essay about nursing informatics

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Future of Nursing

How the nursing profession should adapt for a digital future, richard g booth.

1 Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, Western University, London, Canada

Gillian Strudwick

2 Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada

Susan McBride

3 School of Nursing, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, USA

Siobhán O’Connor

4 School of Health in Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Ana Laura Solano López

5 University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica

Transformation into a digitally enabled profession will maximize the benefits to patient care, write Richard Booth and colleagues

Digital technologies increasingly affect nursing globally. Examples include the growing presence of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic systems; society’s reliance on mobile, internet, and social media; and increasing dependence on telehealth and other virtual models of care, particularly in response to the covid-19 pandemic.

Despite substantial advances to date, challenges in nursing’s use of digital technology persist. A perennial concern is that nurses have generally not kept pace with rapid changes in digital technologies and their impact on society. This limits the potential benefits they bring to nursing practice and patient care. To respond to these challenges and prepare for the future, nursing must begin immediate transformation into a digitally enabled profession that can respond to the complex global challenges facing health systems and society.

Many exemplars show how digital technologies already bring benefit to nursing practice and education. 1 For instance, telehealth programs where nurses provide daily monitoring, coaching, and triage of patients with several chronic diseases have helped reduce emergency department admissions. 2 Mobile devices, in particular smartphones and health applications, are enabling nurses to offer remote advice on pain management to adolescent patients with cancer 3 4 and supplement aspects of nursing education by providing innovative pedagogical solutions for content delivery and remote learning opportunities. 5

The development and application to nursing of systems based on AI are still in their infancy. But preliminary evidence suggests virtual chatbots could play a part in streamlining communication with patients, and robots could increase the emotional and social support patients receive from nurses, while acknowledging inherent challenges such as data privacy, ethics, and cost effectiveness. 6

Challenges persist

Digital technologies may, however, be viewed as a distraction from, or an unwelcome intrusion into, the hands-on caring role and therapeutic relationships that nurses have with patients and families. 7 This purported incompatibility with traditional nursing ideals, such as compassionate care, may explain some nurses’ reluctance to adopt digital approaches to healthcare. 8 9 In addition, nursing’s history was as structurally subordinate to other healthcare disciplines, 10 and the profession is still cementing its relationship and leadership in health systems.

The specialty of nursing informatics has long advocated for the integration of technology to support the profession, but it has comparatively few practitioners globally. Nursing informaticians are predominantly based in the United States, where the discipline seems to have originated, but many other countries and regions are expanding their digital nursing workforce and involvement with informatics. 11 12

Slow progress in some areas has been due to a lack of leadership and investment that supports nurses to champion and lead digital health initiatives. Globally, uncertainty remains regarding the next steps the nursing profession should take to increase and optimize its use of digital technology. This challenge is exacerbated by the global diversity of the profession, including unequal access to resources such as technological infrastructure maturity and expertise. Huge differences exist among countries and regions of the world in terms of the digitalization of healthcare processes, access to internet connectivity, and transparency of health information processes.

Selected technologies: benefits and challenges

The nursing literature contains many analyses of digital technologies used to support or extend the profession, including practice (eg, hospital information systems, electronic health records, monitoring systems, decision support, telehealth); education (eg, e-Learning, virtual reality, serious games); and, rehabilitative and personalized healthcare approaches (eg, assistive devices sensors, ambient assisted living). 1 T able 1 summarizes the potential benefits, challenges, and implications of emerging innovations to practice.

Benefits, challenges, and implications of selected digital technologies in nursing

The table is not exhaustive, but the diversity of topics researched shows the profession recognizes the value and challenges of digital technologies. Given the evidence, for the profession to make further progress we recommend five areas for focused and immediate action. These recommendations should be qualified in light of regional context and professional background owing to global heterogeneity in nursing and the inclusion of digital technologies into healthcare.

Reform nursing education

We must urgently create educational opportunities at undergraduate and graduate levels in informatics, digital health, co-design, implementation science, and data science. 39 These should include opportunities to work with and learn from computing, engineering, and other interdisciplinary colleagues. For instance, nursing will need a critical mass of practitioners who understand how to use data science to inform the creation of nursing knowledge to support practice. 40 These practitioners will also need savviness and courage to lead the development of new models of patient care enabled by digital technologies. 41 42

Determining how, where, and why technology like AI should be used to support practice is of immediate interest and a growing competency requirement in health sciences and informatics education. 43 Nursing education should evolve its competencies and curriculums proactively for the increasing use of digital technologies in all areas of practice 39 while incorporating novel pedagogical approaches—for example, immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality—to deliver aspects of simulation based education. 44 45

Recently, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing released core competencies for nursing education, explicitly identifying informatics, social media, and emergent technologies and their impact on decision making and quality as critical to professional practice. 46

Build nursing leadership in digital health

All levels of nursing leadership must advocate more actively for, and invest resources in, a profession that is both complemented and extended by digital technology. The profession needs to evolve its use of digital technology by continuing to champion and support nurses to become knowledgeable in, and generate new scientific knowledge on, data analytics, virtual models of care, and the co-design of digital solutions with patients, differences across contexts and regions permitting.

Advancement of leadership competencies in existing informatics technologies, such as clinical decision support systems, electronic health records, and mobile technologies, is also essential: these kinds of systems will undoubtedly come with increasing levels of AI functionality. Possessing a critical mass of nursing leaders who understand the intended and unintended consequences as well as opportunities of these kinds of technologies is vital to ensure the quality and safety of nursing.

The increasing presence and recognition of the importance of chief nursing informatics officers is a step in the right direction. 47 Further, providing opportunities for nurses of all specialties to contribute to the development and implementation of digital health policies, locally and nationally, could increase future use of digital technologies in nursing.

Investigate artificial intelligence in nursing practice

The influence of AI on human decision making and labor are areas in need of immediate inquiry to support nursing practice for the next decade and beyond. AI technologies could provide the profession with huge benefits in data analytics and advanced clinical decision support.

