Discussion: Interaction Between Nurse Informaticists NURS 6051

Week 3 Discussion

Informatics in nursing is an imperative part of our health care system and while they appear to operate behind the scenes, they touch nearly every area of our daily lives. In nursing, as in health care in general, information technology is used to solve day-to-day problems, greatly changing the way nurses operate in patient care (2020a). Having skills in both nursing and technology allows a nurse informaticist to fill the gap connecting clinical staff and technical advancement. This allows staff to observe and provide feedback concerning new technology (2020b).

continued emergence of new technologies might have on professional interactions.

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My organization’s “Event Note” is one of the ways I communicate with nursing informaticists. Like an incident report, this does not always have to be in connection with a fall or other harm. When something good or bad happens to a patient, our system uses this form of paperwork to keep track of it. Any user who accesses that particular chart will be alerted via this technique when an Event Note is available for them to view.

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A more user-friendly and descriptive manner to record an incident might be developed instead of only having a free-text area. When it comes to writing a detailed narrative of an event, not everyone is the same. Messages that omit or omit crucial facts are misunderstood (2020c; ) Interaction amongst Nurse Informaticists in NURS 6051 One method to develop and improve the documentation of Event Notes, in my opinion, is to alter the way the electronic system invites you to capture an event. There may be an option to click on specific categories, indications and symptoms, therapies delivered and outcomes instead of just providing a free-text box. In my opinion, this is significantly less confusing to others when they read the Event Note about the patient and the events that had place.

https://onlinenursingessays.com/discussion-interaction-between-nurse-informaticists-nurs-6051/

The specialty of nursing informatics will only continue to develop and move forward. Advances in the future of nursing informatics would concentrate on patient and clinical data, enhanced processes at health care facilities, streamlined data collection, monitoring and analysis, and access to patient information in real time at any moment, anywhere (n.d). Nursing informatics positively impacts the quality of care

regarding a patient. Increasing connectivity will only ameliorate knowledge sharing and collaboration between different hospitals, physicians, and patients on a worldwide scale. With an importance on patient care and the current prompt growth of technology, Nursing Informaticists are more important than ever before.

References

How Nursing Informatics Improves Patient Care. (2020c, May 06). Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://tigerconnect.com/blog/how-nursing-informatics-improves-patient-care/

Informatics in Nursing: Impact and Importance: UIC Online. (2020a, July 20). Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://healthinformatics.uic.edu/blog/the-impact-of-health-informatics-on-nursing-practice/

Nurse Informaticist: Job Description & Career Info. (2020b, March 31). Retrieved September 14, 2020, from https://www.allnursingschools.com/nursing-informatics/job-description/

Preparing for the Future of Nursing Informatics. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://online.norwich.edu/academic-programs/resources/future-of-nursing-informatics

Also Read:

NURS 6051 Discussion: The Application of Data to Problem-Solving

NURS 6051 Assignment: The Nurse Leader as Knowledge Worker

NURS 6051 Assignment: The Impact of Nursing Informatics on Patient Outcomes and Patient Care Efficiencies

Discussion: Interaction Between Nurse Informaticists and Other Specialists

Nature is full of examples of specialization and collaboration. Nature’s complex organizational structures are exemplified by ant colonies and bee hives. Each thrives because its members specialize in specific tasks, divide labor, and work together to ensure the food, safety, and general well-being of the colony or hive.

Of course, humans fare well in this regard as well. Healthcare is an excellent example, as demonstrated by . Nurse informaticists collaborate with specialists on a regular basis as specialists in data collection, access, and application to ensure that appropriate data is available to make decisions and take actions to ensure the general well-being of patients.

You will reflect on your own observations and/or experiences with informaticist collaboration in this Discussion. You will also make recommendations for how to improve these collaborative experiences.

The Alliance for Nursing Informatics defines informatics as the “science and practice that integrates

discussion interaction between nurse informaticists nurs 6051 — Discussion Interaction Between Nurse Informaticists NURS 6051

nursing, its information and knowledge, with information and communication technologies to promote the health of people, families, and communities worldwide.” Nursing informatics departments in hospitals aims to ease communication within the multidisciplinary team which leads to improved patient outcomes and satisfaction. I am fortunate to work for a hospital where there are minimal problems when communicating with other departments, including informatics. My unit also has an advantage because our manager previously worked for the hospitals informatics development team and is able to easily assist us and facilitate communication of concerns when they arise. I have worked for previous organizations where that was not the case and there were frequent issues with incident reporting and not having direct access to those who can troubleshoot issues over the phone. At my previous job, whenever there was an issue with EHR or any of the online systems, we would be given a ticket number and a 72 hour time frame for a solution. The organization was large and there was not a specific department per hospital- it was a call line that served all the hospital locations. In order to provide better solutions and outcomes, I feel that having a department at each hospital would be beneficial. Having a direct department within the hospital would also solve the incident reporting system (IRS) flaws “health care is undergoing a massive renovation thanks to technology, and health informatics is helping to ensure that part of the change results in greater efficiency, coordination, and improved care.” (Alotaibi, Federico, 2017).

