Using Technology to Promote Perinatal Patient Safety

Leaders in health care and national health policy recommend information technology information technology as a strategy to promote patient safety. Technology enables error prevention, surveillance, and analysis. Although there is little research about technology and safety in perinatal care, nurses in the specialty can use current evidence about the electronic health record, decision support systems, and medication safety devices to guide practice. This article includes key issues and general recommendations for the use of information technology to promote patient safety, the most common applications relevant to perinatal care, and strategies for perinatal nurses who implement information technology to promote patient safety. JOGNN, 35, 424‐431;2006. DOI: 10.1111/J.1552‐6909.2006.00059.x