O uality & 40 QUALITY & SAFETY
A column by Maureen Flynn
Safety
More information on using ‘good information practices’
Advances in information technology have given rise to the everyday adoption and use of new types of information, new apps and new devices. All of these change the ways nurses and midwives perform their everyday work. Everyone in health- care deals with information each and every day while doing their job. Information comes in many different forms and formats, both paper and elec- tronic. Regulations like the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) make healthcare organisations and the nurses and midwives acting on their behalf, responsible for securely protecting the per- sonal healthcare information entrusted to Sometimes it is difficult, while doing complicated everyday tasks, to figure out how to best handle this information especially with GDPR, etc, to consider. Everyone wants to avoid the headlines below happening again. • X-ray report found in Penneys • Cancer patient’s chart left on roof of car • Child’s mental health records accidentally faxed to Bank of Ireland. Good information practices are central in providing quality nursing and midwifery care. The HSE provides an online training course, via HSELanD, which aims to help refresh our thinking in relation to everyday information and related problems. Online training This ‘Good information practices’ online training only takes 20 minutes to complete and can be completed over multiple sessions if necessary. There is a short assessment at the end of the train- ing. When all five questions are answered correctly (multiple attempts are allowed... just in case) a certificate of completion is awarded and can be printed off for your professional development plan (PDP). The good information practices online training will help with areas like GDPR compliance, internet and email security them. So what does this mean? Good information practices
and data quality. All of the following topics are covered during the training: • Types of information • Correct information handling • Storing and transferring information • Restricting access to information • Identity security and sharing • Maintaining internet and email security • Improving data collection, quality and reporting. Completing the short online pro- gramme we help you identify your responsibilities in relation to gather- ing, handling and disposal of restricted and confidential information. Common everyday work situations and practises involving information are worked through, with short multiple choice exercises, to help you put your knowledge into practice in a safe environment. In busy clinical settings it can be difficult to recognise unsafe or bad practices which may have crept in over months or years, without any bad intent. Good information practices training encourages us to take a step back and look at our own everyday work, how information is routinely handled and how this can be improved for the bene- fit of everyone. Many of us can be unsure of when, Reporting data breaches Howwill this training help?
how and who to ask for advice if we come across an information related question or problem – what would you do if you lost some patient files or your HSE computer was stolen? The good information prac- tices training helps us to identify the steps to be taken in these types of situations. Opportunity to get involved At your next PDP discussion, ward/ team/clinic meeting you might take the opportunity to talk about how informa- tion is managed and consider if the online training would be valuable for you and your team members to complete. Find more information on the HSE website at: https://bit.ly/2GgChVy Steps to access the online training 1. Log on to HSELanD.ie 2. Click on course catalogues 3. Search for ‘good information practices’ 4. Click to take the training. You receive a certificate of completion when you pass the short test including 0.5 continuing professional development points from the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI). Maureen Flynn is the director of nursingONMSD, QI Connections Lead, HSE National Quality ImprovementTeam Acknowledgement: Particular thanks to Helen Lambert, HSE Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) for sharing this information and assistance in preparing this column.For further information please contact Helen by email to: helen.lambert@hse.ie
Powered by FlippingBook