References

Alotaibi, Y. K., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi medical journal, 38(12), 1173–1180.

https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2017.12.20631Links to an external site.

Nursing informatics. AMIA. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14, 2022, from https://amia.org/communities/nursing-informatics

ReplyReply to Comment

To Prepare:

Review the Resources and reflect on the evolution of nursing informatics from a science to a nursing specialty.
Consider your experiences with nurse Informaticists or technology specialists within your healthcare organization.

By Day 3 of Week 3

Post a description of experiences or observations about how nurse informaticists and/or data or technology specialists interact with other professionals within your healthcare organization. Suggest at least one strategy on how these interactions might be improved. Be specific and provide examples. Then, explain the impact you believe the continued evolution of nursing informatics as a specialty and/or the continued emergence of new technologies might have on professional interactions.

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Nursing is a profession that relies on data collection and interpretation. Subjective and objective data are obtained and analyzed consistently during a nurse’s shift. Nurses must be able to receive the data and then be able to know what to do with it to treat the patients they care for. “The steps of using information, applying knowledge to a problem, and acting with wisdom form the basis of nursing science practice (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).”

The nurse who is caring for patients who are detoxing from drugs and alcohol must be able to analyze the data that is collected on their patients. This is especially true with those withdrawing from alcohol, as it could cause a fatal seizure. I work in a behavioral health hospital, and our facility has protocols that direct the collection of data on these patients and assessment of its severity so nurses can intervene. At least every four hours and as needed, behavioral health specialists obtain patient vital signs. They scan their ID badge and the patient’s armband; the information goes directly from the vitals machine to our electronic health record (EHR) system. This information is used as a portion of the withdrawal assessment along with what the patient reports they are experiencing and what the nurse observes. The nurse enters this information into the protocol in the computer, which then assigns a severity score for the symptoms and vital signs. Based on that score, the nurse knows if there is a medication that can be given and how much to give according to parameters that have been outlined by the physicians when the protocol is ordered. These assessment scores are part of the EHR and can easily be accessed to monitor trends in the presentation of the patient’s detox symptoms. From there, the doctor may order additional medications or increase doses to keep the patient safe and comfortable during their detox or decrease them if the patient is improving. Electronic protocols and health records add an extra measure of safety for the patient. The vital signs immediately go into the chart, eliminating data entry errors. Medications are given with a computerized scanning system and charted in the EHR. Utilizing these information systems requires support at the bedside to ensure data is entered correctly so that accurate assessments and interventions can be performed.

Nursing informatics is “a specialty that integrates nursing, science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, and knowledge in nursing practice (Sweeney, 2017).” At my hospital, there is a Clinical Informatics nurse on site. Whenever changes are made in the EHR system, she makes her rounds. She completes education with all the staff to ensure everyone understands the rationale and the new way to collect data and document information. There was a recent change from a previously used detox protocol to the CIWA protocol, a widely used, evidence-based tool to assess alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Our informatics nurse was crucial in helping the nurses transition into this new data collection and analysis system. A challenge for nurses in the clinical informatics role is to stay abreast of technological advances, which are always changing and progressing at record speed. “The only way forward is to integrate and embed the new knowledge in electronic patient records using algorithms and decision support systems so that practice remains aligned with new knowledge and insights (Nagle, Sermeus, & Junger, 2017).”

A nurse leader could use clinical reasoning and judgment to form knowledge from this experience regarding staffing assignments. “Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of a set of information and ways that this information can be made useful to support a specific task or arrive at a decision (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022).” My facility utilizes charge nurses, who take information from the current shift and use it to assign staff for the oncoming shift. The hospital assigns staff based on acuity, so every patient is given a score based on the number of interventions required to be safe and cared for appropriately with their unique needs. With the example of the patient detoxing from alcohol, the charge nurse looks at the EHR and talks to the primary nurse about how severe the withdrawal symptoms are, how many times they needed to be medicated, and how much time was spent on the interventions that are required to be performed for that patient, and then takes that into account when assigning the staff member to care for that patient for the next shift. The charge nurse needs to be sure the oncoming nurse has a balanced workload and can meet the needs of all their patients. Assigning the withdrawing patient to a nurse who is well-versed in the special care these people need would also be advantageous. Nurses are constantly taking in data, interpreting it, and gaining new knowledge, continually changing and evolving as nursing science becomes. It is a great responsibility and necessity to manage this knowledge efficiently.

By Day 6 of Week 3

Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, offering one or more additional interaction strategies in support of the examples/observations shared or by offering further insight to the thoughts shared about the future of these interactions.

*Note: Throughout this program, your fellow students are referred to as colleagues.

