Exploring implementations of electronic nurse and care messaging at municipality level

Abstract

Electronic exchange of nurse- and care-related information between hospitals, nursing homes, and home nursing care has been included for a number of years in national strategies for the Norwegian health and care sector. This focus has increased over the last year, and according to the Norwegian Health Network (NHN), most municipalities are now beginning to use so-called “e-messaging.” The aim of this abstract is to investigate efforts to improve these kinds of implementations. The abstract compares experiences from first-line leaders (FLLs)1 and “their” nurses in three municipalities. Data were collected through two surveys: one for leaders, and one for nurses. The study findings indicate that both leaders and project organizations underestimate the implementation challenges at nurse level and the need for implementation plans adjusted to local resources and work environment.