Although many of the purported potential benefits of AI (eg, improved patient outcomes, streamlined workflow, improved efficiency) have yet to be fully shown in nursing research, 6 it is inevitable that AI technologies will be used more regularly to support and extend nurses’ cognitive, decision making, and potentially labor functions. 15

These opportunities bring new and dynamic practice considerations for nursing and interprofessional expertise. One example relates to the potential automation of inequity and injustice within systems and decision support tools containing AI 48 49 : self-evolving algorithms in systems sometimes unintentionally reinforce systemic inequities found in society.

Increased use of AI also brings novel policy, regulatory, legal, and ethical implications to the fore. The nursing profession must examine its role, processes, and knowledge against emerging ethical frameworks that explore the opportunities and risks that AI and similar innovations bring, while advocating for patient involvement in AI development and application. Floridi and colleagues offer tenets regarding AI development and the ethical considerations in using such innovations in their call to develop AI technology that “secures people’s trust, serves the public interest, and strengthens shared social responsibility.” 50 They also advocate that as guiding principles, AI should be used to enhance human agency, increase societal capacities, cultivate societal cohesion, and enable human self-realization, with an emphasis on instilling and reinforcing human dignity. 50 Further research, funding, and thought leadership in this domain are needed to help support the development of new practice policy, regulatory frameworks, and ethical guidelines to guide nursing practice.

Re-envision nurse-patient relationships

The profession must reframe how nurses interact with and care for patients in a digital world. The sheer variety of “do-it-yourself” health and wellness applications (eg, personalized genetic testing services, virtual mental health support), mobile and social media applications (eg, mHealth, wearables, online communities of practice) and other virtual healthcare (eg, telemedicine, virtual consultations) options available to consumers is impressive.

All this may seem antithetical toward the traditionally espoused nursing role—therapeutic relationships in physical interactions—but patients are increasingly empowered, connected to the internet, and demanding personalized or self-management healthcare models that fit their busy and varied lifestyles.

To maximize its impact on patient care, the profession should continue to develop virtual care modalities that exploit internet and mobile technology, drawing on its experiences with telehealth and remote models of care. 51 These care models might also be extended through virtual or augmented reality technologies or integrated with assisted living or “smart home” systems, 52 and potentially other precision and personalized healthcare solutions that leverage genomic and other biometric data.

Care approaches, interpretations of privacy, and technological interoperability functionalities should be co-designed among the interprofessional healthcare team, patients, and carers 53 and available where patients want them, ideally in both physical and digital realms. Deeper discussions and scientific research regarding access, cost, electronic resource use or wastage, and equity implications of the increasing digitalization of nurse-patient relationships will also need to be thoroughly explored.

Embrace digital practice

The profession requires a cultural shift. Its membership and leadership must demand the evolution of digital systems better to meet contemporary and emerging needs.

Too often, technology to support nursing is poorly configured, resourced, or not upgraded to respond to practice and societal trends. Nurses still commonly use practice systems that are lacking basic usability (eg, contributing to alert fatigue, reinforcing disruptive workflow processes) or generate added documentation burdens because of poor configuration and optimization. 54

There is huge variation globally in access to, integration of, and sustainability of digital technology. 55 56 57 Solutions vary and are context specific. Renewed awareness of digital technology’s use brought about by the covid-19 pandemic offers an impetus for change that nurses should embrace.

Tasks undertaken by nurses that do not add enough value to patient care present opportunities for partial or full divestment, 58 and may be better integrated into future technology enabled processes or delivered by other care providers.

The profession should revisit cultural interpretations of how technology such as drones, robots, and other AI enabled systems can be considered complementary to nursing practice and process, rather than as competition or adversaries. Collaboration with technology developers, providers, and patients will be essential to ensure success.

Although some outdated nursing activities and processes made redundant or less relevant will likely be missed by some in the profession, digital technology provides opportunities to support new models of care and approaches to nursing practice. We must not allow cultural and historical interpretations of nursing to upend or impede progress.

How nursing can stay relevant

Nurses entering the profession today will undoubtedly witness substantive disruption and change from digital technology by the time they are mid-career. 59 Without immediate action, the nursing profession stands to miss a remarkable opportunity to generate new roles, knowledge, and relationships within future health systems and societies saturated by digital technologies.

Nursing will continue to offer value and importance to healthcare systems in the coming decades. However, the profession must consider its role, knowledge, and relationships with technologies and patients to remain relevant in digitally enabled societies and healthcare systems and continue to provide compassionate care in a digital world. Without proactive strategic self-reflection, planning, and action, nursing will fail to control its trajectory across the chasm separating the past, present, and future of practice.

Key recommendations

• Nursing must accelerate the transformation to a digitally enabled profession by investing in informatics education, research, and practice
• Nurses should upskill in data science and other digital health topics to ensure emerging technologies such as AI are developed appropriately and safe for nursing practice and patient care
• Nursing must invest in and lead digital health developments and collaborate with others to develop and deliver digital tools that patients and the public need
• Nurses should champion informatics across all areas of professional practice, create leadership opportunities in digital health, and inform health policy in this area

Competing interests: We have read and understood BMJ policy on declaration of interests and have no relevant interests to declare.

Provenance and peer review: Commissioned; not externally peer reviewed.

This article is part of a series commissioned by The BMJ for the World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH). The BMJ peer reviewed, edited, and made the decision to publish. The series, including open access fees, is funded by WISH.

Defining Nursing Informatics: A Narrative Review

Affiliations.

