Whether you or loved ones have received care from nurses, you probably recall their skill and compassion.

But despite being the largest group of frontline caregivers — outnumbering doctors by 3 to 1 — nurses are often left out of the process when it comes to testing, purchasing and deploying technologies they’ll ultimately use to deliver critical services.

That’s a big missed opportunity. A disconnect between nurses and IT teams is considered the No. 1 barrier to success, according to results published in the HIMSS 2020 Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey, and there is plenty of value in building a partnership to support digital transformation together.

Doing so starts with dialogue. “IT staff must ask questions to uncover what nurses are thinking about: What data do they collect and analyze in their minds? What decisions are they making?” says consultant Linda Harrington, who edits a technology column for a quarterly journal published by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Gaining this buy-in has benefits beyond strong patient care. It will be key for efficiency and staff retention as 1 million U.S. nurses enter retirement by 2030, according to projections cited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.

Insights Help to Drive Care
As nurses gain a greater foothold in healthcare technology discussions, there’s a lot to consider as your IT plans evolve. This is why we’ve expanded coverage to offer thought leadership and success stories with this high-profile audience in mind.

After all, “Nurses are the center of digital transformation; they spend the most time with patients and spend the most time interacting with the EHR and technology to deliver care,” Betty Jo Rocchio, chief nursing optimization officer at Mercy, recently told HealthTech in a roundtable interview with her industry peers.

I invite you to read Rocchio’s thoughts and other insightful stories here. When you’re done, be sure to thank the nurses in your life.