FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  March 4, 2009
Media Contacts:  Liz Parry 202-777-1174

Washington, DC – With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act now signed into law, the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) calls on the Obama administration, Congress, technology manufacturers and purchasers to work with nurses and other health care providers to ensure that the technologies are developed and deployed in a way that allows health care providers more time with their patients, which will result in increased safety, improved clinical outcomes and decreased costs.

“This is a critical time for health information technology, and we, as a nation, must get it right,” Linda Burnes Bolton, DrPH, RN, FAAN member of the Workforce Commission and Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer at Cedars-Sinai commented. She went on to say, “There needs to be a sea-change in how technology is developed and deployed in order to achieve an increase in the amount of time nurses and other providers spend with patients. Additionally, the right technologies will lead to increases in safety, improved clinical outcomes and decreases in cost.”

In 2005, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation the Academy’s Workforce Commission began their Technology Targets Project. A major component of the project is a process called Technology Drill Down, which provides medical/surgical units the opportunity to develop and improve their process and workflow inefficiencies by identifying technological solutions.

The results of the Workforce Commission’s project “Technology Solutions to Make Patient Care Safer and More Efficient,” suggest through the proper type and use of technology there is a potential to increase the amount of time nurses spend providing direct care, which increases patient safety, improves clinical outcomes and decreases costs.

“I applaud President Obama and Congress for recognizing the potential impact that health IT can have on both the economy and the current health care system by passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” said Pam Cipriano, PhD, RN, FAAN Chair of the Workforce Commission and Chief Clinical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer at the University of Virginia Health System. Cipriano continued, “Using the Technology Target Project and involving nurses and other health care professionals in identifying technological solutions and process improvements can help ensure the stimulus money is spent on technologies that increase patient safety and quality as well as reduce costs.”

The American Academy of Nursing anticipates and tracks national and international trends in health care, while addressing resulting issues of health care knowledge and policy. The Academy’s mission is to serve the public and nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge.

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