• 1 College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia.
• 2 Flinders Digital Health Research Centre, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia.
• 3 College of Business, Government and Law, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia.
• PMID: 34920485
• DOI: 10.3233/SHTI210680

Healthcare has experienced rapid transformation with the development of digital technologies which aim to make healthcare safer and more efficient. In response, health informatics has evolved, including nursing informatics, which integrates nursing, information and communication technologies (ICT) and professional knowledge to improve patient outcomes. New language has developed to describe informatics and its processes; however, this has generally been poorly understood. This paper will describe current definitions of nursing informatics from three different healthcare contexts: Australia, the United States of America and Canada, to identify the similarities and differences between these definitions and to summarise the distinct bodies of knowledge described by each country. These countries have amongst the oldest definition attempts in the literature. A pragmatic approach was taken in this narrative review, working forward from historic references and backwards from recent references extracted from published health and nursing informatics literature.

Keywords: Informatics; definition; nursing.

Publication types

• Nursing Informatics*

The History of Medical Informatics in the United States pp 385–406 Cite as

Nursing Informatics: Past, Present, and Future

• Morris F. Collen &
• Patricia Hinton Walker 3  

2569 Accesses

1 Citations

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Early hospital information systems (HISs) placed computers at nursing stations, and the passage of Medicare in 1965 set reimbursement rules that required documentation, first met by nurses using precoded cards and forms. In the 1970s, interactive terminals with visual displays became available; in the 1980s, microcomputers custom-tailored for nursing functions began to be installed at the patient’s bedside. Handheld portable devices began to appear for use at the point of care, and hospitals began to use bar codes for identification purposes. Nurses became increasingly involved in specifying information requirements for nursing services. In the 1980s, nursing information systems (NISs) were probably the most widely used HIS subsystem. They were used for bed assignment and control, nurse staffing recommendations based on patient classification systems, quality assurance programs, nursing care planning, and decision support. The 1980s also saw advances toward implementation of the Nursing Minimum Data Set and development of nursing education programs. In the 1990s, the American Nurses Association published documents defining the scope and standards of nursing informatics practice, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center had established a certification in nursing informatics as a practice specialty. In the 2000s, an international nursing terminology summit brought nurses and standards experts together to integrate nursing concepts and map nursing interface terminologies to SNOMED-CT, ultimately creating what in 2007 became an international reference terminology standard. The 2000s also saw the establishment of the Alliance of Nursing Informatics (ANI) and TIGER (Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform); both continue to be active today.

• Nursing informatic s
• Nursing information system s
• Nursing terminology
• Nursing minimum data set
• Professional certification
• Nursing practice
• Professional association s
• Direct patient care
• Nursing management

The views expressed are those of the author Walker and do not reflect official policy or position of the USUHS, the Department of Defense, or the United State Federal Government.

Author was deceased at the time of publication.

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Collen, M.F., Walker, P.H. (2015). Nursing Informatics: Past, Present, and Future. In: Collen, M., Ball, M. (eds) The History of Medical Informatics in the United States. Health Informatics. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-6732-7_7

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The role of informatics in nurse staffing

Nursing informatics and clinical decision support

Applications of big data in nursing

Advances in sensor technology in nursing

Clinical decision support systems in nursing

Advancements in virtual reality and simulation tools for nurses

The impact of mobile technology on nurses’ work lives

Nursing informatics and patient care quality

Emerging trends in data mining and analytics for nursing

What are the main implications of nursing informatics?

Further read on 130+ Good nursing capstone project ideas to Write About

Current Topics in nursing informatics

There are many different nursing informatics essay ideas to write about. Here are twenty of the most popular topics:

• How electronic health records (EHRs) are changing patient care.
• How big data is impacting nursing informatics.
• The role of artificial intelligence (AI) in nursing informatics.
• The impact of mobile technology on nursing informatics.
• The future of nursing informatics education .
• The impact of social media on nursing informatics .
• The importance of digital health literacy in nursing informtics.
• Nursing informatics and the opioid epidemic.
• Building a successful nursing informatics team .
• The challenges confronting nursing informatics today and in the future.
• The impact of global healthcare reform on nursing information technology (NIT).
• Nursing informatics and the aging population: implications for patient care and clinical practice .
• Using big data to improve patient safety in nursing homes and hospitals
• The use of virtual reality in nurse education and training
• The impact of electronic health records on nurses’ work hours
• The use of analytics in decision making by nurses
• How nursing informatics is helping to improve patient care.
• The impact of artificial intelligence on nursing informatics.
• The future of nursing informatics research .
• The increasing use of big data in nursing informatics.
• How advanced technology is revolutionizing the way nurses work.
• The importance of professional development for nurses working with nursing informatics.
• The challenges and opportunities posed by digital health in nursing informistics.
• What the future holds for nurse-led electronic health records (EHRs).
• How technology is changing the way nurses work with patients in their homes .
• The impact of social media on nursing informistics and patient care.
• The growing trend of nurse-led “crowdsourcing” in nursing informatics research projects.
• How virtual reality is being used to enhance patient care in nursing settings

Still looking for a DNP capstone topic here are  80+ Strong DNP capstone project Ideas for NPs [+Prompts]

Informatics topics for presentation

Nursing Informatics is a rapidly growing field that provides healthcare professionals with the information and tools they need to care for their patients more effectively. Here are Informatics topics for presentation to get you started:

• The Effect of Nursing Informatics on Patient Care.
• The Role of Nursing Informatics in Keeping Patients Healthy.
• The Impact of Nursing Informatics on Clinical Practice.
• The Importance of Nursing Informatics in the Future of Healthcare .
• The Growing Role of Nursing Informatics in the World of Medicine.
• The Impact of Nursing Informatics on Quality of Life for Patients and Families .
• How Nursing Informatics is Helping to Revolutionize Healthcare Delivery .
• The Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Technology in Nursing Settings.
• Increasing Efficiency through the Use of nursing informatics Tools and Applications .
• Advances in Electronic Health Records: Implications for Nurses .
• The Evolution and Development of Computerized Medical Records Systems 

Find out more on  How to write DNP capstone project Methodology Chapter ,  How to write a DNP Capstone Project Literature Review ,  How to write a DNP capstone project chapter 1 – Introduction , and  DNP Capstone project Abstract Examples [Outline & How-to]

