Recommendations for health information technology implementation in rural hospitals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate violations against work standards associated with using a new health information technology (HIT) system. Relevant recommendations for implementing HIT in rural hospitals are provided and discussed to achieve meaningful use. Design/methodology/approach – An observational study is conducted to map medication administration process while using a HIT system in a rural hospital. Follow-up focus groups are held to determine and verify potential adverse factors related to using the HIT system while passing drugs to patients. Findings – A detailed task analysis demonstrated several violations, such as only relying on the barcode scanning system to match up with patient and drugs could potentially result in the medical staff forgetting to provide drug information verbally before administering drugs. There was also a lack of regulated and clear work procedure in using the new HIT system. In addition, the computer system controls and displays could not be adjusted so as to satisfy the users’ expectations. Nurses prepared medications and documentation in an environment that was prone to interruptions. Originality/value – Recommendations for implementing a HIT system in rural healthcare facilities can be categorized into five areas: people, tasks, tools, environment, and organization. Detailed remedial measures are provided for achieving continuous process improvements at resource-limited healthcare facilities in rural areas.