My facility uses CERNER, a standardized system for recording assessments, changes in patients’ status, and contact within care areas, as its primary EHR system. Healthcare professionals can enter information about a patient’s state in the system. These are specialized to record care for certain geographic areas. The provision of patient care in all medical sectors, including research, patient care data, clinical specialists, imaging centers, laboratories, medicine, and others, depends heavily on informatics and technologies. The modern, technologically advanced environment of healthcare and hospital information systems enables an increase in the standard of patient care. Technology is evolving in new ways that can enhance data collection. The facility’s central system is connected to IV pumps, glucometers, and other point-of-care devices, which instantly update data on patient statuses.

The profession of nursing informaticist is crucial for keeping up with all the developments in communication and technology. An essential component of providing treatment is the use of informatic nurses. Based on the data gathered, they concentrate on the optimal strategy for achieving the best patient outcomes. Nurse informaticists frequently work on novel treatment plans, management, teaching, research, and clinical workflow reviews (TigerConnect). The practical applications of this modern knowledge and technology are understood by nurses (Cummings &Gundlapali). An increasing number of healthcare professionals are struggling to keep up with the daily changes in technology. Even my coworkers who have been nurses for more than 30 years found modern technology like electronic medical records, new IV pumps, and pyxis pill dispensers to be helpful. To stay informed and capable of keeping up with new technology, workforce participants must pursue continuing education.

Submission and Grading Information

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:

Week 3 Discussion Rubric

Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 3

To participate in this Discussion:

Week 3 Discussion

RE: Discussion – Week 3

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At my current organization, nurse informaticist helps build our electronic medical records. They also help create our documentation system, which is currently Meditech. However, this summer, we are switching over to Epic. Right now, the nurses that work in IT are busy building the system for every department in the hospital from clinics, inpatient, outpatient, respiratory, phlebotomy, etc.

At the present day using Ameritech, nurse informaticist is available to help with problems encountered with the system. Our organization is a smaller hospital, so I feel that the communication between nurse informaticists and providers is appropriate. It is as simple as making a phone call, and they are there to help. They also help providers with data and order entry. Right now, many nurses I work with believe that Ameritech is more “physician” focused and not “nurse” focused. The system is not user-friendly. To make this system more accessible, I think when Meditech has significant updates, nurses in the departments should have a say in how the system is built and more education. According to the American Nurses Association (2018), ample training and guidance need to be available for that particular setting or department.

I also feel that we do so much charting; time is taken away from the patient. Mcgonigle and Mastrain (2018) believe that nurses feel that the caring presence is taken away due to the time it takes to chart. With Epic coming to our organization, rumor has it that the system is nurse friendly and will not take as much time to document, so therefore, more time is spent with patients.

We, as nurses, are essential communicators to providers about what is going on with the patient and their story as described by Glassman (2017). (2017). It is important to partner and communicates with the builders of Meditech and such systems to help improve the flow of the patient’s story.

I believe continued emergence with new technologies into the healthcare system will help communication between healthcare providers. I have been employed with Hays Medical Center for almost ten years and seen many technology changes from paper to electronic charting, cameras in the room to monitor falls, and now cell phones being used by employees to reach each other.

References

Glassman, K. S. (2017, November ). Using data in nursing practice. American Nurse Today, 12, 45-47. Retrieved from https://www.myamericannurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ant11-Data-1030.

Inclusion of Recognized Terminologies Supporting Nursing Practice within Electronic Health Records and Other Health Information Technology Solutions. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/official-position-statements/id/Inclusion-of-Recognized-Terminologies-Supporting-Nursing-Practice-within-Electronic-Health-Records/

RE: Discussion – Week 3

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Hi D…,

I agree with you that nurses should have a say in how the electronic health system is designed because we as nurses document these systems so much. It should be simple to use for all healthcare professionals who care for patients, not just doctors. “EHR documentation design must achieve a balance that ensures the capture of nursing’s impact on safety, quality, highly reliable care, patient engagement, and satisfaction” (O’Brien, Weaver, Settergren, and Ivory, 2015). Because nurses are the ones who provide direct care to patients, we are constantly documenting. As a result, our contributions should have an impact on the development of electronic health records. Healthcare professionals, particularly nurses and physicians, as well as HIT members, must collaborate to create an electronic system that is functional for healthcare professionals. “Health information technology (HIT) and electronic nursing care documentation have a direct impact on patient safety.” Effective collaboration between nurses and HIT staff is required to optimize patient safety through EHR use” (Lavin, Harper, and Barr, 2015).

I used Meditech at the hospital where I interned during my final semester of undergrad. I wasn’t a fan of Meditech, and I agree that it wasn’t “nursing friendly.” Epic has been in use at my hospital for less than three years. I like Epic, but I believe that this electronic health system requires a lot of documentation. In my opinion, it is very detail oriented. Because nurses are constantly documenting, one feature designed specifically for them is the ‘Required Shift Documentation’ tab. There is a link to a document on pain, fall risk, patient education, care plan note, safety, and assessment under this tab. These are the details that nurses must record for each patient on each shift. In Epic, there are numerous places to document the same thing; therefore, with this feature, I can simply click on the required shift documentation tab and document on these topics rather than searching for all of these separate topics throughout Epic, which can take a few minutes. It makes documentation just a tad easier.

