Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist
Nursing informatics is a specialization that integrates nursing science and information and analytical sciences that allows for identifying, managing, and exchanging information in nursing practice. Electronic medical records (EMRs) and other digitalized measures in healthcare are commonly enabled by nursing informatics (HIMSS, 2022). Professionals in nursing informatics collaborate with various stakeholders throughout the care continuum, ultimately bridging the divide between clinical and technical viewpoints. This proposal offers the HR manager and the management of this hospital to hire a nurse informaticist who will be responsible for IT.
To promote health care, nurse informaticists act as educators, researchers, chief nursing officers, chief information officers, software engineers, implementation consultants, policy developers, and company owners. Nursing informatics is the “science and practice that integrates nursing, its information, and knowledge, with the management of information and communication technologies to promote the health of people, families, and communities worldwide” (Harerimana et al., 2020, p. 141). Applying nursing informatics expertise is powerful in providing patient-centered care for all healthcare professionals. Nurse informaticists are employed in various fields, including academics, business and industry, and health systems. Within a healthcare facility, a nurse informaticist might perform the role of a leader in clinical analysis, a nursing informatics officer, or a data specialist.
A nurse informaticist’s responsibilities might include planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating EMRs. These aspects are particularly important in clinical and administrative performance analytics, where information systems are pivotal. In addition, nurse informaticists design communication and information technologies. Moreover, they help integrate information technology into how nurses work, making nurse informaticists essential for integrating IT in healthcare.
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations
The term nurse informaticist has existed for several years, implying the existence of information technology-driven healthcare organizations requiring such a position. For example, the Michigan University School of Nursing (2021) states that healthcare processes and workflows may naturally evolve or be planned for consistency, accuracy, efficiency, and alignment. Nurses use all the data to determine when when, why, and how procedures and workflows can be improved. Following the development, nurse informaticists distribute the updates around the company and educate the employees and nurses on best practices.
Departments of healthcare technology functioned as divisions independent from the requirements of the doctors, nurses, and patients. Nurse informaticists work collaboratively with healthcare professionals, hospital executives, and the information technologies departments to facilitate patient health management in the healthcare system (Kleib et al., 2019). Within the interdisciplinary team, the nurse informaticist interacts with the other members by creating an IT system that suits the needs of different healthcare professionals. According to Holden et al. (2018), “academic and nonacademic health informatics (HI) professionals (informaticians) serve on interprofessional health care teams with other professionals, such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, and nutritionists” (p. 420). Nurse informaticists play a critical role in analyzing healthcare data and spotting opportunities for advancement in clinical settings. Their main goal is to improve patient care and happiness while relieving the burden on the nursing and management teams.
Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology
The scholars such as Kleib et al. (2019) have researched the security, privacy, and confidentiality of patient data and derived several strategies for managing these. Full nurse engagement in healthcare technology impacts patient care because technology improves the efficiency of many processes that healthcare professionals are involved with. Nurse informaticists may indirectly influence patient care. They gather data on end-user demands, problems, and preferences during the system development and analysis stage, helping to implement user-friendly healthcare IT solutions (Kleib et al., 2019). Better usability can lower errors made when utilizing EHR system features, such as obtaining information on potential drug interactions, which reduces the risks of giving care based on insufficient patient information.
Nurse informaticists can set up systems that protect patients’ privacy while allowing them to share the necessary data with the members of the interprofessional care team. These professionals are trained to protect the patient’s confidentiality and understand the importance of information systems compliant with patient information safety regulations (Kleib et al., 2019). For example, these professionals can set up passwords and restrict access to data.
Regarding workflow, since nurse informaticists are trained in medical science and information technology, they know each profession’s protocols and daily routine. Therefore, they can choose and set up information systems that are the most suitable for the workflow of a specific department. For instance, an emergency department would require a system that provides access to key patient data such as vital signs or records of previous hospital admissions. At the same time, a nurse practitioner in a regular unit would need access to full patient history, cultural background, and care preferences. By understanding these differences, the nurse informaticist can assist in creating an information system that is the most suitable for a particular unit.
Any information technology system requires an investment to pay the vendor for the software and the setup or maintenance. A nurse informaticist possesses the competencies to assess the needs of a healthcare facility and the cost that the management can pay for an information system. Therefore, such a professional can choose a system that will be the best in terms of its return on investment value.
Opportunities and Challenges
Interdisciplinary teams and nurses will have several opportunities due to the addition of the nurse informaticist position. For instance, they will receive access to staff training on how to use technology to optimize advantages for patients as a result of this new function. Moreover, before transitioning to this new position, most nurse informaticists work in clinical settings (Kleib et al., 2019). They can now collaborate with the interdisciplinary team in a practice-oriented way rather than just explaining the technical aspects of new and updated instruments. The ability to work with IT teams and, more crucially, having a representative to report their expectations and difficulties to other IT experts are two of the new role’s main advantages for the interdisciplinary team. However, this professional may face challenges such as resistance to change or the inability to allocate the budget to invest in IT. To overcome these, the nurse informaticists must collaborate with the interprofessional team to explain the IT systems’ benefits.
Summary of Recommendations
In summary, this proposal outlines the importance and value of a nurse informaticist in an interprofessional care team that an HR and CNO should consider. Firstly, nurse informaticists work in various settings, including academia, industry, and business (HIMSS, 2021). Secondly, they also support integrating information technology into nursing practice (Holden et al., 2018). Finally, nurse informaticists review medical records and look for chances to advance in clinical settings (Kleib et al., 2019). Their main objective is to reduce the workload on the nursing and management teams while enhancing patient care.
References
Harerimana, A., Wicking, K., Biedermann, N. & Yates, K. (2020) Integrating nursing informatics into undergraduate nursing education in Africa: A scoping review. International Nursing Review, 68, 420– 433.
HIMSS. (2021). What is nursing informatics?
Holden, R., Binkheder, S., Patel, J., & Viernes, S. (2018). Best practices for health informatician involvement in interprofessional health care teams. Applied Clinical Informatics, 9(01), 141-148.
Kleib, M., Chauvette, A., Furlong, K., Nagle, L., Slater, L., & McCloskey, R. (2019). Approaches for defining and assessing nursing informatics competencies. JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, 17(6), 1071-1078.