In contemporary healthcare environment, technology plays a vital role in all facets of patient care. With the advancement of digital technologies, healthcare has experienced swift transformation, with the aim of making healthcare more efficient and safer. In response to technological growth, health informatics has unfolded, including nursing informatics which is an expanding and dynamic field that capitalizes on the technological power to improve patient outcomes and nursing practice. From clinical decision support systems (CDSS), telehealth platforms, and electronic health records (EHRs), nurses rely on different information systems and technologies to deliver effective, safe, and patient-centered care (Nibbelink et al., 2018). Therefore, nursing informatics provides the necessary expertise and framework to incorporate these technologies effortlessly into nursing practice. By integrating information technology and nursing science, nursing informatics professionals play a pivotal role in enhancing workflow efficiency, fostering innovation, and providing patient-centered, evidence-based care in the continuously changing healthcare environment.
Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist
According to Reid et al. (2021), nursing informatics emphasizes the integration of nursing science, information science, and computer science to communicate and manage knowledge, information, data, and wisdom in nursing practice to improve patient outcomes. In 1992, the American Nursing Association (ANA) acknowledged nursing informatics as a sub-discipline in nursing, and the field has progressed to enable health professionals to gather and understand data generated during patient care. Nursing informatics underlines the effective utilization of technology, data analytics, and information systems to support and enhance nursing care, administration, research, and education. Nurse informaticists apply their expertise to augment the utilization of information technology in healthcare settings. They collaborate with interdisciplinary teams like administrators, IT professionals, healthcare providers, and nurses in developing, implementing, and appraising technology solutions that meet the unique requirements of nursing to enhance healthcare outcomes (Reid et al., 2021). By leveraging technology, nurse informaticists can make data-driven decisions that enhance evidence-based, patient-centered care.
Nurse informaticists have an essential role in the healthcare field by bridging the gap between information technology and nursing practice. Their role incorporates various responsibilities, including data analysis and management. Nursing informaticists are accountable for analyzing and managing healthcare data. They ensure data security, integrity, and quality and utilize data analytics methods to extract trends and insights that inform decision-making and drive evidence-based practice (Schoenbaum, 2020). Nurse informaticists take part in implementing and optimizing various information systems like clinical decision support systems and electronic health records. They work with interdisciplinary teams to ensure such systems are tailored to meet the needs of nursing practice, enhance patient care, and promote efficient workflows. Furthermore, nurse informaticists evaluate the current nurse workflows and determine improvement opportunities (Schoenbaum, 2020). They assess processes, eradicate redundancies, and streamline workflows by utilizing technology and automation, hence aiding in minimizing administrative burdens and focusing more on direct patient care. By combining informatics expertise and nursing knowledge, nursing informaticists drive innovation, promote effective communication and collaboration, optimize workflows, and foster evidence-based practice.
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations
Healthcare organizations’ experience with nurse informaticists is mainly positive due to the contribution of such specialists to making EHR systems more user-friendly and contributing to staff members’ technology literacy. According to Peltonen et al. (2019), even though nursing informatics competencies are perceived as vital, graduate nurses often exhibit poor information technology skills, which adds to organizations’ willingness to create the role of a nursing informaticist. Therefore, healthcare organizations may view nursing informaticists as assets to the workforce resource that efficiently transfer information technology knowledge to care specialists. Since nurse informaticists are positioned to identify healthcare gaps and determine transformative ways to guide nursing practice, they lead initiatives that enhance patient well-being.
At John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, nurse informaticists “developed and operationalized an algorithm for recognizing intimate partner violence and red flags for human trafficking (Nelson, 2019, para. 7). The algorithm fits easily into the emergency department nurse workflow, providing systematic instructions to the nurses, and incorporating a narrative for utilization if the patient screens as positive. In the same facility, nurse informaticists maximize the utilization of mobile technology to introduce healthcare to the homeless (Nelson, 2019). Healthcare providers bring the benefits of EHR technology into the field, whereby they develop walk-in visits, prescribe and arrange for medication delivery, provide treatments, monitor health conditions, and offer education and follow-up care. Hence, the program has resulted in a decline in emergency department visits and preventable complications. At Texas Health Resources in Dallas, Fort Worth, nurse informaticists demonstrate how conveying vital signs from the machine directly into the EHR on surgical or medical and telemetry units saves time spent on daily manual documentation. Such nurses combine clinical expertise with advanced analytics techniques to create predictive models. Their work with predictive models saves and improves lives, recognizing sepsis risk to readmission risk and also helping identify individuals who may benefit from palliative care (Nelson, 2019). With the benefits observed in this facility, current healthcare setups need to create the role of nursing informaticists to improve patient outcomes by leveraging technology.
In order for nurse informaticists to fulfill their responsibilities, they are expected to actively engage with other nurses and interdisciplinary teams, including administrators, IT professionals, physicians, and other healthcare stakeholders. Usually, nurse informaticists act as a link between the nursing staff and other team members, promoting effective communication and understanding of needs and challenges related to technology (Holden et al., 2018). This collaboration supports decision-making, fosters teamwork, and ensures nursing perspectives are integrated into system design and implementation. Nurse informaticists provide educational and training programs to other nursing staff on the efficient use of technology and information systems. They do so by conducting training sessions, orientations, and workshops to ensure that other nurses have the necessary skills and knowledge to use technology tools in their practice. Moreover, nurse informaticists leverage various communication tools to connect with the nursing staff and interdisciplinary team. This may involve engaging in formal and informal discussions, participating in rounds, and attending meetings (Holden et al., 2018). They may also utilize electronic communication tools like collaborative software, messaging platforms, and email to provide updates, answer questions, and exchange information. Active interaction with the nursing staff and interdisciplinary team by nurse informaticists ensures the successful implementation of technologies and improved patient care. Besides, their collaborative approach promotes effective communication, teamwork, and understanding among stakeholders involved in care delivery.
Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology
Full nurse engagement in healthcare technology ensures nurses can effectively use tools like CDSS and EHRs to enhance patient safety. Nurses can access and update patient information in real-time, receive reminders and alerts of critical tasks, and recognize potential medication errors and adverse events. This likely minimizes the risk of errors, improves the accuracy of documentation, and improves patient safety. Nurse engagement in technology also facilitates the automation of routine tasks and workflow streamlining (Farokhzadian et al., 2020). The use of technology can allow for efficient coordination, documentation, and communication among healthcare teams, resulting in increased productivity, reduced delays, and smoother care transitions. By improving efficiency through streamlined workflows, automated documentation, and minimal administrative tasks, nurses can emphasize more on direct patient care, reducing the need for additional nursing personnel and boosting productivity. Time-saving on manual procedures can result in better resource allocation and cost savings (Farokhzadian et al., 2020). While the precise return on investment (ROI) of nurse engagement in healthcare technology may differ depending on the organization and specific initiatives, the possible benefits, such as improved efficiency and productivity, can result in a positive ROI. By enhancing care coordination, reducing medical errors, and streamlining workflows, healthcare organizations can achieve optimal resource allocation and also attain cost savings, resulting in a favorable ROI.
Engaging nurses in healthcare technology also has implications for the confidentiality, privacy, and security of protected health information (PHI). Nurses require education regarding appropriate security protocols like access control, user authentication, and strong passwords to inhibit unauthorized access to patient information. In order to protect PHI from cyber threats and breaches, there is a need to implement security measures and technologies like intrusion detection systems (IDS), firewall protection, and encryption (Seh et al., 2020). In addition, engaging nurses in health technology requires compliance with privacy guidelines like HIPAA. Nurses need to comprehend their role in ensuring confidentiality and privacy when utilizing technology tools. This includes ensuring secure transmission of PHI, practicing proper patient identification, and conforming to policies for sharing and releasing patient information. By promoting compliance with privacy guidelines, implementing strong security procedures, and providing education, healthcare organizations can ensure that nurse engagement in technology fosters patient trust and supports the PHI protection.
Opportunities and Challenges
With the addition of a nurse informaticist role come various opportunities and challenges for nurses and the interdisciplinary team. Nurse informaticists leverage their expertise to implement and optimize health information technology systems. By designing and integrating CDSS, alerting mechanisms, as well as evidence-based practice guidelines, nurses and interdisciplinary teams can use these tools to reduce medical errors and enhance patient safety. Nurse informaticists act as a link between IT professionals, nursing staff, and other healthcare professionals. They foster effective collaboration and communication, ensuring that nursing perspectives are understood and taken into account in technology-related decisions (Peltonen et al., 2019). This interdisciplinary collaboration improves care coordination, enhances communication channels, and promotes teamwork. Further, nurse informaticists can educate and train nurses and interdisciplinary teams on the effective use of technology tools and information systems. They ensure health professionals have the required knowledge and skills to maximize the benefits of technology in their practice. Hence, this education and training foster competency and user adoption.
However, introducing the nurse informaticist role can be met with resistance from some nursing staff and the interdisciplinary team. This resistance may be due to fears of job displacement, concerns about increased workload, or unfamiliarity with the new technology. In order to overcome resistance, there is a need for effective change management techniques and communication to highlight the benefits of the role and address any concerns. Knowledge and skills gap may be a challenge whereby some nurses and members of interdisciplinary teams lack adequate skills and knowledge of health informatics. Therefore, bridging the gap through education and training programs ensures all team members can effectively collaborate with nurse informaticists and use technology tools in their practice (Peltonen et al., 2019). Addressing these challenges requires ongoing support, clear communication, effective leadership, and a collaborative approach among the nurse informaticists, nurses, and the interdisciplinary team. By identifying and leveraging the opportunities while actively addressing the challenges, healthcare organizations can significantly benefit from adding the nurse informaticist role, hence driving positive outcomes for patient care and healthcare practice.
Summary of Recommendations
This proposal has highlighted the relevance of nursing informatics, particularly for healthcare organizations that seek to embrace healthcare technologies. Organizations like John Peter Smith Hospital have adopted mobile technology and EHR technology to save lives and enhance patient outcomes. While these technologies continue to bring benefits to healthcare organizations, there are several recommendations for the CNO and the HR manager to remember about the nurse informaticist role.
- Introduce monthly seminars and regular conferences and sessions to educate and train nurses about the benefits and use of the new technologies (Ten Haken et al., 2021).
- Nurses and interdisciplinary teams actively participate in the decision-making and implementation of new technologies (Mansour & Nogues, 2022).
- Implement mentorship programs for nurses and interdisciplinary teams to change their perceptions and attitudes toward healthcare technologies (Ko et al., 2018).
References
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Holden, R. J., Binkheder, S., Patel, J., & Viernes, S. H. P. (2018). Best practices for health informatician involvement in interprofessional health care teams. Applied Clinical Informatics, 9(1), 141–148. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0038-1626724
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Peltonen, L. M., Nibber, R., Lewis, A., Block, L., Pruinelli, L., Topaz, M., Perezmitre, E. L., & Ronquillo, C. (2019). Emerging professionals’ observations of opportunities and challenges in nursing informatics. Nursing Leadership (Toronto, Ont.), 32(2), 8–18. https://doi.org/10.12927/cjnl.2019.25965
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Seh, A. H., Zarour, M., Alenezi, M., Sarkar, A. K., Agrawal, A., Kumar, R., & Khan, R. A. (2020). Healthcare data breaches: Insights and implications. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 8(2), 133. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8020133
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