Abstract
Because of the coming year 2000, the need was assessed to upgrade the order entry system at many hospitals. At Somerset Medical Center, a training team divided the transition into phases and used a modified version of the nursing process to implement the new program. The entire process required fewer than 6 months and was relatively problem-free. This successful transition was aided by the nursing process, training team, and innovative educational techniques.
Somerset Medical Center, like many other hospitals, evaluated compliance and productivity reviews for the year 2000. The initial reviews revealed a need to upgrade the current order entry system. The Information Systems Department chose a Windows-based order entry product that provides patient care functionality from a single entry point. Next, a team was organized and prepared for the initial training and ongoing staff support. The team met on a weekly basis, divided the transition into three phases (training, testing, Go-Live), and used a modified version of the nursing process to assess, plan, implement, and evaluate the transition. The entire process required less than 6 months and was relatively problem-free. The majority of the issues during the actual Go-Live week were related to computer hardware and not the new software program. The successful transition was aided by the use of the nursing process, which identified many problems prior to the conclusion of the implementation phase (Go-Live).