Health Informatics Research Paper Topics

Nursing Informatics is a rapidly growing field that is constantly evolving. As new technologies are developed, nurses need to be able to keep up with the latest changes and trends. Here are twenty nursing informatics essay ideas to help you get started:

• How electronic records are changing the way nurses work.
• The role of big data in nursing informatics.
• The future of healthcare information systems and how nurses will benefit from them.
• How mobile technology is aiding nurses in their daily duties.
• The importance of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) in nursing care .
• The use of blockchain technology in the health industry.
• The impact of social media on nursing professionals.
• Issues facing chronic care patients and how nurses can address them effectively.
• How virtual reality is being used to train nurses in new techniques and procedures.
• Nursing informatics research – what is being done currently and where do we believe it will go in the future?
• Emerging trends in nursing informatics

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Nursing Informatics Essays

Nursing informatics in health care, how nursing informatics facilitates both qualitative and quantitative research, a proposed computerized provider order entry (cpoe) project in nursing care, nurses as knowledge workers, the impact of nursing informatics on patient outcomes and patient care efficiencies, healthcare delivery challenges, the importance of nursing informatics in clinical practice and beyond, nursing informatics self-assessment, technology and nursing informatics, popular essay topics.

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Essay: Informatics and Technology in Nursing

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Let us first talk about applying the technology to the knowledge that we already have to help identify the potential problems earlier. This could be a huge inconvenience when in a hospital if there is a patient that needs to be seen for something minor like a stomach ache that could turn into something as big as appendicitis. Some advanced technology helps us communicate in ways where we could know this information before anything needed to escalate to that. When speaking of electronic documents, you need to identify changes in the patients stays that can occur quickly so EHRs are useful for that as well. This information is all available readily for when the doctor or nurse need it. Then, the nurse is able to use this knowledge to formulate an appropriate plan of action.

Nursing informatics is definitely a growing field because as nurses we tend to face ever changing and challenging practice situations. Competency in nursing informatics promises to strengthen our clinical decision-making skills. We need documentation to keep track of everything that goes on with the many patients we get assigned throughout the work day. Although new technology may be a challenging for some, informatics will enhance nursing practice and will help us to learn much more useful information. This will make us have quicker access to patient information, improve overall efficiency, and see a reduction in potential errors. It would be great to walk into work knowing that your patient information is safe and potential errors are limited.

In the health systems today, technology plays an important role in education and nursing work. Have you ever walked into a hospital that does not use technology in every room possible? EHRs, Imaging machines, X-rays and much more are all over the hospital to be used by medical professionals in determining the best care for the patients. The criteria used for selecting studies primarily focuses on nursing informatics and the importance of expertise in the effective use of information technology. This happens to be included in all aspects of the nursing profession. These include times in critical assessments of emerging technologies, the key elements of nursing informatics implementation were considered as healthcare promotion, advanced systems, internet, and networked.

When looking at the background of technology and informatics the term “nursing informatics” has been considered a specialization in nursing resources since 1984. Since this time they have had a huge impact on the nursing and medical career to this day. Many aspects such as data recovery, ethics, patient care, decision support systems, imaging informatics, computer science, information science, security, e-learning and telenursing have been added to the field as well. Hana defined Nursing Informatics as the application it in the nursing duties including education, management and practice in 1985. Integration of information science, computer science and nursing science to support nursing practice and knowledge management. So as you can tell it has been implemented for much longer than we know. Many people think that EHRs and some technology have just started to become popular in helping medical professionals but that is not true at all.

Nursing CORE competencies come into play because nurses will be able to use advanced technology and to analyze and synthesize information with this. When being an advocate for your patient you need to make sure that you have their best interest at heart. Along with that, they will collaborate to make important decisions to maximize and optimize patient outcomes. As we all know, the patient comes first and we do whatever they need for their benefit of health. This is important because the nurses will utilize healthcare information technologies to support their practice and provide superior care for the patients. The goal for nursing informatics is to “improve the health of populations, communities, families and individuals by optimizing information management, increasing the communication and exchange of data, and empowering patients.”

In CORE competency the utilization and understanding of technologies are that of to increase clinical knowledge, research and translation to practice. Nurses are known to be advocates for their patients with a thorough understanding of the clinical environment. So with that being said they need to know what will benefit their patients best. Patients are always looking to technological resources to gain insights into clinical problems. This article has said that nurse of the future will demonstrate mastery of nursing informatics to optimize patient care, nurse outcomes and the profession. They are advocating that this is the best for their patients and the way everything is run.

Believe it or not with EHRs in the medical field there are benefits but there are also downfalls in the system. They could crash, run slow, not give adequate information or sometimes the systems will just fail. They are mainly designed to help with the organization of records, have less paper being used and for many other beneficial reasons. But, they are a huge deal when it comes to nursing! If you are not aware, EHRs are “a documentation tool that yields data useful in enhancing patient safety, evaluating care quality, maximizing efficiency, and measuring staffing needs. There are much dissatisfaction with the designs and the electronic processes.

Nursing issues include medication safety, documentation and standards of practice, and EHR efficiency. IT concerns include interoperability, vendors, innovation, nursing voice, education, and collaboration. When it comes to solving this issue there are some things that could possibly be done but overall; systems have errors. If hospitals are using them they have to realize that there are consequences to it. In order to help with this issue we could have backup paper medical records in which most places do. This could help in case something does not save correctly, if the systems are down or if they need to check if something was not put in the correct way. Another option would be digital medical records which is intended to facilitate information sharing while reducing costs for chart storage and management.

With other alternatives to EHRs the digital medical records have a potential leverage digital tools to provide clinical alerts, and connect experts for healthcare decision support. They are used to improve care, increase patient participation, and improve quality of care. Health care providers are using health IT at unpredicted levels now. As of 2015, 80% of physician offices have used certified EHRs which are said to work extremely well. We are trying to figure out a way to make the EHR certification evolve to be more responsible for patient and physician needs. They need to be more flexible to allow new tools to be adapted. The clinical utility if the medical record must be recove red. Time is also extremely limited for physicians so it is convenient to have working EHRs.