References:

Lavin,M., Harper,E & Barr,N. (2015). Health Information Technology, Patient Safety, and Professional Nursing Care Documentation in Acute Care Settings. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20 (2). DOI: 10.3912/OJIN.Vol20No02PPT04

O’Brien,A., Weaver,C., Settergren,T & Ivory,C. (2015). HER Documentation: The Hype and the Hope for Improving Nursing Satisfaction and Quality Outcomes. Nursing Administration Quarterly, 39(4), 333-339.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrain, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

RE: Discussion – Week 3

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We, as nurses, are essential communicators to providers about what is going on with the patient and their story as described by Glassman (2017). It is important to partner and communicates with the builders of Meditech and such systems to help improve the flow of the patient’s story.

References

Glassman, K. S. (2017, November ). Using data in nursing practice. American Nurse Today, 12, 45-47. Retrieved from https://www.myamericannurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ant11-Data-1030.pdf

McGonigle, D., & Mastrain, K. G. (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.

Informatization of Nurses and Other Health Professionals

Informatics is altering how nurses provide daily patient care in the nursing profession (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021). The authors believe that as technology advances, medical organizations and health experts will be able to interpret massive amounts of data more effectively and efficiently. The integration of informatics and evidence-based practice can contribute to the improvement of patient care outcomes. When analyzing massive amounts of data, health informatics becomes an integral component of nursing care coordination. Health informatics improves education, research, and administration. In addition, it helps nurses track staffing, workflow, and communication, as well as detect various needs. The primary objective of nurse informatics is to provide the best possible patient outcomes. It includes process design, new diagnosis, clinical workflow, and therapy. Nurses utilizing health informatics are receptive to several novel patient-centered care delivery methods (Mosier, Roberts & Englebright, 2019). This informatics provides staff training, consultation, and problem resolution. Implementation of Electronic Health Records or EHRs reduces medical errors and facilitates a higher quality of care. To ensure continuity of care, EHR data prompts interactions between nurses, other professions, their teams, interdepartmental personnel, individuals, and patients. According to Sipes (2016), nursing schools instruct student nurses in specialized information skills to assist them in resolving nursing issues and implementing telecommunication stages. This education prepares nurses to approach the new field of informatics with sufficient collaboration skills.

E-learning versus technical information in education is a good example. E-learning is an educational reform that facilitates the interpretation of IT execution and data knowledge. Electronic health records aid in documenting a patient’s past and present medical history and improve access to such information, thereby enhancing daily workflow. In addition to nurses, other professionals, including physicians, staff members, and the entire medical

organization, use precise data to facilitate interaction. It facilitates improved workflow coordination, health care, and communication in another domain. Evidence-based practice improves patient care quality and safety.

References

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2021). The basis of nursing informatics and knowledge.
Jones & Bartlett Publishing Company.

Mosier, S., Roberts, W. D., & Englebright, J. (2019). The role of executive leadership in the development of nursing informatics solutions at the system level. The Journal of Nursing Administration, volume 49, issue 11, pages 543-548.

Sipes, C. (2016, January). Management of projects is an essential skill for nurse informaticists. With regards to Nursing Informatics (pp. 252-256).

Replies

Fantastically informative piece, with numerous citations and excellent discussion topics! I believe that one of the first tasks on our agenda for nursing informaticists should be to have them investigate whatever documentation system their nurses are utilizing and make it beneficial for nurses and each organization.
I wonder, though, how challenging it would be to create one that completely met the requirements of each facility. Some elements, like as laboratories, x-rays, and the pharmacy, may be standardized, but the rest could be tailored to the needs of the physicians and nurses. If you can believe it, I actually worked with a system that developed in exactly this way, and in the end, everyone used it and enjoyed it – although I may be romanticizing it because the system was fully functional in the mid to late 1980s and was extremely beneficial. Until its creator corporation ceased operations.
However, the other side of this coin is imposing a standardized system on everyone.
This is what I find perplexing – would that work? Unless it was mandated, how long would it take for organizations to adopt it? Building a homegrown system from scratch, like I did in the 1980s, requires everyone’s buy-in and cooperation and can accommodate everyone’s needs. If, for instance, nurses want to be able to document using a standardized nursing language, they can choose one, have the EHR vendor incorporate it into their system, and the nurse informaticist can examine it at each step and advocate for the nurses’ needs.
However, it appears that this is legislating what will be utilized and thus pushing an unpopular system on everyone.
And yet, it appears that many vendors are doing just that, imposing their system on hapless, unwitting companies who incorrectly assume the vendors know what they’re doing. They are in fact selling a product. The less they must adjust to an organization, the greater their profitability (Mooney & Boyle, 2011).
Some of the nursing standardized languages can be simply transferred to medical diagnosis, which could facilitate physician acceptance (Johnson et al., 2012).
However, the most important takeaway is that the company should avoid employing the vendor’s existing offerings. IMHO. And the nurse informaticist must stay abreast of the facts so he or she can lead the organization away from unsuitable vendor systems.
What is your opinion?
Nice work!

