Proposal for the Creation of a Nurse Informaticist Position
Nursing informatics, an inseparable part of healthcare, is vital in improving patient outcomes through technology integration. This proposal stands for the position of nurse informaticist in our organization to drive this evolutionary change. Written in the form of major sections, it highlights the role of the nurse informaticist, reviews the cases of other healthcare institutions, explores the influence of full nurse involvement in healthcare technology, and proposes empirical recommendations. Through the adoption of nursing informatics, our goal is to have better patient care and create a space for innovativeness.
Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist
The nurse informaticist collaborates with interdisciplinary teams like technologists primarily to enhance the quality of patient care through multiple essential routes. First of all, they collaborate with healthcare specialists to define technology’s usefulness and its effect on patient care. Such interaction guarantees that technical solutions are in sync with clinical demands (Riazi et al., 2020). Furthermore, nurse informaticists enable effective communication and knowledge sharing between nurses, physicians, IT professionals, and other healthcare team members, thus creating a supportive, collaborative working environment that supports innovation and ongoing improvements.
Moreover, nurse informaticists are central to the creation and improvement of electronic health record (EHR) systems and other clinical data technologies. Working together with software developers and technicians, they guarantee the systems are simple to use, intuitive, and in accordance with the evidence-based practice guidelines (Borycki et al., 2019). This integrative approach will improve usability and result in the incorporation of technology-enabled platforms, which will eventually lead to effectiveness, accuracy, and safety in patient care workflows (Wilbanks, 2020).
In addition, nurse informaticists are involved in interdisciplinary meetings, committees, and project teams that work on improvement issues using technology and innovation. Hence, they provide important inputs and indispensable skills to aid decision-making processes and to lead organizational change (Booth et al., 2021). Nursing informaticists assist in the smooth incorporation of technology into clinical practice by relying on their clinical knowledge, informatics expertise, as well as collaborative skills. Hence, they contribute to the effective delivery of quality patient care (Nagel et al., 2019).
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations
The results put forward by Riaziet state that nurses with a specialty in advanced informatics studies are 76% female and 24% male in the USA. Further, those with bachelor’s degrees constitute 49%, followed by those with master’s at 27%, with a much smaller number of people holding associate/diploma degrees. Besides, 73% of nurse informaticists are from private institutions, 18% from the public sector, and 8% perform the function at educational establishments. They play a very important role in designing the educational programs for the interdisciplinary team on informatics, which is one of the quality healthcare systems that enhances teamwork and increases the efficiency of care through new processes and policies. This also emphasizes the role of electronic health record systems in more comprehensive health care services that were, evidently, linked to improvements. Consistently, nurse informaticists oversee the science of technology in the workplace by advocating for the use of relevant technologies that enhance medical error reporting and resultant data management and processing.
Additionally, the collaboration between nurse informaticists and transdisciplinary teams, as discussed by Borycki et al. (2019), provides platforms for education, decision support, and evaluation. Here, the channels are either physical meetings or virtual conferences, and sometimes, they rely on pamphlets, handouts, PowerPoint presentations, and video conferences. This undertaking will include interpersonal and problem-solving groups to promote the provision of high-quality healthcare services through effective communication and the development of skills within the team.
Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology
Impact on Patient Care
Engaging nurses fully in healthcare technology has a multidimensional impact on patient care, workflow efficiency, and healthcare system costs. In the first place, when nurses take full advantage of healthcare technologies like electronic health records (EHRs), telehealth platforms, and clinical decision support systems (CDSS), patient care becomes less stressful and more individualized. Nurses can access patients’ vital information, make informed decisions quickly, and provide care specific to individual patients’ demands. It reduces medical errors, improves patient outcomes, and increases patient satisfaction. (Solodev, 2022)
Protected Health Information
The significance of protecting patient privacy grows as the healthcare system becomes increasingly information-driven. By using health technology, nurses will be able to recognize and respect protected health information’s security, privacy, and confidentiality. This information can be secured using a wide range of methods like physical safeguards which encompass the physical protection of the electronic information systems and related buildings and equipment and implementing measures to ensure that only individuals who require the information can access PHI.
Optimization of Workflow Efficiency
Nurses’ involvement in health IT facilitates healthcare workflow by automating repetitive tasks and reducing paperwork, thus minimizing duplication of efforts. Nurses will be able to provide direct patient care, spend less time on administrative work, and collaborate more efficiently with team members who work together in different departments. This results in increased productivity, smooth care transitions, and effective care coordination, as, the ultimate aim is to enhance the quality of care delivery.
Cost Savings
With regard to expenses, nurse healthcare technology involvement can result in profound savings through the elimination of inefficiencies, the lowering of medical errors, and the prevention of adverse events (Tsai et al., 2020). Through the simplification of procedures and the proper utilization of resources, healthcare organizations can help reduce costs in areas like staffing, medicine management, and length of stay. Moreover, the adoption of evidence-based methods in managing PHI (Protected Health Information) guarantees the fulfillment of privacy, security, and confidentiality rules, which significantly lowers the risk of data breaches and legal issues.
Opportunities and Challenges
Opportunities for Nurses and the Interdisciplinary Team
Firstly, the integration of a nurse informaticist enables the staffing nurses and, as well as the interdisciplinary team, to employ advanced technologies in providing a better patient care service. These include the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs), clinical decision support systems (CDSS), and telehealth platforms, which, in turn, enhance the overall efficacy, limit the processes, generate easy access to patient information, and ensure informed decision-making.
Secondly, the involvement of the nurse informaticist with the nursing profession and the interdisciplinary team promises nurses and other healthcare providers with channel for professional growth. These individuals may get advanced training and education in the latest information and communication technologies, as well as best practices in informatics, thus enhancing their knowledge about the use of technology in healthcare services and equipping them with essential skills required in the delivery of effective and efficient patient care.