Lastly I researched the implications for nursing practice and future nursing research. There are so many ways this is implemented for nursing including genetics and genomics, less invasive and more accurate tools for diagnostics and treatment, 3D printing, robotics, biometrics, and EHR. With genetics the majority of disease risk, health conditions and the therapies used to treat those conditions have a genetic and/or genomic element influenced by environmental, lifestyle, and other factors therefore impacting the entire nursing profession. Non-invasive and minimally invasive tools for diagnostics and treatment generally result in lower patient risk and cost. Biometrics increase the security of confidential healthcare information and eliminate the costs of managing lost passwords.

To conclude, I would like to say that informatics and technology is a huge aspect in the nursing field as it helps us communicate, better ourselves, and better our patients. With what has been discussed it is clear to see that it is significant to the practice of nursing. Not only that but with the downsides of technology there are many ways to help reduce that and make it better. With the implications there are too many to list for the medical field. Overall it is there to make patient care better and have a better outcome. Overall technology will always have downfalls but I feel as though it is important for the medical field and should never be overlooked.

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Essay on Nursing Informatics Project To Improve Patient-Care Efficiency

Nursing informatics is an essential skill required to improve patient care efficiency. It calls for integrating nursing skills and information technology to enhance data analysis and efficient management of data in healthcare. Nursing informatics programs can easily manage, process, define and transmit data and information about a patient through a digital platform. Technological advancement has played a vital role in the revolution of the health sector (Collins et al., 2017). Digitalization of health princesses has enhanced effective decision-making, the transmission of patient data, and reduced medical errors. Knowledge sharing is also enhanced to ensure efficient delivery of services to the patients. Nursing informatics is revolutionary in the provision of efficient nursing services. Healthcare organizations need continuous innovation to develop the best nursing informatics project to improve patient care efficiency.

The nursing informatics project aims at providing an efficient way of data management and transfer. It has the objective of ensuring patients’ data security to ensure the data does not fall into the hands of unauthorized individuals. The project will address the loopholes in data management and transfer to ensure there is proper record keeping. It will cut across various departments to ensure the project is successful (Abdou, 2015). The proposed project integrates technology in nursing practices, including digital data management, training and development of nurses, and automatically allocating duties. The system also enhances performance review to the nurses to ensure they are delivering the expected outcomes. Implementation of the project will provide the healthcare organization has a proper functioning system to keep health records and ensure efficient delivery of services to the patients.

Patients are the primary beneficiaries of the project. There is a need to improve the health records to ensure the information and data are well managed. In the contemporary world, there are a lot of emergences of ailments disturbing people. Healthcare providers need to integrate technology to find a solution to the problems affecting people. The health sector needs a system that can effectively monitor patients who report to hospitals (Abdou, 2015). It is also vital to enhance knowledge sharing to enhance research on the possible solutions to the emerged ailments. While sharing the information, it is essential to ensure the data is end to end encrypted. This is because there is a high need to handle patient’s data with privacy.

Additionally, nurses and other healthcare providers will have an easy time while retrieving information about a patient. They can track the trend in the health system and the new mechanisms applied in the provision of health services. The project positively impacts the stakeholders.

The project will ensure patient-care efficiency through proper health records and data and information management. The organization will have a reliable system to support patient data and information. Patients’ data will be migrated to a digital platform that is more reliable and efficient. The world is invaded by diseases that require excellent healthcare and services. This can only be achieved if the technology is integrated into the provision of health services (Collins et al., 2017). For example, the increase of infectious diseases in most parts of the globe requires an intervention. It involves integrating the technology to ensure nurses in various parts of the world can share information and knowledge on how to provide better services.

Another example is the outbreak of COVID-19; the outbreak of the unprecedented pandemic has shown the central role of technology in nursing services. The pandemic has touched every part of the globe, and it requires global intervention to eradicate it. Integration of technology remains to be the only hope in innovating a vaccine that to kill the virus. Scientists from various parts of the world are pulling their knowledge together to ensure they defeat the global virus. The nursing informatics project will ensure nursing is the center pole in the provision of better health services. The project is one of the vital requirements in patient care efficiency, which is reflected in improving general health care outcomes in the organization.

The application of technology determines the competence of nursing informatics programs. The required technology is computer skills, informatics skills, and informatics knowledge to ensure efficient patient care. Technological skills are required to provide nurses’ competencies while handling clients. The competencies will apply in all levels of nursing. Computer skills are an essential technology in nursing (Bove,2020). The competency will help the nurses to retrieve numerous resources and demographic data about patients. The project encourages the use of telecommunication devices to ensure nurses are in touch with each other. The technology also provides digital documentation of data. The organization will have the advantage of migrating the healthcare records to a well-developed digital system that is safer and reliable. The technology will also ensure the organization has state-of-the-art equipment to help in service delivery. Nurses will be trained on the application of the technology in service delivery.

Additionally, the applied technology will enhance the interpretation of the available data and information. The digital system helps in the performance of the data system in the organization. The information flow will be presented in charts and graphs to analyze the trends in inpatient and outpatient departments. The information flow will show all the clinical systems in the organization to improve clinical care. The system also innovative methods of assessing nurses and other healthcare providers (Bove,2020). The analysis is essential to ensure nurses are equipped with the relevant skills and competencies. The program also can allocate duties to the nurses. The supervisor in charge can reach out to nurses in case of emergency and call them to the task. These are the required technologies to ensure the patient care is a notch higher and provide efficient service delivery.