Johnson, M., S. Moorhead, G. Bulechek, H. Butcher, Michael Maas, and E. Swanson (2012). NOC and NIC associations with NANDA-I and clinical disorders. Elsevier Mosby, Maryland Heights, MO.

B. Mooney and A. Boyle (2011). 10 stages to successful EHR deployment. Medical Economics 5, S4-S11.

ADDITIONAL SAMPLE

How Nurse Informaticists or Data/ Technology Specialists Interact with Other Professionals in the Healthcare Organization

For the purposes of this paper, the technology or data specialist in this case will be referred to as the nurse informaticist. Any interaction between the nurse informaticist and the other professionals in the healthcare organization cannot be talked about if the role of the former has not been defined. The nurse informaticist is a relatively recent role for the advanced practice nurse and involves responsibility for all technological applications used in healthcare.

The informaticist professional is responsible for the seamless capturing of patient data, adherence to and enforcement of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), access to the technological systems and installation or upgrading of any of the systems such as the electronic health record or EHR system (Alotaibi & Federico, 2017; McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). Since the use of technology to capture patient data is already mandated by law, this means that the nurse informaticist must literally communicate with all the other healthcare professionals in the organization.

Continuous Education (CE)

Being the healthcare professional with both the technological and medical knowledge, the nurse informaticist is a valuable resources person who regularly gives presentations to staff on how systems are to be used. She teaches the applicability of the systems and their benefits to patients, staff, and the organization. This is one way in which she interacts with the other healthcare professionals in the organization.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)

As she is the custodian of all the technological systems used in the healthcare organization, she is also the person responsible for designing and disseminating the standard operating procedures or SOPs to be used by all staff when accessing the technology systems. This means that she will also have to interact with the other staff through tools such as internal emails or memos.

Giving Individual Access or Passwords

The nurse informaticist is the gatekeeper of all technological systems within the healthcare organization. These include principally the certified electronic health record technology or CEHRT system as well as the clinical decision support or CDS system. For any individual employee in the organization to have access to the system (physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, and so on), they must be given a unique password by the nurse informaticist. She will therefore also interact with them individually at this level.

Troubleshooting

As the other healthcare professionals utilize the system functionalities such as the CPOE (computerized provider order entry), PDMS (patient data management system), BCMA (bar code medication administration), and eMAR (electronic medication administration record); they will encounter challenges here and there. The only resource person that they will consult first for troubleshooting will be the nurse informaticist. This is therefore yet another way in which she interacts with the other healthcare professionals.

New Technology Applications or Improvements (Project Management)

Last but not least, the nurse informaticist is responsible for any new project involving installation of a new system or upgrading of an existing one. This essentially makes them the project manager (Sipes, 2016). They will thus interact with the other healthcare professionals by informing them of the impending change and also educating them of the need for the same.

Future Outlook

One strategy for improving the above interactions is to strengthen the technology units taught in the basic courses for all healthcare professionals. This will enable them to see the nurse informaticist as a valuable resource and not as a nuisance. The continued evolution of nursing informatics will impact professional interactions in that data will play a very crucial role (Wang et al., 2018). The medium of communication will henceforth be electronic data.

References

Alotaibi, Y., & Federico, F. (2017). The impact of health information technology on patient safety. Saudi Medical Journal, 38(12), 1173–1180. https://doi.org/10.15537/smj.2017.12.20631Links to an external site.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K.G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge, 4th ed. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Sipes, C. (2016). Project management: Essential skill of nurse informaticists. Nursing Informatics, 252-256. https://doi.org/10.3233/978-1-61499-658-3-252Links to an external site.

Wang, Y., Kung, L., & Byrd, T.A. (2018). Big data analytics: Understanding its capabilities and potential benefits for healthcare organizations. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 126(1), 3–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2015.12.019Links to an external site.

