Improving Healthcare Delivery Through Nurse Informaticists: A Proposal for Integration Telehealth in Healthcare Practice

Introduction

In modern healthcare practice, the use of informatics is at the heart of patient care. Medical practitioners are now able to deliver healthcare services to not only remote but also underserved people, thus bridging healthcare gaps. Therefore, to root for the seamless integration of telehealth,

this proposal advocates for the development of a nurse informatics position in our healthcare center. With the creation of such a position, nurses can effectively optimize information management systems to improve not only patient care but also the overall efficiency of our health care center. Thus, this proposal aims to address the particular needs of both remote and underserved populations so as to achieve our core purpose of equitable healthcare access.

Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist:

Defining Nursing Informatics

Nursing informatics is a specialized branch encompassing nursing science, information science, and computer science to optimize healthcare delivery (Julian, 2018). According to Chauvette (2021), nursing informatics entails systematic gathering, processing, and managing healthcare data, which acts as the threshold for making medical decisions and improving the quality of healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. In other words, nursing informatics aims to optimize the adoption of information technologies in nursing practice to enhance the effectiveness, efficacy, and safety of healthcare services.

Role of the Nurse Informaticist

Nurse informaticists hold a complex and multidimensional role in a healthcare setting. Kinnunen et al. (2023) hold that nurse informaticists implement and evaluate information systems, assess electronic health records (EHRs), and other digital methodologies of a healthcare facility. They act as a bridge between IT departments and nurses with the core purpose of aligning technological interventions with clinical workflows and regulatory requirements. Moreover, they educate and train healthcare workers to appropriately use digital tools in delivering health care, which not only promotes the use of scientific principles but also the perpetual growth and development of medical practitioners (Hussey & Hannah, 2021).

Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations:

Experiences in Healthcare Facilities

In many healthcare settings, nurse informaticists are at the core of innovating and implementing core digital healthcare delivery tools and optimizing healthcare delivery. Hall et al. (2014) contend that nurse informaticists link nurses and other departments, which facilitates seamless communication and teamwork. By actively engaging with frontline nurses in identifying work inefficiencies and patients’ needs, they help align technological interventions with medical practice (Zhai et al., 2022).

Interactions with Interdisciplinary Teams

Nurse informaticists are also vital in interdisciplinary team meetings due to their immense knowledge and skills in health technological systems and informatics principles, which are vital in making decisions (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2024). They promote teamwork and the sharing of knowledge, which empowers nurses and other medical personnel to use technology to provide customized medical services. By actively engaging and leading other staff, nurse informaticists promote the adoption of technological interventions, which are critical in promoting patient outcomes and the overall growth of a health facility.

Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology:

Enhancing Patient Care:

The involvement of nurses in healthcare technology ensures that patients receive more effective and efficient healthcare services. With the adoption of telehealth interventions, De Leeuw et al. (2020) believe that nurses can remotely monitor their patients, hold consultations, and analyze data in real-time, thus enhancing coordination and improving patient results.

Ensuring PHI Security and Confidentiality

With the adoption of telehealth interventions, nurses can secure and maintain the confidentiality of protected health information (PHI). By using robust security measures and privacy procedures, Fraser (2021) asserts that nurses ensure the delivery of standard healthcare services, which is vital in minimizing data breaches and preventing unauthorized persons from accessing the medical records of patients.

Streamlining Workflow

The adoption of telehealth technologies can also streamline the workflow in many healthcare facilities. According to De Leeuw et al., telehealth can help automate documentation processes, reduce administrative work, and improve the overall efficiency of a health institution. With telehealth, nurses can work in tandem with other medical practitioners to tailor technological interventions that align with their workflow preferences, thus optimizing service delivery and reducing medical errors.

Costs and Return on Investment:

A healthcare facility gains tremendously by investing in nurse informaticists. Nurse informaticists help many organizations reduce medical costs and generate revenue by reducing medical expenditures due to hospital readmissions, emergency department visits, and transportation costs. They also enhance financial performance and the sustainability of a healthcare facility by ensuring that medical records are accurate and compliant and that patients are reimbursed accordingly.

Opportunities and Challenges:

Opportunities

With the introduction of nurse informaticists in healthcare facilities, nurses and other medical practitioners can easily embrace digital care models that are pivotal in furthering medical interventions. By promoting teamwork, nurse informaticists ensure that patients are offered quality health care, which is vital in promoting the satisfaction of patients and health care results. Socha-Dietrich (2021) argues that nurse informaticists are key in promoting the adoption of technologies and offering insights and support to other medical staff, thereby improving the flow of work in a healthcare facility. They ensure there is an effective collaboration with other staff, which is crucial in promoting the use of standard procedures, knowledge sharing, and perpetual growth, optimizing patients’ results. In other words, telehealth ensures that medical personnel can effectively collaborate and thus further the advancement of patient care models.

