What is informatics in nursing? It is a specialty that integrates nursing science with multiple information and analytical sciences to effectively collect and interpret data seamlessly for efficiency in the nursing practice.
The impact of nursing informatics cannot be over-emphasized and has helped drive healthcare’s application of technologies such as EMRs and computerized provider order entry.
Nursing informatics professionals work with a diverse group in the different healthcare sectors, ultimately helping to bridge the gap between clinical and technical perspectives, and they are focused on making sure patients are safe at all costs.
Introduction to informatics in nursing
The nursing profession is in advance to keep up with advancements and new challenges in the health sector.
Nurses are direct caregivers and are in the front lines of patient care and consequently often feel the impact of changes in best practices more immediately than other healthcare service providers.
As the health care system is facing challenges such as the aging population, and shortage of health caregivers, through nursing informatics this data can be easily ascertained and the clever approaches to curb them made known.
Through information and communication technologies, most of these problems can be minimized particularly as hospitals are becoming more interested in reducing their costs and shifting care from hospital care to home care.
What is the role of nursing informatics?
The roles and duties of nursing informatics are many and are not limited to the ones listed below;
- Aids in Developing organizational policies and standards
- Assessing user requirements and developing solutions
- Assisting in the transition from one system’s technology to another
- Evaluating the success of implementation; revising as needed
- Facilitates Design systems technology
- Helps in ensuring organizations meet federal health care laws such as HIPAA
- Researching different informatics topics that affect healthcare providers as well as patients
- Serving as a liaison between staff and information technology experts
- Serving as project managers
- Test and troubleshoot systems technology
- They Assess and analyze healthcare technology needs
- Trains and educates staff and new nurses
What is informatics in nursing job titles?
Below are some of the job titles allotted to workers under the profession of nursing informatics;
- Chief nursing informatics officer
- Clinical nurse informatics specialist
- Nurse informaticist
- Nursing informatics clinician
- Nursing informatics specialist
- Perioperative informatics nurse
Informatics in Nursing forms
Let’s take a look at the various forms of nursing informatics. We are devoted to making sure everything you need to know about this question of what informatics in nursing is made comprehensible and clear.
Below are some of the forms of nursing informatics;
- Computerized provider order entry (CPOE)
- Electronic medical records (EMRs)
- Data Reporting Tools
- Nursing Healthcare Apps
- Patient Portals
Computerized provider order entry (CPOE)
Computerized provider order entry (CPOE) refers to the process of providers entering and sending treatment instructions – including medication, laboratory, and radiology orders – via a computer application rather than paper, fax, or telephone.
In learning what informatics in nursing is, this great example of nursing informatics cannot be neglected.
The introduction of this example of nursing informatics in the nursing profession comes with these advantages below;
Reduce errors and improve patient safety
At a minimum, CPOE can help reduce errors by ensuring providers produce standardized, legible, and complete orders in the nursing practice.
In addition, CPOE technology often includes built-in clinical decision support tools that can automatically check for drug interactions, medication allergies, and other potential problems.
Improve efficiency
In nursing informatics, efficiency remains one of the primary focuses. By enabling providers to submit orders electronically, CPOE can help your organization get medication, laboratory, and radiology orders to pharmacies, laboratories, and radiology facilities faster, saving time and improving efficiency.
Improve reimbursements
Some orders require pre-approval from insurance plans. CPOE, when integrated with an electronic practice management system, can flag orders that require pre-approval, helping you reduce denied insurance claims.
Electronic medical records (EMRs)
Electronic medical record (EMR) systems, are defined as “an electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within one health care organization,”
These systems can facilitate workflow and improve the quality of patient care and patient safety. EMR is a good example of informatics in nursing.
With EMRs, variables such as Progress Notes, Nursing notes, and Medication records are easily accessible.
Data Reporting Tools
There are numerous data reporting tools used in the nursing profession for efficiency and seamless access to patients’ information.
A reporting tool is a system that takes in data from various sources and transforms it into tables, charts, visual presentations, and other styles so that the information is easier to access.
Nursing Healthcare Apps
These health applications are equally sophisticated with reliable software that enhances convenient nursing practices.
Patient Portals
A patient portal is a secure online website that gives patients convenient, 24-hour access to personal health information from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Using a secure username and password, patients can view health information such as Medications, Allergies, and Lab results.
Informatics in nursing examples
Below are the 6 top best examples of informatics in nursing everyone ought to know;
- Clinical Image Capture
- EHR Alert Optimization
- Predictive Analytics
- Secure Texting
- Shift to the Cloud
- Syndromic Surveillance
This support is accomplished through the use of information structures, information processes, and information technology.
One of the most valuable ways nursing informatics applications can enhance efficiency in clinical practices is that data can be used to identify underlying issues in a healthcare organization or system and consult on the best ways to resolve these problems immediately.
Conclusion on what is informatics in nursing
One of the things that make a healthcare system efficient is the adoption of technological innovations in healthcare service delivery.
From this little piece of information, one can confidently give a detailed explanation when the question of what informatics in nursing arises.
Having the right and authentic information about a patient makes the health care services fast because there will be decreased questions asked by the physician in charge and hospital wait hours will be minimized accordingly.
Nursing informatics is a welcoming innovation in our present-day society however, there are also limitations such as cybercriminal attacks and other related concerns.
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Chibueze Uchegbu is a certified medical physiologist with a great passion for healthy living.
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