“The Institute of Medicine estimates patients are exposed to at least one medication error per day” (Shoenfeld 2019). I worked on a surgical oncology unit about 13 years ago. Our nurse’s station and medication room were in the middle of the 30-bed unit in a tiny room. At any given time, there could be 4 nurses in the medication room together, with 3 nurses waiting outside the door. We were rushed and overcrowded for most of the medication passes. Each patient had a bin with their medications, and they were labeled with their room numbers. If one nurse misplaced the bin in the wrong slot or dropped medication in the wrong bin, it could have been detrimental to the patient. A survey was conducted on our floor and it was decided that portable medication carts would be added to the floor. The nursing informatics and IT department developed the software to be able to scan the medication packet and the barcode on the patient’s armband. By adding medication administration carts to the floor, healthcare facilities limit distractions in the medication room, encouraging patient safety while reducing their risk for medication errors (Shoenfeld, 2019). The usage of the carts will allow nurses to administer the necessary medications in a more timely and safer manner. The smart pump technology sounds very similar to our carts no medication or fluid could be given unless it was scanned and the medication administration record matched. It has been proven that technology helps to prevent medication errors compared to manual entry (Devin et al., 2020). It would be very difficult to practice in this day of age without the help of nursing informatics and information technology as most of all healthcare facilities are electronic.

References

Devin, J., Cleary, B. J., & Cullinan, S. (2020). The impact of health information technology on prescribing errors in hospitals: A systematic review and behaviour change technique analysis. Systematic Reviews, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-020-01510-7

Shoenfeld, B. (2019) Do Medication Carts Improve Patient Safety. https://www.taloncontrols.com/blog/do-medication-carts-improve-patient-safety-1/

Rubric

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Main Posting	Points Range: 45 (45%) – 50 (50%) Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. Supported by at least three current, credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	Points Range: 40 (40%) – 44 (44%) Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	Points Range: 35 (35%) – 39 (39%) Responds to some of the discussion question(s). One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed. Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Post is cited with two credible sources. Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Contains some APA formatting errors.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 34 (34%) Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately. Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria. Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Contains only one or no credible sources. Not written clearly or concisely. Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Main Post: Timeliness	Points Range: 10 (10%) – 10 (10%) Posts main post by day 3.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not post by day 3.
First Response	Points Range: 17 (17%) – 18 (18%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	Points Range: 15 (15%) – 16 (16%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	Points Range: 13 (13%) – 14 (14%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 12 (12%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Second Response	Points Range: 16 (16%) – 17 (17%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	Points Range: 14 (14%) – 15 (15%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	Points Range: 12 (12%) – 13 (13%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 11 (11%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Participation	Points Range: 5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days.	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	Points Range: 0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days.

Total Points: 100

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Interesting post. We share in common the ICU experience and an Informatics Nurse friend. For many years I worked as an ICU nurse (CVICU and Neuro ICU); I loved every part of the ICU setting except for the night shifts. One of my good friends just finished her master’s degree in Nursing Informatics; she always said that someone needed to improve documentation, so she wanted to part of the change. For many years, technology has played a crucial role in healthcare. For instance, it has been used to supply healthcare providers with the right type of information while delivering care to patients. This has been possible with the creation of nursing informatics, which has been advancing over the past years. Nursing informatics had brought massive changes into the nursing practice. Eventually, nurse informatics has been at the forefront to implement different types of technology with tools, devices, and software that have been crucial in generating communication, knowledge for nurses and transforming data into information (Public Health Informatics Institute, 2021).

Technology is so advanced that nowadays, I can use my work phone to order supplies, medical equipment, look for medication information, communicate via email with physicians, and even order medication refills for my patients. Our company provides iPhones and Laptops to all the medical staff (nurses and physicians). I call it innovation when healthcare introduces smartphones as part of their work tools. Phone applications make our lives easier; they assist the patient, providers, and nurses with communication, assessment, treatments, patient education, and follow-up (Ng, 2018).

Technology is constantly changing, and we cannot forget that it often fails and wears out; it requires frequent monitoring and updates (ASG Information Technologies. (n.d.). I agree with you, and I think the same; technology was made to assist the worker and not replace the healthcare personnel. In my healthcare system, they perform daily chart audits to improve processes and staff documentation. With daily audits, they can reduce the chance of medical errors within the organization and be compliant with The Joint Commission regulations. A combination of staff training, process improvement, and best practice enhances care quality and limitspatient risks.

References

ASG Information Technologies. (n.d.). Old Devices Can Wear out with Time. https://www.asgct.com/benefits-of-upgrading-your-companys-technology

Ng, Y.C., Alexander, S., & Frith, K.H. (2018). Integration of Mobile Health Applications in Health Information Technology Initiatives: Expanding Opportunities for Nurse Participation in Population Health.CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 36(5), 209-213.

Public Health Informatics Institute. (2021). Defining Public Health Informatics: Overview. https://www.phii.org/defining-public-health-informatics

Great informative post, Abdul,

with nice discussion and citations to support your responses. One thing I think we need help with from informaticists is the current methods of nursing documentation in the electronic health record (EHR), and the fact that most organizations do not want to standardize the nursing languages within their systems. In other words, any old language will suit them. Informaticists should be our champions in getting those systems up to standard for nursing.

