Nursing Informatics in Health Care

Nursing Informatics in Health Care

Health informatics refers to the use of technology to analyze and process data to improve the quality of care delivered to the patient (Saputra & Arif, 2019). All stakeholders play a significant role in the adoption and implementation of health informatics. This paper evaluates nursing informatics, its role, the impact of a nurse informaticist, and the impact of implementing healthcare technology.

Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist

According to Peltonen et al. (2019), nursing informatics is a field that merges nursing with other technology-associated sciences, such as analytics and information, to recognize, characterize, manage, and disseminate data and information. Nursing informatics aims to improve the quality of healthcare services and reduce treatment costs (Peltonen et al., 2019). This field played a significant role in the advancement of healthcare technology. Notably, it has led to the introduction of electronic medical records that have improved workflow, reduced medical errors, and optimized care coordination (Peltonen et al., 2019).

Nurse informaticists are key stakeholders who work in concert with members of the interdisciplinary team to address technical aspects involved in the delivery of healthcare services. To accomplish this, they perform various functions. Firstly, they are involved in implementing current and new technology in healthcare facilities (Zareshahi et al., 2022). By so doing, nurse informaticists optimize clinical processes and workflow. Secondly, they use organizational data to determine the need for restructuring or changing existing standard operating procedures, technology, or plans (Zareshahi et al., 2022). As such, they use evidence-based data to enlighten other stakeholders on the need for change. Thirdly, they are involved in the stewardship and validation of data (Zareshahi et al., 2022). To achieve this, they evaluate the source of data and its validity and ensure the timely sharing of data.

Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations

Zippia.com (n.d.) reports that approximately 76 percent of nurse informaticists are female, whereas 24 percent are male. About 48 percent, 27 percent, 21 percent, and four percent of these professionals have bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, associate degrees, and diplomas, respectively (Zippia.com, n.d.). Furthermore, approximately 47 percent of nurse informaticists practice in the private sector, 24 percent are in the public sector, 18 percent have ventured into academia, whereas 12 percent work with the government (Zippia.com, n.d.).

Findings from other private and public healthcare facilities reveal that nurse informaticists are important stakeholders. Firstly, they are involved in the analysis and interpretation of data (Peltonen et al., 2019). This information is crucial in modifying or formulating policies and standard operating procedures to optimize workflow and improve the quality of healthcare services. Secondly, they are involved in the education and training of other stakeholders (Peltonen et al., 2019). Nurse informaticists conduct comprehensive research to identify the best evidence-based practices for other healthcare providers. After that, they conduct training sessions to equip these healthcare providers with adequate knowledge and skills regarding the new practices (Peltonen et al., 2019).

Thirdly, they are involved in enforcing meaningful use of technology by spearheading the acquisition of electronic medical records. To accomplish this, they develop information systems, select the best electronic health report systems, train other stakeholders, and oversee the implementation of the new technology (Peltonen et al., 2019). Notably, they have overseen the transition from a traditional paperwork system to electronic medical records.

Nurse informaticists use open communication and health technology to collaborate with other stakeholders. These interactions are mainly training sessions. Training and education ensure that all stakeholders are familiar with any changes in electronic medical records, standard operating procedures, or policies (Zareshahi et al., 2022). By so doing, the interdisciplinary team remains focused on achieving group and organizational goals and objectives. Furthermore, they work in concert with policymakers and other organizations to formulate laws that promote the meaningful use of technology in healthcare facilities (Zareshahi et al., 2022).

Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology

Patient care will be improved when nurse informaticists are fully engaged in healthcare technology. Healthcare technology, such as telehealth and electronic health record systems, promotes interdisciplinary collaboration (Leonardsen et al., 2020). This is an enabler for an interdisciplinary clinical decision-making process. This process is based on evidence-based practices aimed at improving the quality of healthcare services and patient safety. As such, the prevalence and incidence of medical errors, such as medication administration errors, will be reduced when appropriate healthcare technology is implemented (Leonardsen et al., 2020). Secondly, healthcare technology will improve patient care by creating flexibility in access to healthcare services. For example, telehealth allows remote patient monitoring and real-time interactions between nurses and patients (Leonardsen et al., 2020).

Moore and Frye (2019) report that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires authorized healthcare providers to uphold the privacy, confidentiality, and security of electronically transmitted personal health information. Different techniques can be used to fulfill the provisions of HIPAA. Data encryption protects personal health information by encoding data into ciphertext (Kok et al., 2019). A special decryption key is required to decode ciphertext. As such, unauthorized access to this information is averted. The other technique is using passcodes. Passcodes facilitate data protection because each user is assigned a unique code that should be updated regularly (Kok et al., 2019). The third technique is identity management. This strategy permits authorized users to access personal health information and blocks unauthorized users from accessing this information (Kok et al., 2019).

