The Inpatient Nursing Leadership Perspective of Using Mobile Technology at the Bedside

Introducing technology to support patient care in today's complex healthcare organizations can be innovative yet challenging. Managers are often not included in technology decisions that affect their nursing units, and less often is manager insight into the project taken into consideration. Studies that describe the executive-level role and information technology are helpful but not specific to managers' perspectives. The purpose of this project was to identify the factors related to managers' perceptions about the use of mobile technology at the bedside. Mobile technology includes using smartphones for communication and documentation of patient care. Inpatient nurse managers participated in focus groups; semi-structured interview questions were administered. Nurse managers overwhelmingly indicated they should be involved in technology-related projects that affect their units. Nurse managers have a central role in supporting changes that occur with implementing technology and should be involved at the inception of the innovation. Understanding these associated complex factors is necessary to address issues and promote strategies for the successful implementation of mobile technology. Manager inclusion has far-reaching potential as they can serve as sounding boards and conduits to nursing staff, subsequently promoting engagement and adoption of the technology.