Going too cheap on such metrics will lead to inopportune shortages and other calamities while spending too much time or money leads to waste and more pressing and urgent issues getting delayed or even missed. The author of this response would make sure to have all necessary resources and supplies on hand while not being wasteful.

Technology's Effects on Workflow & Article Review

The author of this response has been asked to offer an opinion on the impact of technology on workflow. It is important to use technology as a tool and to use it adeptly but technology is no replacement for common sense and people need to remember that a computer or measurement tool is only as smart as the person using it. Technology can be a huge part of process improvement success but only if it's used in a common-sense and gifted way.

One example of this in action is electronic health records. The article reviewed for this response summarized that while the benefits of electronic health records are numerous, there are significant barriers to realizing these benefits if the entity planning and implementing them are not careful about how it is done. The article suggests the use of templates, efficient data organization and proper handling and importation of relevant data from other sources and avenues. Navigational...

It is a delicate balance but one that is imperative in a medical setting and that includes it and administration tasks, not just medical care.
References

Miller R.H. & Sim. I. (2004). Physicians' use of electronic medical records: barriers and solutions. Health Aff 2004;23(2):116-126.

NIH. (2007, April 1). Care planning efficiency for nursing facil... [Nurs Econ. 2007 Mar-Apr] - PubMed - NCBI. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved April 16, 2013, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17500493

University of Michigan. (2013, April 15). ITS: Methodology - Process Improvement. University of Michigan. Retrieved April 15, 2013, from www.mais.umich.edu/methodology/process-improvement/