According to Leonard et al. (2020), healthcare technology improves workflow by eliminating traditional paperwork systems, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and improving documentation and the clinical decision-making process. Health technology promotes care coordination because each interdisciplinary team member plays a significant role in patient care (Leonardsen et al., 2020). Healthcare technology lowers treatment costs and has a positive return on investment. Improved workflow is associated with a high quality of healthcare services and lower treatment costs (Leonardsen et al., 2020). Furthermore, healthcare technology optimizes billing processes by eliminating documentation errors (Leonardsen et al., 2020). As a result, financial losses emanating from human errors are eliminated. Healthcare facilities can use digital advertisements to market their services.

Opportunities and Challenges

The addition of a nurse informaticist’s role presents opportunities for nurses and other healthcare providers. Firstly, it will enable them to use evidence-based organizational data to make critical decisions (Peltonen et al., 2019). This data will form the basis for modifying standard operating or acquiring new electronic medical record systems. Secondly, nurses and other healthcare providers will access periodic training and development by the nurse informaticist (Peltonen et al., 2019). This will improve the quality of service delivery. A potential challenge is capturing accurate and reliable data. Accurate data is required for credible analysis and evidence-based practice (Peltonen et al., 2019). Nurses and other healthcare providers may fail to record accurate and reliable data.

Members of the interdisciplinary team should embrace technology to improve the quality of healthcare services. For example, computerized physician order entries and clinical decision support systems will enable physicians to make accurate diagnoses and develop evidence-based treatment plans (Konttila et al., 2019). Pharmacists should provide patient-centered dispensing services and patient education and check for the accuracy and correctness of prescriptions (Konttila et al., 2019). Computerized physician order entries and barcoding will enable nurses to minimize medication administration errors by identifying patients correctly (Konttila et al., 2019).

Summary of Recommendations

Nurse informaticists are key stakeholders who work in concert with interdisciplinary team members to address technical aspects involved in delivering healthcare services. They are involved in implementing current and new technology in healthcare facilities, using organizational data to determine the need for restructuring or changing existing standard operating procedures, technology, or plans, and in the stewardship and validation of data (Peltonen et al., 2019; Zareshahi et al., 2022). Findings from other organizations reveal that nurse informaticists are involved in the analysis and interpretation of data, education, and training of other stakeholders, and enforcing meaningful use of technology (Peltonen et al., 2019). By so doing, the quality of healthcare services and patient safety are improved. As such, the role of a nurse informaticist is important and should be implemented.

References

Kok, S. H., Abdullah, A., Jhanjhi, N. Z., & Supramaniam, M. (2019). Ransomware, Threat and Detection Techniques: A Review. IJCSNS International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, 19(2), 136–146.

Konttila, J., Siira, H., Kyngäs, H., Lahtinen, M., Elo, S., Kääriäinen, M., Kaakinen, P., Oikarinen, A., Yamakawa, M., Fukui, S., Utsumi, M., Higami, Y., Higuchi, A., & Mikkonen, K. (2019). Healthcare Professionals’ Competence in Digitalisation: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(5–6), 745–761. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.14710

Leonardsen, A. C. L., Hardeland, C., Helgesen, A. K., & Grøndahl, V. A. (2020). Patient experiences with technology enabled care across healthcare settings- a systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05633-4

Moore, W., & Frye, S. (2019). Review of HIPAA, Part 1: History, protected health information, and privacy and security rules. Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology, 47(4), 269–272. https://doi.org/10.2967/JNMT.119.227819

Peltonen, L.-M., Pruinelli, L., Ronquillo, C., Nibber, R., Peresmitre, E. L., Block, L., Deforest, H., Lewis, A., Alhuwail, D., Ali, S., Badger, M. K., Eler, G. J., Georgsson, M., Islam, T., Jeon, E., Jung, H., Kuo, C. H., Sarmiento, R. F. R., Sommer, J. A., Topaz, M. (2019). The current state of Nursing Informatics – An international cross-sectional survey. Finnish Journal of EHealth and EWelfare, 11(3), 220–231. https://doi.org/10.23996/fjhw.77584

Saputra, C., & Arif, Y. (2019). Nursing Informatics System in Health Care Delivery. KnE Life Sciences, 4(10), 38. https://doi.org/10.18502/kls.v4i10.3827

Zareshahi, M., Mirzaei, S., & Nasiriani, K. (2022). Nursing informatics competencies in the critical care unit. Health Informatics Journal, 28(1), 146045822210838. https://doi.org/10.1177/14604582221083843

Zippia.com. (n.d.). Informatics Nurse Demographics and Statistics in the US. https://www.zippia.com/nurse-informaticist-jobs/demographics/

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Write a 4-5 page evidence-based proposal to support the need for a nurse informaticist in an organization who would focus on improving health care outcomes.

