Elevating Healthcare with Nursing Informatics

Informatics in Healthcare

Informatics deal with the processing of sharing information, where the interaction of humans and information is essential in creating systems and technologies. Nursing informatics is the use, handling, and management of healthcare information of all the patients in a healthcare facility. It is a multidisciplinary approach which utilizes health information technology to improve service delivery and efficiency by enhancing high-quality data generation, storage, and usage. It is widely used in pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, public health, clinical medicines and other areas in healthcare. The main aim is to ensure maximum acquisition, storage and retrieval of patient information for use (Moen & Knudsen, 2013).

The Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom Theory

It postulates that nursing informatics evolved from a combination of three fields of science: information science, computer science, and nursing science. The merging of these areas is to ensure successful management and sharing of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom into the nursing practice. The nursing informatics is continually developing and dynamic field which ensures generation of knowledge through the process of converting raw data into useful information. It then leads to the development of wisdom within the nursing profession which is used to solve problems and challenging situations. Wisdom enables the nurses to identify the issues relating to caregiving and their practice as well as informing them of the kind of action they should implement. The theory, therefore, promotes a system where all aspects of informatics are incorporated into the nursing practice to enhance patient health care and management (Gray, 2016).

Examples of Nursing Informatics in Use

The electronic Health records is a communication tool which enables the flow of information across the healthcare facility, from the emergency section to outpatient clinics, up to the inpatients’ clinics. The Health Information Technology is also widely used in the hospitals and includes the Radio frequency identification (RFID) which monitors patients, equipment, and care providers. The bed management system is vital in taking into account patient population and electronic portals which enhances patient access to their health records. The laboratory information management systems (LIMS) is essential for recording test results, coordination and monitoring of samples, validation of tests results and electronically deliver results to clinicians. It\u2019s a tool which improves efficiency and reduces error margins (Jones, Johnson, & Batstone, 2014).

The Primary Concepts in Nursing Informatics

The primary concepts in nursing informatics include data which is distinct entities and information which is well-interpreted data. Knowledge is synthesized information with clear and fully developed interrelationships. Wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge when addressing issues.

Advantages of Nursing Informatics

When information technology is incorporated into the nursing practice, it has a positive influence on the general outcome of the facility. It enhances healthcare provision through efficient patient data collection and storage. Nursing profession involves the collection of data which is essential for the development of nursing systems. Through incorporating the nursing informatics and its use in the hospitals, quality of care is significantly improved. It has also developed patient safety through the use of informatics tools which ensure proper storage and retrieval of the information when needed. The management work is also made milder, therefore, enhancing the overall service delivery. Informatics help in saving time which could otherwise have been wasted in locating patient data and ensure efficiency in performance among the nurses. Informatics is also essential in promoting evidence-based nursing practice thus, enhancing the quality of care patients receive (Darvish, Bahramnezhad, Keyhanian, & Navidhamidi, 2014).

Challenges

Nursing informatics being a new technology in the field of nursing, it requires the acquisition of new skills and competency, for the technology to work efficiently. It, therefore, means that physicians will have to adjust their schedules and plans to get time to learn the new technology. Nursing informatics requires the development of standard structures and designs which can accommodate the biomedical knowledge, data and also patient data. It thus becomes a challenge to experts when developing the appropriate information tool. The tools need to be certified to ensure that it conforms to given standards and other incentives which will enable the usage of informatics by other people. All these procedures require experts and resources, and it can, therefore, limit small sized healthcare facilities (Moen & Knudsen, 2013).

Future Developments in Nursing Informatics

The world technology is growing speedily, and so is the nursing informatics. All the nurses should be able to comfortably operate the various tools which enhance quality service delivery and improve healthcare provision. The advancement will in future require them to run different clinical information systems for different purposes. It is, thus, essential for them to become computer literate and technically competent in issues relating to informatics. The move will ensure the healthcare facilities remain sustainable in service delivery, cost reduction, and patient data management (Rouleau, Gagnon, & Cote, 2015).

Conclusion

Nursing informatics is a critical tool in management, structuring, and processing of information about nursing which assists in the development of information systems within healthcare centers. It is based on four essential aspects data, information, knowledge, and wisdom all of which enrich the nursing practice to improve the quality of caregiving. I think the use of informatics in healthcare is necessary because it allows nurses to communicate on time and efficiently. The patients will also get their health record with ease, and it will immensely promote evidence-based nursing practice. I also view it necessary for nurses to receive more education on informatics tools such that they can solve any issue related to the technology.

References

Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The Role of Nursing Informatics on Promoting Quality of Health Care and the Need for Appropriate Education. Global Journal of Health Science , 11-18.

Gray, K. S. (2016). Conceptual Models in Health Informatics Research: A Literature Review and Suggestions for Development. JMIR Medical Informatics .

Jones, R. G., Johnson, O. A., & Batstone, G. (2014). Informatics and the Clinical Laboratory. The Clinical Biochemist Reviews , 177-192.

Moen, A., & Knudsen, L. M. (2013). Nursing Informatics: Decades of Contribution to Health Informatics. Healthcare Information Research , 86-92.

Rouleau, G., Gagnon, M.-P., & Cote, J. (2015). Impacts of information and communication technologies on nursing care: an overview of systematic reviews (protocol). Systemtic Reviews .