Challenges 

Nonetheless, whereas the adoption and implementation of nurse informaticists have many benefits, there are also challenges associated with it. First, Paterson et al. (2020) believe that many healthcare workers tend to refuse change, especially when they are accustomed to the traditional methods of care delivery. Moreover, it is not only challenging to integrate several digital care models appropriately but also to maintain the security and confidentiality of patients’ data. Thus, to overcome these challenges, there is a need to educate and train staff, advocate for robust technological interventions, and adopt effective measures to manage data.

Summary of Recommendations:

1. To optimize healthcare delivery, particularly for remote and underserved populations, our institution must introduce the position of nurse informaticists. By integrating telehealth technologies, our healthcare facility can overcome geographical barriers and thus offer healthcare services to not only remote but also underserved patients. It shall ensure that patients receive medical care on time, thus optimizing health outcomes and minimizing health inequalities.
2. To ensure the equitably delivery of healthcare services, our facility must utilize nurse informaticists in its journey towards adopting technological interventions. Using the nurses’ expertise in health informatics, we can implement and customize our telehealth interventions to the satisfaction of both patients and the medical fraternity. As noted above by De Leeuw et al., through the adoption of telehealth technologies, nurses can improve patient results, streamline the flow of work, and improve the efficiency of an organization.
3. Moreover, to improve our return on investment, we must invest in nurse informaticists. They can help improve our financial sustainability since, with the help of technology, they can help cut our costs, improve the quality of healthcare services, and promote revenue growth by ensuring that the patient’s medical records are documented accurately and patients are reimbursed accordingly.
4. Lastly, we must promote teamwork among staff to gain the advantages associated with technology-enabled healthcare delivery models. As noted above by Hall et al., with teamwork, we can leverage the diverse pool of skills in creating comprehensive telehealth interventions that cater to the needs of different patients. Through interdisciplinary collaboration, we can promote positive patient results, enhance satisfaction, and further perpetual growth in our journey of providing healthcare services to all people.

Conclusion:

In a nutshell, with the adoption of the nurse informaticist role, we can significantly promote our telehealth interventions and improve the overall health outcomes of many remote and underserved patients. By creating and implementing this position, we can leverage technological interventions to ensure that patients receive quality and tailored healthcare services.

References

Chauvette, A. J. (2021). A focused ethnography to explore nursing faculty experiences in integrating digital/informatics tools to support undergraduate students’ learning and the development of informatics competencies.

De Leeuw, J. A., Woltjer, H., & Kool, R. B. (2020). Identification of factors influencing the adoption of health information technology by nurses who are digitally lagging: in-depth interview study. Journal of medical Internet research, 22(8), e15630.

Fraser, R. (2021). Data Privacy and Security. Introduction to Nursing Informatics, pp. 267–293.

Hall, E. S., Holt, J. E., & Sengstack, P. (2024). Role of a Nursing Informatics Specialist in a Clinical Simulation Laboratory: The Catalytic Link. Nurse Educator, 10-1097.

Hussey, P., & Hannah, K. J. (2021). Nursing informatics: a core competency for the profession. Introduction to Nursing Informatics, 55-85.

Julian, M. M. (2018). The Successful Integration of Health Informatics into an Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum: A Case Study (Doctoral dissertation, Capella University).

Kinnunen, U. M., Kuusisto, A., Koponen, S., Ahonen, O., Kaihlanen, A. M., Hassinen, T., & Vehko, T. (2023). Nurses’ Informatics Competency Assessment of Health Information System Usage: A Cross-sectional Survey. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 41(11), 869-876.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2024). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Paterson, C., Bacon, R., Dwyer, R., Morrison, K. S., Toohey, K., O’Dea, A., … & Hayes, S. C. (2020, December). The role of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic across the interdisciplinary cancer team: implications for practice. In Seminars in oncology nursing (Vol. 36, No. 6, p. 151090). WB Saunders.

Socha-Dietrich, K. (2021). Empowering the health workforce to make the most of the digital revolution.

Zhai, Y., Yu, Z., Zhang, Q., Qin, W., Yang, C., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Transition to a new nursing information system embedded with clinical decision support: a mixed-method study using the HOT-fit framework. BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making, 22(1), 310.