people – not necessarily just managers – to get a handle on which information systems they use and what problems they’re having with them. Go ahead and familiarize yourself with our team.
Touch base with me again when you know who you want to talk to and I will help with scheduling times for everyone.
Evelyn
