Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making
Published in: BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

The challenges of emerging HISs in bridging the communication gaps among physicians and nurses in China: an interview study

Authors: Dong Wen, Xingting Zhang, Jie Wan, Jing Fu, Jianbo Lei

Published in: BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

To explore the current situation, existing problems and possible causes of said problems with regards to physician-nurse communication under an environment of increasingly widespread usage of Hospital Information Systems and to seek out new potential strategies in information technology to improve physician-nurse communication.

Methods

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 physicians and nurses in five leading tertiary grade A hospitals in Beijing, China (two physicians and two nurses in each hospital). The interviews primarily included three aspects comprising the current situation and problems of clinical physician-nurse communication, the application and problems of Hospital Information Systems, and assessments on the improvement of physician-nurse communication through the usage of information technology. The inductive conventional content analysis approach was employed.

Results

(1) Physicians and nurses are generally quite satisfied with the current situation of communication. However, the information needs of nurses are prone to being overlooked, and the communication methods are primarily synchronous communication such as face-to-face and phone communication. (2) Hospital Information Systems are gradually being used for physician-nurse communication; in the meantime, physicians and nurses face challenges with regards to the improvement of physician-nurse communication through the usage of information technology. Challenges differ based on the different stages of using the system and the different levels of understanding of physicians and nurses towards information technology. Their dissatisfaction mainly deals with system errors and the level of convenience in using the system. (3) In-depth interviews found that in general, physicians and nurses have a strong interest and trust in improving physician-nurse communication through appropriate information technology, e.g., communication methods such as information reminders for physicians and nurses through mobile devices and instant voice-to-text conversion methods.