The project will incorporate teams from across departments. The teams will be drawn from inpatient and outpatient departments that interact with a large number of customers. Nurses will be the key implementers of the program. They will be the front soldiers in ensuring the technology is applied in service delivery. They have a mandate to report to the supervisors on the technology’s faults for continued improvement (Abdou, 2015). The health record department also has a role in ensuring all health records are kept in the new system. The backlog of information in the manual method has to be migrated to the new system. Paperwork should be eradicated where all the information will be accessed through the digital systems. The department of information technology also has a role in maintaining digital systems (Bove,2020). The department should ensure there is information flow and offer repair where there is a system failure. An alternative approach should be developed to be applied when the system fails to provide service deliveries that do not stop. As outlined, every department has a role in ensuring the project is seen to succeed and deliver the required impact.

Summing up, we are living in a dynamic world that requires dynamic health systems for patient care. Technology plays a central role in the transformation of the health sector. It is necessary to integrate technology in nursing activities to ensure efficient service delivery. As outlined in the above nursing informatics project, the proposed technology will transform the healthcare organization.

Abdou, A. A. (2015). Nursing informatics competencies among nursing students and their relationship to patient safety competencies: Knowledge, attitude, and skills.  CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing ,  33 (11), 509-514.

Bove, L. A. (2020). Integration of informatics content in baccalaureate and graduate nursing education: an updated status report.  Nurse educator ,  45 (4), 206-209.

Collins, S., Yin, P. Y., Phillips, A., & Kennedy, M. K. (2017). Nursing informatics competency assessment for the nurse leader: The Delphi study.  JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration ,  47 (4), 212-218.

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Nursing Informatics – New Technology System Essay

Adoption of a new technology system, creation of a flow chart.

The acquisition of needed competencies for a nursing practitioner occurs in a progressive manner. Nurses need to harmonize theories and practical knowledge to develop the required wisdom in the health sector. In modern times, nurses need to acquire new knowledge in order to provide services that are commensurate with the changing needs of clients.

The medical practitioners need to access critical information from reliable sources regularly. The search for knowledge for nurses should be appropriately structured. The nurses should identify their needs. The medical professionals should deduce data from identified sources and synthesize it to create necessary practices to guide their work. Information should be adequately processed so that it becomes useful to a nursing professional (Hartley, 2008).

This study demonstrates the application of nursing informatics to healthcare practice. The research evaluates the component by the creation of a clinical research thesis. The document provides knowledge by formulating a research question and identifying the gaps that should be filled. Nursing informatics helps to demonstrate the development of various constituents like data, information, knowledge and wisdom. McGonigle and Mastrian (2012) advance the notion that one can recognize the essentiality of a continuum in nursing practice. The authorities underscore the need for a clinical study thesis. The task can help one progress from information to wisdom.

The clinical question I have developed relates to Mr. Olivier Turner. The Essex Hospital, New York, admits him due to a heart condition. He also contracts hospital-acquired pneumonia after having stayed at the health facility for 3 months. Mr. Turner obliges to all medical subscriptions assigned to him by the doctor but does not keep high levels of hygiene while at the hospital. For example, he does not regularly wash his hands after visiting the toilet. Mr. Turner needs to know why he has got hospital-acquired pneumonia. However, I am not sure of the cause of his disease and decide to conduct a research on the matter. I use a PICO to help focus on my clinical question. I identify the patient’s challenge, examine the hospital’s management practices, and assess the alternative cure for the patient and probable counterproductive results.

Do sanitary practices like washing of hands reduce the probability of contraction of hospital-acquired ailments for patients? A number of common hospital-contracted infections include staphylococcus, pseudomonas, and enterococcus (Hummel, 2010).

I already know diverse issues relating to this topic. One of the methods of hygiene maintenance may entail regular hand washing for victims. Patients who sustain required levels of sanitation may avert the eventuality of acquiring diseases while at the hospital. A patient who cleans his hands makes the initial step towards avoidance of infections. Health facilities should encourage their patients to utilize hand sanitizers. Hospital-acquired ailments comprise of 50% of all patient complications in hospitals. Health experts advance that 83% of diseases can be stopped by cleaning one’s hands (Lakes, 2008). This paper asserts that hand washing can help in the avoidance of hospital-acquired pneumonia (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2013). Infectious germs found on hands may be common means to spread infections. The vast majority of hospital-contracted infections occur through the contact from one patient to another (Knowledge Base , 2008).

However, I need extra information to respond to the question. I am planning to engage in the exercise of statistical analysis of the prevalence rates of hospital-contracted ailments in several hospitals. The analysis of relevant data will help me know whether patients clean their hands regularly while at hospitals or not (Lakes, 2008). A detailed report on the circumstances under which hospital-contracted ailments occur may be critical in meeting the goals of my study. A survey of clinics with superior hand washing frequencies and those with low hand washing percentages will be essential. This aspect may determine the role hand washing plays in the prevention of hospital-contracted infections. It may also include hand hygiene adherence rates and qualitative studies on hand sanitation.

First, I intend to identify relevant data for interrogation, get the information from a number of nursing web platforms and use numerous databases to acquire the information. For example, sites like “CINAHL Plus” incorporate a pool of nursing journals with background information on hospital-acquired disorders. I would also use the resources available from the Walden Library to access relevant and remarkable articles for my research (Nursing Times.net, 2009).

This paper identifies different utilities available in the Walden Library. The library contains journals that provide statistics on sanitation and its significance as a preventive procedure to infections. The databases on nursing provide crucial information on family nursing indices and the prevalence rates of different ailments in the US. They can also be useful in the development of a framework for answering my question. The library contains resources with relevant data on the culture of hand washing for patients in the selected healthcare facilities. The resources provide essential information on diseases contracted in hospitals. PubMed Data Site is important because it provides insights into how one can track the association between hand washing and the spread of hospital-acquired diseases. HighBeam Resource and Journal of Hospital Infection database gives access to the predominance of hospital-acquired diseases and how they manifest themselves in patients.

