Nurse adoption of continuous patient monitoring on acute post-surgical units: managing technology implementation

To report an exploratory action-research process used during the implementation of continuous patient monitoring in acute post-surgical nursing units.

Substantial US Federal funding has been committed to implementing new health care technology, but failure to manage implementation processes may limit successful adoption and the realisation of proposed benefits. Effective approaches for managing barriers to new technology implementation are needed.

Continuous patient monitoring was implemented in three of 13 medical/surgical units. An exploratory action-feedback approach, using time-series nurse surveys, was used to identify barriers and develop and evaluate responses. Post-hoc interviews and document analysis were used to describe the change implementation process.

Significant differences were identified in night- and dayshift nurses' perceptions of technology benefits. Research nurses' facilitated the change process by evolving 'clinical nurse implementation specialist' expertise.

Health information technology (HIT)-related patient outcomes are mediated through nurses' acting on new information but HIT designed for critical care may not transfer to acute care settings. Exploratory action-feedback approaches can assist nurse managers in assessing and mitigating the real-world effects of HIT implementations.

It is strongly recommended that nurse managers identify stakeholders and develop comprehensive plans for monitoring the effects of HIT in their units.