Impact of Electronic Documentation and Order Entry on Nursing Practice in an Academic LDRP Setting

This poster presents the journey of the nursing staff at the University of Michigan Women’s Birth Center over the course of a year during the implementation of computerized patient care documentation and provider order entry.  The Birth Center is a 31-bed high-risk, LDRP setting with care provided by a single cross-trained Perinatal nursing staff.  The implementation of two disparate computer applications which replaced traditional paper work-processes is described in this poster through the use of staff surveys, work-process observations, and interviews with individual nurses.  Preliminary data indicates that many nurses embrace the computer as a means of communication and efficiency for nursing, while many other nurses consider it a hindrance and time-consuming element in their day.  The impact of the continuing introduction of technologies into the Perinatal nursing arena is of interest to all nurses in the Birth Center as they struggle to provide warm, personal, high-touch care to women during childbirth while utilizing machines, computers and electronic devices for treatments and gathering information.