I would like to focus my attention on reliable articles by checking some related articles from the Walden Library. I would type relevant words in the “search bar” to enable me to locate my area of interest. I would also try to use such phrases as “hospital-acquired ailments” and “importance of hand washing for patients” to make an in-depth research (Rogers, 2013).

I would locate the sites that link hospital-acquired infections to poor hygiene conditions. The relevant topics would feature the two variables under investigation. I would conduct a preliminary examination of the topics to establish their reliability and relevance to the goal of my research. For example, I would need an outline of statistics relating to hospital-acquired diseases. I would adopt the information and consolidate it into a conceptual structure to create the association between hand washing and the spread of hospital-acquired diseases. I would create graphical and tabular representations of the analyzed data to demonstrate the relationship between the two subjects of my evaluation. I would collect the raw data, examine and convert it into useable knowledge . I would draw several recommendations for implementation in order to help in the mitigation of hospital-acquired diseases. I would start a program to persuade patients and nurses in various health institutions to avoid the spread of hospital-acquired diseases. I would launch awareness efforts program aimed at informing and educating the staff and the patients in hospitals on the need to wash hands regularly. This aspect would minimize the spread of hospital-acquired diseases. Specialists in family-based care facilities need to conduct awareness initiatives aimed at sustaining sanitation interventions. The intervention measures should guide patients on how to keep high standards of hygiene.

In conclusion, the data collected would let me verify and validate the information after I confirm its relevance to the study. Consequently, the information would transform into applicable knowledge upon its scrutiny. The knowledge gained would form wisdom which would, in its turn, evolve into a data-information-knowledge-wisdom continuum that highlights my work and decisions in nursing practice. The sensitization campaigns may be, therefore, based on the wisdom gained from research and practice.

I am a nursing director in a medical center located in upstate New York. The center is small, and hence, its facilities and resource scope may be limited to a given extent. I need to conduct a needs assessment of the institution in order to address the requirements of the hospital in terms of its integration of EHRs 1 .

I would consult the finance department and the overall administrator to realize the limit of expenditure for my intended program. I would develop a questionnaire and distribute it to all health practitioners in the center. The research method would help me comprehend the best practice designs in the market for EHRs. I would also determine the nurses’ perceptions of the program and their experiences in the same. The feedback from my colleagues would enable me to engage external facilitators from the medical field to help me make informed interventions. The specialists would give insights into the nature of internal and external environments while aligning the EHR systems to the organizational objectives. A number of strategic components that would help me integrate the EHR systems include SWOT, PESTLE and scenario-building analyses. The scientific methods would enable me to put all the required factors in perspective before the final implementation process begins. I would need to formulate a program-specific monitoring and evaluation tool that would provide feedback at all stages of the administration of the EHRs. I would also establish an efficient communication instrument to guide and coordinate the implementation process.

A nurse can have significant influence on the success or failure of the adoption of EHRs. This research identifies a number of essential stages in implementing a new EHR project. I would present the new EHR program guide to the nurses in a systematic manner. I would start by organizing the implementation team and identifying a system champion. I would also determine the scope of the project and analyze the expectations of the health institution. I would proceed to establish and launch the project plan. The typical components of an implementation guide would include workflow and process analyses.

An expert should conduct an adequate analysis or evaluation of the existing process and procedures. The organization should identify opportunities for improvement and, as appropriate, implement those changes. In addition, it should identify the sources of data including the interfaces to other systems. System installation should follow the aspects like fitting of hardware and software and upgrading of IT infrastructure. Staff training, communication, and launching the system should be present among other activities.

The Everett Rogers ‘ five qualities would improve the probability to succeed in the implementation of the new EHR project. The first quality would comprise of a relative advantage. It would be essential to compare the new system with the previous ways of operations management. This aspect would be significant in determining merits that would accrue from the new approach. The second strategy would entail ensuring compatibility with existing values and practices. This fact would be consequential in affirming that the new project operates harmoniously with the existing culture of the organization. The third quality would denote simplicity of the program. The administrator of the system would need to possess the capacity to master the new technology. A difficult program would result in resistance from the workers. Fourthly, trialability would be essential. It would provide the medical center with the opportunity to explore the capacity of the new system. The final quality would entail observable results. The facilitator would employ tangible evidence to demonstrate that the new project can make positive contributions to the medical institution. The realization of these qualities would be remarkable in promoting the likelihood of success in implementing the EHR systems.

Nurses facilitate and promote the enforcement of new technology systems in healthcare settings. This point is effective because they have a unique appreciation of healthcare issues that may influence the process of transformation. Nurses can provide essential feedback on new systems in an organization. They possess the theoretical knowledge that can be relevant to the success of new systems.

The nurse can design an evaluation instrument for the implementation of a new program in terms of its impact on quality, costs and patient satisfaction. The professional can help in conducting an assessment of the system in order to boost patients’ access to healthcare before its final adoption by a given institution. The expert can also provide an effective strategy for interrogation to determine such elements as staff skills, availability of health information, and the capacity of the health facilities. Healthcare organizations may be able to address their challenges upon the enactment of a new EHR program. The nurse can assess the level of dependence on the system, new types of administration errors, the level of work the system can do and the attitudes of practitioners to ensure the system’s successful adoption. The nurse can act as an intermediary in the change of technology. The facilitator also needs to incorporate other people taking part in the implementation of a new EHR program like IT experts, doctors, and accountants.

The role of a workflow analysis is to control process configurations that exploit the real use of assets. The examination also helps in reducing actions that do not enhance the value of an intervention. The analysis of the workflow processes employs different tools. The instruments help in the identification of ways of decreasing waste and enhancing the value of work. A flowchart may be one of the regularly used workflow analysis techniques. It helps identify the areas that may need a restructuring (Capuono et al, 2010).

One of the general and frequent events that occur in my organization includes the admission of patients. I would like to evaluate this event of patient reception in my organization. The occurrence is usually regular, and it can be restructured to improve on its efficiency. I would design a flowchart to represent the current workflow of patient reception in a systematic order.

