Nursing Informatics
Poor management of patient information has detrimental health consequences since it results in the prevalence of misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, and high medical costs. Nursing informatics is a subspecialty that incorporates many data management procedures into medical care (HIMSS, 2020). The discipline supporting this healthcare strategy involves identifying, processing, and disseminating data, expertise, and knowledge via technological means by health professionals during decision-making. Automated processes promote the quality of care since they enhance efficiency, reduce costs and promote better health outcomes.
Role of the Nurse Informaticist
Effective nursing informatics requires experienced experts who understand the art of information integration, computer science, data management, interpretation, and proper dissemination. Experts dealing with health data informatics are known as nurse informaticists. Due to their vast knowledge of healthcare technology, nurse informaticists manage the transfer of data from paper to digital records (HIMSS, 2020). The experts also provide relevant information concerning the organizational workflow by monitoring shifts, programs, and care initiatives. The nurse informaticist also acts as a bridge between the nursing and organizational IT departments.
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations
Nursing informaticists play a crucial role in improving the efficiency of healthcare organizations employing information technology. The promotion of quality health care is guaranteed by advancing information technology across all facets of nursing, including scientific studies, clinical areas, instruction, and administration. The reason is that technology improves the efficiency with which patient information is collected and stored to guide care decisions (HIMSS, 2020). Additionally, information is securely maintained in an electronic system and it can be accessed accurately at the point of service. Informaticists support the healthcare organizations in improving their performance efficiency and reducing the risks of misdiagnosis, delayed treatment, and high medical costs.
Experiences of Healthcare Organizations with Nurse Informaticists
Usually, health systems benefit from the services provided by nurse informaticists, considering that they enhance the quality of care, interdisciplinary teamwork, and task accomplishment. According to a survey by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), 41% of organizations in the US have a nursing informatics officer post. This factor indicates that effective patient information management is necessary in the current health systems (HIMSS, 2020). According to a research article by Farokhzadian et al. (2020), organizations working with nurse informaticists report a high level of quality service due to increased efficiency, productivity, and employee satisfaction. The nurse informaticist interacts with other clinicians by facilitating communication among all staff, promoting efficiency in operational processes.
Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology
Nurse engagement in technology positively impacts service delivery efficiency since they increase workflow, meaningful use of information, and solves localized issues within the organization. Nurse informaticists create schedules and practices for the rest of the nursing staff which help reduce load pressure resulting in positive health outcomes (Cohen & Mello, 2018). The nurses also advise other medical practitioners on ways to improve the meaningful use of patient information through better coordination, engagement, and security (HIMSS, 2020). Such practices help solve issues within the organization by enhancing accuracy and promoting better decision-making, understanding, and health processes.
Impact of Technology
Patient’s Care
Technology is an integral tool for enhancing communication between the different professionals in nursing. Effective communication improves health processes by supporting informed decision-making, which reduces errors (Cohen & Mello, 2018). This system helps promote better role-playing by enhancing understanding of professional roles (Cohen & Mello, 2018). Better communication and task allocation are integral in nursing since it helps support better engagements and processes impacting patient care.
Protected Health Information (Security, Privacy, and Confidentiality)
Integrating technology with a high degree of accuracy during patient care is simple when nurses are fully involved with healthcare technology. This feature makes it easier for nurses to retrieve patient data accurately and use it to improve services. For instance, it enhances understanding of security threats, such as breaches that could lead to loss or damage of information, and how to avoid them. This information helps maintain better data security standards by enhancing the access details to secure data (Cohen & Mello, 2018). It also helps maintain privacy by understanding the HIPAA rules, which require patients’ confidential information not to be disclosed to unauthorized individuals and this promotes efficient data management.
Workflow
Nurse technology assistant helps automate healthcare processes that assist in making decisions, speed up the process of diagnosis. The system also helps identify people with comorbid disorders and recurrent diseases to provide adequate support (HIMSS, 2020). Based on this information, medical personnel establish preventive strategies and optimize hospital workflow by reducing the number of times the same patients visit the facility by ensuring quality after care services and follow-up.
Costs and Return on Investment
Active engagement of nurses in health care technology is expected to increase efficiency, shorten patient care duration, eliminate errors, and provide better clinical care. The technology will ensure that clinicians engage in value adding activities which increases efficiency while reducing operational costs (Moore et al., 2020). This exceptional organizational practice will undoubtedly attract more patients to a healthcare institution, enhancing the organization’s revenue. A high level of efficiency reduces operational costs while increasing production and profitability, which is the ultimate goal of for-profit firms
Opportunities and Challenges
Incorporating a nurse informaticist in a health organization enables nurses to uncover performance-enhancing possibilities. The reason is that it is easier for nurses to use patient information to analyze health and determine the next step for improving good outcomes (HIMSS, 2020). Technology also facilitates the identification of major medical issues impacting the population, the analysis of their patterns, the identification of their etiology, and the determination of the optimal solution (HIMSS, 2020). The challenges include system security faults which can result in data breaches and sanctions. System errors could also result in negative health outcomes due to delayed processes or medical errors.
Interdisciplinary Team Collaboration
Collaborating in nursing is possible if everyone adopts a mindset of working together as one unit. Putting less emphasis on individual performance encourages better engagements in an organization (Schot et al.,2020). Improved collaboration and interpersonal commitment can also be achieved through the development of guidelines for professional interactions. In addition to validating all input, encouraging innovation and creativity is crucial for boosting organizational justice, which in turn can enhance collaboration across various boundaries.
Summary of Recommendations
The nursing informaticist role is integral in healthcare organizations since it enhances care operations. The important key takeaway is that nurse informaticists help integrate technology into healthcare practice, enhancing efficiency, reducing errors, and saving on operational costs (HIMSS, 2020). This efficiency is achieved considering that these experts are trained in healthcare technology, meaning they can navigate the systems to promote safe practices (Farokhzadian et al, 2020). Another integral consideration is that they help identify errors that could lead to data breaches which are punishable by law.
Patient protection policies such as HIPAA rules require patient data to be secured, protected and managed effectively to avoid breaches. Health informaticists help maintain these systems to ensure data protection and security for all workers (Cohen & Mello, 2018). The last point is that informaticists can adjust the operational processes by automating processes, which help save on cost while enhancing the workflow. All these advantages indicate that a nurse informaticist is an important role that promotes efficiency to better performance and guarantees positive outcomes. Therefore, organizations should consider hiring a nurse informaticist if they desire long-lasting competitive advantage.
References
Cohen, I. G., & Mello, M. M. (2018). HIPAA and protecting health information in the 21st century. Jama, 320(3), 231-232. Web.
Farokhzadian, J., Khajouei, R., Hasman, A., & Ahmadian, L. (2020). Nurses’ experiences and viewpoints about the benefits of adopting information technology in health care: A qualitative study in Iran. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 20(1), 1-12. Web.
HIMSS. (2020). HIMSS nursing informatics workforce survey. Informatics. Web.
Moore, E. C., Tolley, C. L., Bates, D. W., & Slight, S. P. (2020). A systematic review of the impact of health information technology on nurses’ time. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 27(5), 798-807. Web.
Schot, E., Tummers, L., & Noordegraaf, M. (2020). Working on working together. A systematic review on how healthcare professionals contribute to interprofessional collaboration. Journal of interprofessional care, 34(3), 332-342. Web.