Electronic Whiteboard in the Inpatient Care Management: Nurses' Perceptions About the Use

In the hospital setting, the traditional method of information for nurses is to consult the Electronic Health Records (EHR) on several occasions to check the continuous updates of the prescriptions. This process, in practice, involves time and multiple setbacks such as: availability of equipment (there is no computer per nurse in the office), number of patients assigned (it involves entering each EHR one by one). This is how the implementation of the tool known as electronic whiteboard (e-whiteboard) came about. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of nurses after implementation of e-whiteboard, recently introduced at Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires. A Qualitative study, which consisted of 5 group interviews with a total of 27 participants. A convenience sampling was used (selection of nurses from different shifts), corresponding to 4 sectors of adult patient admissions and 1 sector of pediatric patients. The main findings were positive aspects such as: it was a simple, intuitive and easy to navigate interface, it allowed communication with other health professionals (physicians, nutritionists and kinesiologists), and it facilitated the visualization of real time information that favors the fulfillment of tasks in scheduled time. This tool is considered of great clinical importance for coordinated patient care because the visibility and availability of clinical information improves communication between professionals, streamlines workflow, and consequently accelerates shared decision making.