Clinical Simulation in the Development of eHealth: In-Situ and Laboratory Simulation

Health information technology (IT) may improve patient safety and quality, but the application of new technology in health care may also increase patient safety hazards. The complexity of organizations, work practices and physical environments within the healthcare sector impacts the development and application of health IT. Clinical simulation can be used to evaluate technology in differing clinical contexts, throughout the software development life cycle in nursing informatics. Clinical simulation may be conducted in a range of settings varying from simulation laboratories to simulation in real settings. Clinical simulation supports involvement of context in pre-implementation design and evaluation of health IT involving real end-users as they use technology in realistic environments performing realistic tasks. The inclusion of clinical context is a powerful element of clinical simulation and enables visualization of technology in connection with clinical context without endangering patients.