Designing and testing clinical simulations of an early warning system for implementation in acute care settings

Conducting simulation testing with end-users is essential for facilitating successful implementation of new health information technologies. This study designed a standardized simulation testing process with a system prototype prior to implementation to help study teams identify the system's interpretability and feasibility from the end-user perspective and to effectively integrate new innovations into real-world clinical settings and workflows.

A clinical simulation model was developed to test a new Clinical Decision Support (CDS) system outside of the clinical environment while maintaining high fidelity. A web-based CDS prototype, the "CONCERN Smart Application," which leverages clinical data to measure and express a patient's risk of deterioration on a 3-level scale ("low," "moderate," or "high"), and audiovisual-integrated materials, were used to lead simulation sessions.

A total of 6 simulation sessions with 17 nurses were held to investigate how nurses interact with the CONCERN Smart application and how it influences their critical thinking, and clinical responses. Four themes were extracted from the simulation debriefing sessions and used to inform implementation strategies. The strategies include how the CDS should be improved for practical real-world use.

Standardized simulation testing procedures identified and informed the necessary CDS improvements, the enhancements needed for real-world use, and the training requirements to effectively prepare end-users for system go-live.