Open Access

Introduction: The German health and care system is transforming due to advancing digitalization. New technological applications in nursing, such as social and assistance robotics, artificial intelligence and legal framework conditions are increasingly focused in numerous research projects. However, the approaches to digitalization in nursing are very different. When integrating technologies such as robotics and artificial intelligence into nursing, it is particularly important to ensure that ethical and human aspects are taken into account. A structured classification of the development of digitalization in nursing care is currently hardly possible. In order to be able to adequately deal with this digital transformation, the acquisition of digital competences in nursing education programs is pivotal. These include the confident, critical and creative use of information and communication technologies in a private and professional context. This paper focuses on the question which specific training offers already exist at national and international level for nursing professions to acquire digital competences. Methods: A scoping review according to the PRISMA scheme was conducted in the PubMed and CINAHL databases. The search period for the scoping review extended from 2017 to 2024. Results: The selection of the studies took place by inclusion and exclusion criteria and the content-related orientation of the publications. After reviewing the titles and abstracts, eight studies were included. Of these, four were published in German-speaking countries and another four in international English-language journals. Discussion: The topic of digitization of the nursing professions and the question of how nurses can acquire digital competences is gaining international attention. Nevertheless, the research on explicit continuing education programs for nursing professions is still undifferentiated. No specific continuing education offer for the development of digital competences of nursing professionals was identified. Many authors remained at the meta-level when developing methodological concepts for the acquisition of digital competences. The systematic integration of digitalization into higher education and continuing vocational training is mentioned in the publications. The development of theory- and research-based educational frameworks, which can be used as a basis for curricula in nursing studies and continuing education, is highly recommendable.

The purpose of this paper is to explore which sustainability complexities firms see in their supply chains. As supply chains consist of various actors and the consideration of sustainability requirements in supply chains adds to the complexity of the management of the supply chains, we apply the social systems theory as a theoretical framework enlighten inherent complexities. For investigating the research purpose, this study carried out multiple case studies with firms in the agriculture sector as these firms rely on the natural habitat and produce or source agricultural products face high expectations but also pressures from various actors. The interviewed firms were from textiles, beverages, coffee, food, non-food, cosmetics, ingredients and chemical branches. In total, this study conducted 26 semi-structured interviews with sustainability responsibles. The findings show, which different sustainability complexities firms in different branches see. By that, this study contributes to the literature as it is to the best of our knowledge the first utilizing social systems theory in the context of sustainable supply chain management. Second, for reducing sustainability complexities firms need to view and understand their relevant sustainability complexities first. Third, this paper contributes with managerial implications as firms can use our research as a starting point for identifying sustainability complexities and coping with them.

The digitalisation of the German healthcare system enables a wide range of opportunities to utilize healthcare data. The implementation of the EHR in January 2021 was a significant step, but compared to other European countries, the implementation of the EHR in the German healthcare system is still at an early stage. The aim of this paper is to characterise the structural factors relating to the adoption of the EHR in more detail from the perspective of representatives of stakeholders working in the German healthcare system and to identify existing barriers to implementation and the need for change. Methods: Qualitative expert interviews were conducted with one representative from each of the stakeholder groups health insurance, pharmacies, healthcare research, EHR development and panel doctors. Results: The interviews with the various stakeholders revealed that the implementation process of the EHR is being delayed by a lack of a viable basis for decision-making, existing conflicts of interest and insufficient consideration of the needs of patients and service providers, among other things. Discussion: The current status of EHR implementation is due to deficiency in legal regulations as well as structural problems and the timing of the introduction. For instance, the access rights of various stakeholders to the EHR data and the procedure in the event of a technical failure of the telematics infrastructure are remain unclear. In addition, insufficient information and communication measures have not led to the desired acceptance of EHR use among patients and service providers.

In December 1921, Frank B. and Lillian Moller Gilbreth held a presentation entitled “Process Charts” at the Annual Meeting of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. They presented a diagrammatic notation for depicting work processes. This was the reason for initiating a call for papers for a special edition of the EMISA Journal. The aim of this issue is to reflect on the history of graphical business process modelling as well as on current and future challenges. In this editorial, we will shortly introduce the ideas behind the Process Charts method. We realize that some ideas discussed 100 years ago still remain highly relevant while modern work environment raises issues that would be unthinkable a century ago.