Facilitating Adoption of an Electronic Documentation System

Best practice recommends the integration of clinical documentation into the hospital electronic health record to support safe, efficient, and timely patient care. A major barrier to successful adoption and optimization of computerized documentation systems is user satisfaction. The purpose of this descriptive, performance improvement initiative was to implement and evaluate user satisfaction with an electronic documentation system to facilitate successful adoption. The Clinical Procedure Flowsheets application was implemented in a geriatric extended care unit of a large healthcare system. Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation and Davis' Technology Acceptance Model were used to guide system adoption and improve user experience of the innovation. The Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use questionnaire was distributed to 24 nursing staff working in the unit 9 weeks after implementation. Results indicated that respondents perceived the Clinical Procedure Flowsheets as easy to use and useful in accomplishing their documentation tasks. The overall mean satisfaction score of 72.17 (SD, 12.13) implied a strong level of user acceptance. The positive perception of the nursing staff in the geriatric extended care unit suggests a high probability of system use that can enhance the documentation of patient care. Further research is recommended to evaluate factors related to system adoption and user satisfaction.