I would use a patient satisfaction inventory analysis as a metric to determine the effectiveness of the current workflow and identify areas of poor performance. I would administer a questionnaire to those patients who may have experienced the reception services of the facility previously (Cain & Haque, 2013). I would use the questionnaire to inquire their opinions regarding the effectiveness of services and possible areas of improvement. I would identify the areas of poor performance from the complaints submitted in the opinion questionnaire by the patients.

I would consider their proposals on how the reception process can be efficient. I would also adopt new recommendations on the workflow and compare the efficiency of the mechanism. I would highlight areas that may be ineffective or redundant and also I would detect those points that can add value.

The process of patients’ admissions starts with welcoming them. This aspect happens at the reception desk. The patients may record their belongings in the reception books. The receptionists are normally in charge of this procedure. They also record the details of the patients in a spreadsheet. The technology used is the Microsoft Excel software. The policies involved in this stage entail the use of proper etiquette for the receptionists when interacting with patients. The patients must first identify themselves by providing their personal details. The hospital needs to preserve the details of all the patients it admits. This aspect helps the institution track the progress of patients for the future use and preserves relevant data for statistical analysis.

The second stage of the workflow entails identification of the patients’ problems. The nurses on duty take charge of this process. The patients explain orally their problems to the nurses. The technology used may be a Microsoft Word application for recording the medical history of the patients. The procedures involved at this level denote in-depth examination skills by nurses to understand the nature of the victims’ problems. The nurses should understand the patients’ medical histories to diagnose the main causes of their problems. The processes can only occur if the nurses find it necessary to determine whether medical examinations may be needed or not. They may carry out blood, stool, HbA1c and urine samples. The results should be recorded in logbooks. These processes may happen in the nurses’ chambers. Information from the patients’ explanations or past medical records may be required to make decisions about the victims.

The third step of the workflow entails decision making on whether the patients’ conditions can be resolved in the hospital. Nurses or doctors are the ones to arrive at such decisions that are to be made upon the medical examination (Bravo, 2011). The nurses or doctors may examine the victims to determine the extent of their problems. Doctors can either attend patients in hospitals or make referrals. These procedures may occur in the patients’ examination rooms. Medical expertise may be essential in conducting these processes. The results of medical tests or past health records of the patient may be required when making decisions. The technology that might be needed at this stage is a desktop HbA1c analyzer. Screening technology is also applicable in such cases (Keohane, 2008). The doctors may conduct tests on the patients to reveal the nature of their problems so it could help them decide on the likely medical interventions. The policies and rules of the stage may include provision of samples requested by the doctors. A double verification may be conducted and corresponding results can be shown to the patients. This aspect may happen when the doctor wants to determine the disorder the patient has been affected by. The step may help the doctor prescribe the suitable medication for the patient.

The fourth stage may depend on whether the patient should be admitted to the hospital or not. The doctor may carry out this process after examining the patient and determining the nature of his/her problem. Medical results from blood, urine, glucose or stool tests may be essential at this stage in order to help medical attendants reach an informed decision. Information retrieved from the medical examination results is to help them decide on further actions to be taken. This procedure may occur in the medication room. The doctor may need to communicate with the respective wards upon admitting a given client. This aspect may allow the ward to allocate space to the patient.

The hospital nurses are in charge of patient’s admission before they join the wards. Nurses should conduct surveillance in the respective wards. However, a patient should be given immediate medical attention if s/he doesn’t not require admission. The doctor is to make the decision at this stage. If the patients can be attended immediately, they may need to be led to the outpatient section for the doctor’s attention. If fulfillment of this requirement is impossible, they may be given deferrals at the reception desk for later attention or consultancy. This aspect may mark the end of the patients’ reception workflow.

The extent of the disease and its severity index as a measurement of technology determine the steps to be taken. In addition, the doctor can apply relevant treatment technology according to the diagnosed disease. The policies and rules in this stage may involve appropriate determination of the patient’s condition. This fact may happen after the victim is hospitalized to the appropriate wards based on his/her conditions. In addition, the patient should be given the facility’s dress code and informed about the treatment and nutrition schedules of the hospital.

This paper does not provide any metric to be used in measuring the soundness of the workflow. However, complaints regarding patient reception can be forwarded to the hospital management for appraisal. The workflow of the patient reception needs to be efficient. However, this paper observes the need to value the workflow (AMIA, 2011).

In conclusion, this research lays stress on the health practitioners stating that they are to be aware of the flow of activity to determine its efficiency and weak links. The ultimate purpose of the activity is to efficiently deliver the health facility’s mandate. However, in some cases the organization of activities may be ineffective. An ineffective workflow may result in waste of time and subsequent failure to respectively handle the reception process.

AMIA. (2011). Nursing Informatics . Web.

Bravo,D.F. (2011). The Relationship between Hand Hygiene Compliance and Nosocomial Infections. Durham, NC: The Duke University of Nursing.

Cain, C., & Haque, S. (2013). Organizational Workflow and Its Impact on Work Quality. Web.

Capuono et al. (2010). Work flow analysis: eliminating non-value-added work. Journal of Nursing Administration , 12(4), 34-41.

Hartley, C.L. (2008). Nursing in Today’s World: Trends, Issues, & Management . London, UK: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Hummel, J. (2010). The ultimate directions for meaningful use of EHRs. Journal of Health Care Compliance , 12(5), 49–50.

Keohane, C. A. (2008). Quantifying Nursing Workflow in Medication Administration. JONA: Journal of Nursing Administration , 23(2), 19-26.

Knowledge Base. (2008). Hospital Acquired Infections. Web.

Lakes, P. (2008). Flowchart Setup Report. Web.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2012). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

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US Department of Health and Human Services. (2013). What are some of the workflow considerations when implementing quality metrics. Web.

• Refers to electronic health records.
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Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Nursing Informatics - New Technology System." April 2, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/nursing-informatics-new-technology-system/.

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