Another thing I have noted in the readings that informaticists could help with is something called human technology interface, which is very important when adding new technology to an organization. McGonigle and Mastrian (2018) stated a key component of staff and physician buy-in to a system is the human technology interface. They describe it as a need to keep the interactions to a minimum – citing the failure of an intravenous pump that required 27 steps to program as an example, and the failure of a system in California when the physicians complained that too many interruptions in the form of popup reminders of poor drug interactions, missed diagnostic tests and other memory jogging aides caused them to have to slow their pattern of order entry. They refused to use the system and it had to be shut down until the hospital could figure a more suitable memory aide program.

What do you think about that? Should we have computer efficiency experts to vet the systems before they are implemented, specifically the nurse informaticist? Or would nurse and physician early input to the systems help resolve those potential problems?

Colleagues:

In our Hospice, we call our IT department for any issues with the Matrix System or our iPads. When I call the technician has difficulty understanding my problem. To me, the technician is speaking another language. When asking questions about the system I am unable to answer correctly. On one occasion, I did not have access for 6 hours out of my 8-hour shift due to a communication issue. I made at least an hourly phone call to the IT department and never got a return phone call. I think calling and speaking to an IT staff does not solve a problem. The IT department could form a ticket system in which the questions they ask could be in the nurse’s language. For example, if the problem is a password issue, an iPad issue, or computer software or computer hardware. This could be addressed on the ticket and avoid phone calls saving precious time for our sick patients.

In reading our textbook I found this interesting, “Nurse knowledge workers must be able to access, use, and share these new informatics tools because “a well-designed IT-based knowledge management system (KMS) has become an ever more central force in improving the quality of care in competitive e-health environments” (para. 4). Capturing the explicit and tacit forms of knowledge is paramount to truly harness nursing knowledge. As knowledge repositories evolve to enhance sharing and repurposing of knowledge, nurses will be able to easily access, process, evaluate, reuse, generate, and disseminate knowledge.” (McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G.) (2017) (pg. 545)

In reading further to understand why I have such issues with our IT department and understanding the computer language I found this article whose corresponding author Dr. Carolyn Sipes from Chamberlain College of Nursing is where I obtained my BSN. She states, “We must assess and understand current competencies/skills, then address gaps in education by developing more relevant curricula that will meet the needs of the workforce for 2020. To that point, McGonigle, Hunter, Sipes, and Hebda, suggest that even today “there is a lack of understanding of exactly what nursing informatics is in the way of skills needed or how they can and should be applied to practice.” (Sipes C.) (2019)

I believe the continued evolution of nursing informatics as a specialty and or the continued emergence of modern technologies have on professional interactions is, according to Darvish & Bahramnezhad & Keyhanian & Navidhamidi, that “nursing outcomes takes advantage of information technology; the educational arrangement is recommended to set short-term and long-term specialized courses focusing on the four target groups. Informatics courses for nursing students continued educational programs for registered nurses in the work area, graduate programs at MSc and PhD levels for nurses and fellowship programs for doctoral graduates are recommended to be considered.” Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014).

References:

Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The role of nursing informatics on promoting quality of health care and the need for appropriate education. Global journal of health science, 6(6), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v6n6p11

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Sipes C. Project Management: Essential Skill of Nurse Informaticists. Studies in health technology and informatics. 2016;225:252-256. Accessed December 13, 2021. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=mnh&AN=27332201&site=eds-live&scope=site

NURS 6051 Discussion: Big Data Risks and Rewards

NURS 6051 Discussion: Healthcare Information Technology Trends

NURS 605

Although most nursing informatics work is done behind the scenes, it has a profound effect on many facets of our industry and daily lives. Healthcare data and information is collected and analyzed by nursing informaticists (NI) to monitor the effects of healthcare treatments. According to research (Threw, 2016). At work, I make regular use of NI for incident report tracking. The system keeps tabs on incidents like these, as well as those involving patient-to-staff and patient-to-patient violence. They monitor the frequency with which these events occur in order to determine which preventative measures are effective and which are not.

Incorrect medicine delivery is only one example of the kinds of medical mistakes that may be reduced because to NI’s efforts to enhance the healthcare system. It was NI who spearheaded the effort to improve our hospital’s medicine delivery procedures from the ground up (McGonigle & Mastrian et al., 2017). A patient’s wristband, patient record, and medicine label must all match before we may give them a dose of medication.

Our relationships with NI might be enhanced if we had a more direct channel for reporting problems with the EHR (EHR). While Point Click Care is a fantastic EHR, it does have a lot of nitpicky flaws that we’ve had to work around. Both myself and many of my coworkers find this very irritating. If we could more easily get in touch with the people in charge of our EHR, we could share our discoveries (and our disappointments) and work together to develop solutions.

In my opinion, the significance of NI expertise will increase in the next years. The field of NI has a lot of space to expand thanks to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and remote monitoring tools like fall detection gadgets and remote blood sugar monitors. This emphasizes the significance of having clear lines of communication between the frontline healthcare staff and the team responsible for the EHR’s development and the NI division.

