Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist
What is nursing informatics?
Nursing informatics is one of the fields in the school of nursing. However, it has features that distinguish it from other areas. Unlike in different fields, nursing informants incorporates the training in regular schools of nursing with computer and information technology studies into the field. The main goal of nursing informants is maintaining and developing clinical data and its systems to provide support in the course of duty as a nurse. In addition to this, nursing informants also aims at improving the outcomes of patient care. According to American Nurses Association, Nursing informatics “is the speciality that integrates nursing science with multiple information and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage and communicate data, information, knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice.” Several technologies have emerged; as a result introduction of the field of nursing informatics in the area of healthcare provider training and some include computerized provider order entry (CPOE) and also electronic medical records (EMRs). Just like any other recording system, electronic medical records can keep a record of laboratory test results, patient progress notes, nursing notes and all other forms of medical records.
What is the role of the nurse informaticist?
Nurse informaticist impacts the daily operations of the hospital in a wide range of ways to improve care provision. Some of the roles they play in the course of promoting quality include and are not limited to the development of health care technology, training of other staff members as well as analyzing the outcomes of the implantation of nursing informaticist’s technologies. Different roles include the identification of technological gaps in health care systems, designing, testing and implementing of the systems technology that is made to fill the identified gap. Additionally, nurse informaticist help facilities in the transfer from a specific system to a new one, monitor deviations of the method adopted, manage system acquire and implementation projects. Nurse informaticist act as resource persons and research on behalf of the facility various informatics that affect the professional health caregivers and also the patients. Lastly, they ensure facilities use the system in a manner that is in line with federal health care laws, link them as well with the experts in the field of information technology and finally set minimum organizational standards as well as policies.
What is the experience of other health care organizations with nurse informaticists?
An organization that has already adopted nurse informatics have witnessed a radical improvement in ensuring that the patient receives quality and safe care. For instance, the most impacted group by the nurse informaticists are the nurses. Despite some of the difficulties users face at the beginning, such as fatigue from constant emailing, difficulties in mastering how to operate the electronic health record systems and remembering the passwords, informatics possess numerous advantages. For instance, informatics can save lives through the use of informatics such as automated blood pressure cuffs, reducing waiting time as well as increasing the safety and fulfilment of the patient with the services. Informatics as well as help in easing communication which has been recorded as the leading cause of poor quality care since some of the persons handling clients lack some essential information about a patient such as allergies. In the long run, efficiency in services increases in health care facilities. Workflow as well becomes easy to monitor with nurse informaticists since the human resource manager can monitor nurse to patient ratio daily.
How do these nurse informaticists interact with the rest of the nursing staff and the interdisciplinary team?
Nurse informatics are recruited based on leadership and management skills. The interpersonal skills are therefore very crucial since they are, in most instances, required to provide help to other members of staff on the use of nursing informaticists. Other organizations have reported that they treat others with respect, and they are always willing to help with both personal and work-related problems. They are self-driven individuals who do not require constant supervision. They always promote teamwork and mostly act as team leaders rather than managers or superiors. Nurse informaticists interact with everyone with respect. They are still willing to make corrections from the interdisciplinary team.
Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology How does thoroughly engaging nurses in health care technology impact:
Patient care?
Many patients have recorded to have more satisfaction in facilities making use of technology in healthcare provision. The quality of care and also safety assurance is improved in a significant milestone. Common errors that have been occurring before are now overcome since the background information is available to all concerned persons through computers. Follow-up after discharge has also been simplified by technology.
Protected health information (security, privacy, and confidentiality)?
The major challenge facing adaptation of technology in health care is the threat of hacking the data, thereby creating insecurities. Hacking of medical information translates into the loss of privacy and confidentiality of the client health issues. Hacking has posed a significant drawback to an organization that wishes to shift to digital technologies. With information, especially from electronic health records displayed in many screen computers, the risk of visual hacking increases. The data is accessed through a dark web by unauthorized experts in the field of information technology. Through the dark network, they are in a position to access the information without being required to enter passwords or being deterred by other security tools.
Workflow?
For the case of workflow, the efficiency of work increases and healthcare providers can attend to more patients compared to when using physical records. Work is also automated; hence a few staff are required, unlike when using the old system that requires constant monitoring. Easing the access to information and effecting communication process also reduces time wastage, thereby more patients can be attended at a short period.
Costs and return on investment?
Health care systems are majorly focused on saving lives rather than profit-making. The financers gain 11% of the benefit while the patients obtain 89 %. Therefore many clients will be in a position to seek services; therefore, the hospital will benefit from economies of scale.
Opportunities and Challenges
Opportunities for Nurses
The nurse will have an opportunity to gain more knowledge and advance their skills on the use of technology
Nurses will as well be in a position to consult with each other due to eased conversation.
Nurses will as well be in a position to gain job satisfaction as a result of an increase in the efficiency of work.
Challenges for nurses
Nurses are likely to experience more frustrations and fatigue in the course of mastering the use of the new system.
Opportunities for interdisciplinary team
The interdisciplinary team will be in a position to monitor workout put easier since the nurse-patient ratio reflects in the system.
In addition to this, the team will also have evidence of errors done by a healthcare provider.
Challenges
The interdisciplinary team will have more cases to handle in the progress of learning on the proper use of the new system.
How can the interdisciplinary team collaborate to improve quality care outcomes through technology?
The interdisciplinary team should begin by working on the motivation of staff and helping them to accept the system despite the challenges. They should use the right manner to correct the members of the team in case an error occurs in the course of using the system to ensure they do not end up more frustrated.
Summary of Recommendations
What are 3–4 key takeaways from your proposal about the recommended nurse informaticist role that you want the CNO and the HR manager to remember?
The system is entirely made to improve quality of care and safety of the client.
The system improves work efficiency by affecting communication
Workout put is more comfortable to monitor through the use of the system as a nurse-patient ratio is calculated regularly.
The facility is going to benefit from economies of scale, thereby gain profits and save more lives.