Potentialities and difficulties of technological mediation in the work of nurse managers in hospitals

Objective to describe the potentialities and difficulties mentioned by nurse managers in the use of technologies in hospitals. Method qualitative, descriptive-exploratory study, conducted in the period of one year, 2019 to 2020, in Brazil and Portugal, in four hospitals. Data were collected through interviews, following a semi-structured script, involving 71 nurse managers. For data analysis, resources of the ATLAS.ti software were used, following the precepts of thematic content analysis and work process theory. Results nurse managers consider that technologies contribute to the improvement of institutional processes, information recording, time management, data storage and patient safety. Among the difficulties, problems related to the work instruments themselves are highlighted, such as lack of equipment/computers, slowness and lack of systems integration; and related to the workforce, such as time management, cultural adaptation, lack of knowledge and training to use technology. Conclusion innovative technologies contribute to management work, but their effectiveness depends on training, adequate number of professionals, in addition to efficient and integrated equipment and information systems.