References

Kassam, I., Nagle, L., & Strudwick, G. (2017). Informatics competencies for nurse leaders:

protocol for a scoping review. BMJ open, 7(12), e018855.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018855Links to an external site.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning

Threw, J. (2016, April 19). Big Data Means Big Potential, Challenges for Nurse Execs. Health Leaders.Retrieved from https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/nursing/big-data-means-big-potential-challenges-nurse-execs

1 Assignment: Literature Review: The Use of Clinical Systems to Improve Outcomes and Efficiencies

Thank you for sharing your experience with nursing informatics in your workplace for incident report tracking. Error prevention is of interest to healthcare staff as well as one of the main goals mentioned by the Institute of Medicine. Arguably error prevention can be reached by medical informatics (Duff et al, 2005). Incident reports and software can provide detailed records of events that do not meet best practice standards and can be used for efforts to improve patient care. The evolution of nursing informatics is important as “informatics will continue to support the need to apply the information and technology garnered from experience to advancing developments” (McGonigle and Mastrian, 2022, p. 612).

I’m curious what system is your healthcare organization using? At my previous workplace, they used a software performance platform called, Midas Healthcare Analytics solutions reporting system. This system is designed to collect data, guide users to draw insight, and offer solutions. From the data gathered in this software program, medical providers have assistance in the management of healthcare operations (Company: Conduent, 2022). An opportunity for the skills of nursing informatics would be essential in reviewing data and integrating findings in collaboration with nursing quality and leadership. This is only one example of an avenue that meets the significant demand for nurse informatics expertise and their abilities to teach and integrate these technologies to aid staff and improve patient care and experience. As the field of informatics develops perhaps the view of technology being an asset will become helpful and less disruptive. The irritations you describe are barriers that take away from the caring presence (McGonigle and Mastrian, 2022) I like your solution of advocacy in speaking up in collaborative efforts to make technology a tool and not a burden or distraction. Well done.

References:

Company: Conduent. (n.d.). Midas Health Analytics Solutions. Slashdot. Retrieved December 10, 2022, from https://slashdot.org/software/p/Midas-Health-Analytics-Solutions/

Le Duff, F., Daniel, S., Kamendjé, B., Le Beux, P., & Duvauferrier, R. (2005). Monitoring incident report in the healthcare process to improve quality in hospitals. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 74(2-4), 111-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2004.06.007Links to an external site.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning

I appreciate your thoughts regarding this discussion. The vision of the TIGER Initiative is to use informatics tools, principles, theories, and practices to make health care safer, more effective, efficient, patient centered, timely, and equitable by interweaving enabling technologies transparently into nursing practice and education. I can understand the frustration felt when updates/upgrades are not fully explained or trained. One of the functional areas for nursing informatics is education and professional development (ANA, 2018). How would you go about bringing this issue to the informatics nurse specialist so that it would be addressed in your organization? Thanks, Dr. Howe

American Nurses Association. (2018). Nursing informatics: Scope & standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Springs, MD: Author.

The field of nursing is one that absolutely requires a team effort to succeed. To improve the quality of care provided, nurses need to collaborate with nursing informatics and technology experts to streamline the delivery of care (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). An example of this experience is : the patient is greeted by a receptionist who is also an expert in the patient’s medical records; the receptionist then directs the patient to the appropriate department. As the nurse’s assessment of the patient reveals multiple problems, including the level of urgency for the patient’s treatment, the patient is then sent to triage, the most crucial point in the patient’s care. Triage also keeps tabs on vitals like blood pressure and body mass index before a patient is seen by a doctor. If the system is automated, the results will be transmitted directly to the on-call physician, or they may be noted on the patient’s file. The on-call physician or clinical officer will conduct an examination and make treatment and/or further diagnostics/hospitalization recommendations. The doctor may now give the order for the nurse to resume control in the event of admission or wound dressing. Patients typically follow this routine daily, and proper service delivery calls for the nurse’s expertise and collaboration with other professionals.

Using technology wisely can help with questions of strategy regarding how these interactions might be enhanced, as it can hasten the processes and eliminate the unnecessary delays that can add costs, or even contribute to the worst cases of loss of life (Macieria et al., 2017). Delays in service delivery, patient and healthcare provider satisfaction, and financial savings can all be avoided with efficient online transit of patient information from the point of admission through triage and on to the doctor’s office. Data are necessary for informed decision-making by nurse executives. The American Association of Nurse Leaders has identified critical informatics competences required for efficient leadership in today technological and data-driven era (Mosier, Roberts, & Englebright, 2019).

The future of nursing appears bright as nursing informatics continues to develop as a specialty, eliminating most manual tasks and enhancing collaborative interactions, leading to higher quality, greater productivity, and eventual cost savings (Wang, Kung & Byrd, 2018). Improvements in health care service delivery can be anticipated because of the increased efficiency and higher quality of professional interactions made possible by technological advancements.