Conclusions

There are objective risks in physician-nurse communication in Chinese hospitals, and clinical information systems lack solutions to the relevant problems. Developing a dedicated, mobile, quick and convenient module for physician-nurse communication within existing hospital information system with automatic reminders for important information that segregates between synchronous and asynchronous communication according to the different types of information could help improve physician-nurse communication.
Literature
1.
2.
He L, Shi W. Quantitative analysis of population aging on mortality disparities for major non-communicable diseases in china. Chin J Dis Control Prev. 2016;20(2):121–4.
3.
4.
Liu Y, Sun J, Hu G, Ma J, Luo L, Hu L, Guo J, Jiang Y. Third-party evaluation of china healthcare improvement initiative. Chin J Hosp Adm (Chic). 2016;32(6):404–9.
5.
Wu S, Zhu W, Li H, Wang Z, Wang M. Relationship between job burnout and occupational stress among doctors in china. Stress Health. 2008;24(2):143–9.CrossRef
6.
Poghosyan L, Clarke SP, Finlayson M, Aiken LH. Nurse burnout and quality of care: cross‐national investigation in six countries. Res Nurs Health. 2010;33(4):288–98.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
7.
Lancaster G, Kolakowsky Hayner S, Kovacich J, Greer WN. Interdisciplinary communication and collaboration among physicians, nurses, and unlicensed assistive personnel. J Nurs Scholarship. 2015;47(3):275–84.CrossRef
8.
Clarke MA, Belden JL, Koopman RJ, Steege LM, Moore JL, Canfield SM, et al. Information needs and information-seeking behavior analysis of primary care physicians and nurses: a literature review. Health Info Libr J. 2013;30(3):178–90.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Al-Qadheeb NS, Hoffmeister J, Roberts R, Shanahan K, Garpestad E, Devlin JW. Perceptions of nurses and physicians of their communication at night about intensive care patients’ pain, agitation, and delirium. Am J Crit Care. 2013;22(5):e49–61.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Vogwill V, Reeves S. Challenges of information exchange between nurses and physicians in multidisciplinary team meetings. J Interprof Care. 2008;22(6):664–7.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Matzke B, Houston S, Fischer U, Bradshaw MJ. Using a team‐centered approach to evaluate effectiveness of nurse–physician communications. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2014;43(6):684–94.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Cogdill KW. Information needs and information seeking in primary care: a study of nurse practitioners. J Med Libr Assoc. 2003;91(2):203–15.PubMedPubMedCentral
13.
Covell DG, Uman GC, Manning PR. Information needs in office practice: are they being met? Ann Intern Med. 1985;103(4):596–9.CrossRefPubMed
14.
15.
Nguyen L, Bellucci E, Nguyen LT. Electronic health records implementation: an evaluation of information system impact and contingency factors. Int J Med Inform. 2014;83(11):779–96.CrossRefPubMed
16.
Driscoll M, Gurka D. Using the electronic medical record to enhance physician-nurse communication regarding Patients’ discharge status. Nurs Adm Q. 2015;39(4):E31–7.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Meißner A, Schnepp W. Staff experiences within the implementation of computer-based nursing records in residential aged care facilities: a systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research. BMC Med Inform Decis. 2014;14(1):1.CrossRef
18.
Lu W, Yan Z, Yao D. Design and implementation of EMR information system in hospitals. Chin j Med Instrum. 2011;35(6):437–41.
19.
Wu RC, Tran K, Lo V, O’Leary KJ, Morra D, Quan SD, Perrier L. Effects of clinical communication interventions in hospitals: a systematic review of information and communication technology adoptions for improved communication between clinicians. Int J Med Inform. 2012;81(11):723–32.CrossRefPubMed
20.
21.
McMullan A, Parush A, Momtahan K. Transferring patient care: patterns of synchronous Bidisciplinary communication between physicians and nurses during handoffs in a critical care unit. J Perianesth Nurs. 2015;30(2):92–104.CrossRefPubMed
22.
Edwards A, Fitzpatrick L, Augustine S, Trzebucki A, Cheng SL, Presseau C, et al. Synchronous communication facilitates interruptive workflow for attending physicians and nurses in clinical settings. Int J Med Inform. 2009;78(9):629–37.CrossRefPubMed
23.
Juodaitė-Račkauskienė A. Attitude of doctors and nurses of Centro and Šeškinė outpatient clinics to implementation of information technologies depending on their age and job. Health Sci. 2011;21(6 (78)):16–24.
24.
Wen D, Guan P, Zhang X, Lei J. Physicians’ perceptions of physician-nurse interactions and information needs in China. Inform Health Soc Care. 2017;6:1.CrossRef
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Hsieh H, Shannon SE. Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qual Health Res. 2005;15(9):1277–88.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Menachemi N, Collum TH. Benefits and drawbacks of electronic health record systems. Risk Manage healthcare policy. 2010;4:47–55.
32.
Payne PR, Lussier Y, Foraker RE, Embi PJ. Rethinking the role and impact of health information technology: informatics as an interventional discipline. BMC Med Inform Decis. 2016;16(1):1.CrossRef
33.
Leary KJ O, Sharma RK, Killarney A, Hara LS O, Lohman ME, Culver E, et al. Patients’ and healthcare providers’ perceptions of a mobile portal application for hospitalized patients. BMC Med Inform Decis. 2016;16(1):123.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
The challenges of emerging HISs in bridging the communication gaps among physicians and nurses in China: an interview study
Authors
Dong Wen
Xingting Zhang
Jie Wan
Jing Fu
Jianbo Lei
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6947
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12911-017-0473-x

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making 1/2017 Go to the issue

Research article

Routine health information system utilization and factors associated thereof among health workers at government health institutions in East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia

Research article

A health app developer’s guide to law and policy: a multi-sector policy analysis

Research article

ACSC Indicator: testing reliability for hypertension

Research article

Comparison of machine learning techniques to predict all-cause mortality using fitness data: the Henry ford exercIse testing (FIT) project

Research article

Constructive eHealth evaluation: lessons from evaluation of EHR development in 4 Danish hospitals

Research article

Using participatory methods to design an mHealth intervention for a low income country, a case study in Chikwawa, Malawi