Introduction
As you begin to prepare this assessment, you are encouraged to complete the Team Perspectives of the Nurse Informaticist activity. Completion of this will help you succeed with the assessment as you explore the nurse informaticist’s role from the different perspectives of the health care team. Completing activities is also a way to demonstrate engagement.

Nurses at the baccalaureate level in all practice areas are involved in nursing informatics through interaction with information management and patient care technologies. Nurses must demonstrate not only knowledge of and skills in health information and patient care technologies but also how to use these tools at the bedside and organizational levels. Moreover, nurses need to recognize how information gathered from various health information sources can impact decision-making at the national and state regulatory levels.

Scenario
For this assessment, assume you are a nurse attending a meeting of your state’s nurses association. A nurse informaticist conducted a presentation on her role and its impact on positive patient and organizational outcomes in her workplace. You realize that your organization is undergoing many technological changes. You believe this type of role could provide many benefits to your organization.

You decide to pursue proposing a nurse informaticist role in your organization. You speak to your chief nursing officer (CNO) and human resources (HR) manager, who ask you to prepare a 4–5 page evidence-based proposal to support the new role. In this way, they can make an informed decision as to whether the addition of such a role could justify the return on investment (ROI). They need your proposal before an upcoming fiscal meeting.​ This is not an essay, but instead, it is a proposal to create a new Nurse Informaticist position.

One important part of this assessment is the justification of the need for a nurse informaticist in a healthcare organization and references from relevant and timely scholarly or professional resources to support the justification for creating this nurse informaticist position. The term justifies means to show or prove that the nurse informaticist position brings value to the organization. This justification must include evidence from the literature to support that this position will provide a return on investment for the organization.

Preparation
To successfully prepare for this assessment, you will need to complete these preparatory activities:

Review assessment resources and activities.
Conduct independent research on the nursing knowledge and skills necessary to interact with health information and patient care technology.
Focus your research on current resources available through peer-reviewed articles, professional websites, government websites, professional blogs, wikis, job boards, and so on.
Consult the BSN Program Library Research Guide https://capellauniversity.libguides.com/BSN for help in identifying scholarly and authoritative sources.
Interview peers in your network who are considered information technology experts.
Ask them about how information technology advances are impacting patient care at the bedside, at the organizational level, and beyond.
Proposal Format
The chief nursing officer (CNO) and human resources (HR) manager have asked you to include the following headings in your proposal and to be sure to address the bullets following each heading:

Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist
What is nursing informatics?
What is the role of the nurse informaticist?
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations
What is the experience of other healthcare organizations with nurse informaticists?
How do these nurse informaticists interact with the rest of the nursing staff and the interdisciplinary team?
IMPACT OF FULL NURSE ENGAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY
How does fully engaging nurses in health care technology impact:
Patient care?
Protected health information (security, privacy, and confidentiality)?
In this section, you will explain evidence-based strategies that the nurse informaticist and interdisciplinary team can use to manage patients’ protected health information effectively, particularly privacy, security, and confidentiality. Evidence-based means that they are supported by evidence from scholarly sources.
Workflow?
Costs and return on investment?
Opportunities and Challenges
What are the opportunities and challenges for nurses and the interdisciplinary team with the addition of a nurse informaticist role?
How can the interdisciplinary team collaborate to improve quality care outcomes through technology?
Summary of Recommendations
What are 3–to 4 key takeaways from your proposal about the recommended nurse informaticist role that you want the CNO and the HR manager to remember?
This is the section where the justification for the implementation of the nursing informaticist role is addressed. Remember to include evidence from the literature to support your recommendation.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Ensure written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
Submission length: 4–5 double-spaced pages, in addition to title and references pages.
Font: Times New Roman, 12 points.
Citations and References: Cite a minimum of three current scholarly and/or authoritative sources to support your ideas. In addition, cite a minimum of one current professional blog or website to support your central ideas. Current means no more than five years old.
APA formatting: Be sure to follow APA formatting and style guidelines for citations and references. For an APA refresher, consult the Evidence and APA page on Campus.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

Competency 1: Describe nurses’ and the interdisciplinary team’s role in informatics with a focus on electronic health information and patient care technology to support decision-making.
Define nursing informatics and the role of the nurse informaticist.
Explain how the nurse collaborates with the interdisciplinary team, including technologists, to improve the quality of patient care.
Justify the need for a nurse informaticist in a health care organization.
Competency 2: Implement evidence-based strategies to effectively manage protected health information.
Explain evidence-based strategies that the nurse and interdisciplinary team can use to manage patients’ protected health information (privacy, security, and confidentiality) effectively.
Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication to facilitate the use of health information and patient care technologies.
Follow APA style and formatting guidelines for citations and references.
Create a clear, well-organized, and professional proposal that is generally free from errors in grammar, punctuation, and spelling.