Is it just me...or does it seem as though computer charting for nurses is stuck in the stone age?!?! I mean, this is the age of technology, correct? And we seem to have a surplus of computer engineers/programmers, etc. in our jobforce. I just don't understand why healthcare computer charting, especially for nurses, remains so complicated....not user friendly in the least.
I worked at every hospital system, with the exception of the VA, in my Metro Area while doing clinicals during school. Each hospital had a differenct charting system...each with its own quirks and pitfalls. I consider my hospital's systems one of the best, yet it is riddled with flaws. I don't understand this. It seems like sooo much money could be made from designing a user-friendly charting system, especially if it was linked through multiple hospital systems where different facilities in different networks could share information.
Is there a specific area of nursing that focuses on this type of technology? I floated to our ER today and they have an AMAZING charting and tracking system, but it was designed specifically for the ER...it wouldn't work for the floors. In fact, we can't even access their system because we use a totally different system.
I feel like computer charting, in general, could be improved by leaps and bounds.