Clinical Informatics Team Members' Perspectives on Health Information Technology Safety After Experiential Learning...

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Patient Safety
• Sociotechnical Systems Theory

Background:

• Rapid adoption of health information technologies (HITs) can introduce unintended safety risks in healthcare.
• An embedded researcher collaborated with a clinical informatics team to examine HIT safety and harm in primary and community care.
• The team engaged in learning activities on human factors and sociotechnical systems, developing processes like safety huddles for technology-related safety events.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore clinical informaticians' experiences in integrating patient safety practices into their work.
• To identify barriers and enablers for clinical informaticians addressing health information technology safety.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive study design.
• Web-based focus groups conducted with 10 clinical informaticians.
• Thematic analysis used for data interpretation.

Main Results:

• Key barriers included limited prior knowledge of HIT safety, competing priorities, and reporting system difficulties.
• Enablers comprised learning sessions, analyzing safety events, participating in safety huddles, and researcher leadership.
• Outcomes included increased ownership of HIT safety, a sociotechnical perspective, and enhanced team communication and safety culture.

Conclusions:

• Clinical informaticians must recognize safety risks associated with HIT integration.
• Experiential learning, safety event reviews, and safety huddles significantly impact HIT safety.
• A dedicated HIT safety learning initiative can enhance informatician knowledge and engagement.