Determining an appropriate clinical problem for expert system development in the neonatal intensive care unit

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Intensive Care
• Medical Informatics
• Nursing Research

Background:

• Expert systems (ES) can support clinical decision-making for neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs).
• Identifying appropriate clinical problems is crucial for effective ES development.
• The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) is a structured method for group consensus.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate the utility of NGT in identifying a clinical problem for ES development.
• To select a priority clinical issue for NNPs in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Main Methods:

• A pilot study employing the Nominal Group Technique (NGT).
• Five NNPs participated in identifying and prioritizing clinical problems.
• Problem prioritization was based on amenability to ES development.

Main Results:

• Twenty-one clinical problems were initially identified by NNPs.
• The group prioritized 5 problems suitable for ES development.
• Fluid management in very low birthweight (VLBW) infants was chosen for projected ES development.

Conclusions:

• NGT is an effective method for identifying clinical problems for ES development in the NICU.
• Fluid management in VLBW infants presents a significant opportunity for ES application.
• This study provides a foundation for developing targeted ES solutions for neonatal care.