Thirdly, nursing Informatics can provide their expertise to collaborate with the rest of the team in order to observe and critically analyze the workflow processes that they evaluate and use to find the bottlenecks kept off workplace efficiency (Tsai et al., 2020). Further, they have succeeded in streamlining processes, reducing administrative burden, and improving overall job efficiency by analyzing present practices, recognizing constraints, and utilizing computerized applications.
Challenges and Strategies to Address them
Resistance to Change
One possible issue may be the opposition of a certain group of employees, mostly those uncomfortable or unaccustomed to receiving new technologies. Therefore, it can be stated that proper communication and education programmers are the most valuable targeted ways to deal with the problem. The nurse informaticist can set protocols for training sessions, workshops, and continuing assistance on new technology tools and expected behavior.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration
The field of healthcare may be very different in terms of expertise in technology, and this knowledge from one level to another is quite low, which results in conflicts and miscommunications. One of the major issues that may arise can be the way in which the healthcare provider and the allied health staff interact (Vos et al., 2020). Nurse informatics will facilitate interdisciplinary meetings on a continuous basis, develop open communication channels across departments, and emphasize teamwork and mutual respect between the team members.
Data Security and Privacy Concerns
Protecting patient health information and ensuring data security and privacy are critical considerations in healthcare informatics. The nurse informaticist must address potential concerns related to data security and privacy breaches by implementing robust security protocols, educating staff members on best practices for handling sensitive information, and ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and standards.
Summary of Recommendations
The addition of nurse informaticists to healthcare organizations becomes an absolute need for the successful implementation of positive care outcomes and organizational effectiveness. Research by Nagle et al., (2019) revealed that they not only link technology, codes, and nursing identity but also prompt positive changes and solutions by co-working. Nurse informatics professionals contribute to the effective use of healthcare technologies, increase workflow efficiency, and support collaboration across disciplines and specialty roles. The use of open communication channels and providing education and support helps organizations remove the resistance to change and address data security concerns. There is a growing body of evidence to support that such factors play an important role in the successful implementation of EHR systems, clinically accepted outcomes, and users’ satisfaction among healthcare providers (Hübner et al., 2020;). The provision of Health Informaticists will bring huge benefits such as better patient outcomes, increased workflow efficiency, and savings. As a whole, the employment of nurse informaticists by healthcare establishments sparks plenty of advantages enabling them to be successful in the shifting digital healthcare atmosphere.
References
Booth, R. G., Strudwick, G., McBride, S., O’Connor, S., & Solano López, A. L. (2021). How the nursing profession should adapt for a digital future. BMJ, 373(1190). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1190
Franziska Hübner, König, I. R., Holtsche, M. M., Detlef Zillikens, Linder, R., & Schmidt, E. (2020). Prevalence and age distribution of pemphigus and pemphigoid diseases among pediatric patients in Germany. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 34(11), 2600–2605. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.16467
Gil-Nagel, A., Sanchez-Carpintero, R., San Antonio, V., Mistry, A., Barker, G., Shepherd, J., & Gil, A. (2019). Ascertaining the epidemiology, patient flow,and disease management for Dravet syndrome in Spain. Revista de Neurologia, 68(2), 75–81. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30638257/
Li, C. (Zhirui), Borycki, E. M., & Kushniruk, A. W. (2021). Connecting the World of Healthcare Virtually: A Scoping Review on Virtual Care Delivery. Healthcare, 9(10), 1325. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9101325
Solodev. (2022, September 30). How Technology is Impacting Nursing Practice in 2023. Avanthealthcare.com. https://avanthealthcare.com/blog/how-technology-is-impacting-nursing-practice.stml
Strudwick, G., Nagle, L., Kassam, I., Pahwa, M., & Sequeira, L. (2019). Informatics competencies for nurse leaders. The Journal of Nursing Administration, 49(6), 323–330. https://doi.org/10.1097/nna.0000000000000760
Teng, M., Cheng Han Ng, Huang, D. Q., En Chan, K., Jun, D., Wen Kwang Lim, Ju Dong Yang, Xiang, E., & Muthiah, M. D. (2022a). Global incidence and prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clinical and Molecular Hepatology, 29(Suppl), S32–S42. https://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2022.0365
Teng, M., Cheng Han Ng, Huang, D. Q., En Chan, K., Jun, D., Wen Kwang Lim, Ju Dong Yang, Xiang, E., & Muthiah, M. D. (2022b). Global incidence and prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clinical and Molecular Hepatology, 29(Suppl), S32–S42. https://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2022.0365
Tsai, C. H., Eghdam, A., Davoody, N., Wright, G., Flowerday, S., & Koch, S. (2020). Effects of electronic health record implementation and barriers to adoption and use: A scoping review and qualitative analysis of the content. Life, 10(12), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.3390/life10120327
Vos, J. F. J., Boonstra, A., Kooistra, A., Seelen, M., & van Offenbeek, M. (2020). The influence of electronic health record use on collaboration among medical specialties. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 676. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05542-6
Wilbanks, J. T. (2020). Electronic Informed Consent in Mobile Applications Research. The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics, 48(1_suppl), 147–153. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110520917040
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Question
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.
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.
To successfully prepare for this assessment, you will need to complete these preparatory activities:
- Review assessment resources and activities.
- Review the focus of the new nurse informaticist position you will propose by examining the Assessment 01 Supplement: Nursing Informatics in Health Care [PDF]Download Assessment 01 Supplement: Nursing Informatics in Health Care [PDF](attached in files below)
- 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 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