NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 1 Nursing Informatics in Health Care
Student Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX 4040 Managing Health Information and Technology
Prof. Name
Date
Nursing Informatics in Healthcare
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recommended the definition provided by American Nurse Association (ANA). It integrates nursing, information, and technology to improve healthcare quality and organizational competency (Sindhu, 2023). Nursing informatics promotes the role of technology education in the nursing profession. It is a combination of different skills, for instance, leadership, technical education, medicine finances, management, and interpersonal relations, that assist in optimized resource utilization (HIMSS, 2019). The Nurse Informaticist (NI) role is leading and significant as it employs modern technology in understanding data handling. This paper aims to stress the need for NI for their positive impact in decision-making, for their influence in inpatient and outpatient healthcare services, and formulation of strategies for interdisciplinary team management.
Role of Nurse Informaticist
ANA definition of Nursing Informatics provides three kinds of sciences that unite and utilize these sciences for improved healthcare services. The three sciences involve nursing, information and technology for better health services and outcomes (Sindhu, 2023). Apart from ANA’s three sciences, a new perspective is introduced called cognitive science. Before explaining these four sciences, Nurse Informaticist can transform the healthcare system by teaching the use of technology in the nursing workforce. Mainly, NI has three responsibilities to fulfill: firstly, it educates its nursing workforce on the need to document, manage, and fulfill the patient’s privacy and security standards (Carlow University, 2021).
It helps for mindful processes on a daily basis; for example, small details like weight, height, and demographic information are essential to record. Secondly, its responsibility is to generate opportunities by integrating technology in healthcare and executing interdisciplinary care. Lastly, NI assists in validating data by purposefully documenting patient information. Healthcare data is a combination of clinical trials like x-ray reports or test reports, personal information, prescription details, and images it needs to be gathered, stored, and retrieved efficiently utilizing technology (Maloy, n.d.). It will present data-driven decisions through interdisciplinary collaboration as data is handled efficiently and effectively for better patient health outcomes.
NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 1 Nursing Informatics in Health Care
NI’s role is better understood by learning different sciences: nursing, information, computer, and cognitive. Nursing as a science delivers direct healthcare services by interacting with the patient the most (Milner & Zadinsky, 2022). They prove to be more reliable for data privacy and security management for their direct and leading role in patient healthcare. The information sciences guide is about data processes and management skills using technology. Computer science assists NI in data-driven decision-making by implementing and integrating information technology (Tsarfati & Cojocaru, 2023).
This makes the nursing force capable of handling information efficiently. Lastly, the purpose of cognitive sciences is to assist NI in emphasizing the importance of clinical reasoning for decision-making in changing times and technology. They are encouraged to stay updated about trends that can improve healthcare services while benefiting the industry and people alike. NI’s role is to improve workflow in healthcare organizations, inculcate technological aspects better, and enhance the quality of healthcare services (Schoenbaum & Carroll, 2020).
NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 1 Nursing Informatics in Health Care
Presently, advanced technology utilization by NI helps educate patients through telehealth services and efficient use of Electronic Health Records (EHR). NI informs patients about EHR use and tells them how to protect information. They also conduct video conferences for direct remote communication that educate patients about health progress. The patients are also updated through mobile app messaging taught and guided by NI. It helps patients adhere to medication treatment and assists in habit development. The patient’s experience is improved through this educational session about various convenient options and their rights to healthcare services (Kuwabara et al., 2019).
Nurse Informaticist Role in Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Interdisciplinary care is a collaborative approach to improved healthcare services. It involves different disciplines working towards the same goal: patient safety and better health. In this regard, NI helps integrate technology to achieve set goals, make decisions based on data collected, and safely share resources. NI’s role in integrating technology in interdisciplinary care smooth workflow positively influences patient satisfaction and the improvement of healthcare services, making the future promising (Smye & Frangi, 2021).
A NI leads the interdisciplinary team by educating the nursing workforce on technology use, informing healthcare professionals to communicate information at a fast pace securely, and dividing responsibilities for providing patient-centered care. So, nurse informaticists act as fundamental information managers among all stakeholders, including patients, staff, and healthcare professionals. Awareness of resource utilization in the healthcare system makes NI’s role indispensable. Studies have shown that interdisciplinary care promotes multiple benefits, such as lowering hospital stays, reducing cost, preventing errors and providing holistic patient care (Carlow University, 2021).
NI influences nursing staff greatly by guiding them about the optimal use of technology and the importance of information security. NI leads nursing staff to collect, process, understand, and manage information for patient-centered care (Kwiatkoski, 2021). NI interacts with nursing staff digitally by conducting educational sessions, seminars, and in-person assistance. Using these digital means improves nursing workflow. For example, NI teaches EHR management, e-prescription and telehealth making interdisciplinary care effective (Tscholl et al., 2020).
Need for a Nurse Informaticist in a Health Care Organization
The need for NI has many reasons. History shows that the nurse’s role has always been direct with patients. They communicate to collect data, do frequent follow-ups, and collaborate with healthcare professionals throughout treatment. So firstly, NI improves the competence of nursing staff, providing them with medical knowledge and clinical experience. NI also educates patients to make them aware of advanced technological options that can improve their lifestyle and health. It educates patients about telehealth services, the use of various mobile apps, and knowledge of the treatment given, thus enhancing the healthcare experience (Kuwabara et al., 2019).
According to the HIMSS report, NI is needed for inpatient and outpatient services that boost engagement along with digital experience (Iuppa & Suresh, n.d.). NI is needed to interact effectively with healthcare professionals, especially in exchanging meaningful patient information. Different disciplines can find a midway between holistic and comprehensive treatment with the help of NI (Iuppa & Suresh, n.d.). It promotes data privacy, ensuring patient privacy and security using EHR and telehealth to keep data confidential.
NI can assist outside the healthcare institution. It can advocate for implementing policies that can effectively change the dynamics of the healthcare system (Themes, 2021). NI’s educational role advocates to remove limitations or fill gaps in the healthcare system. They can influence healthcare policies, benefitting all stakeholders like nursing staff, healthcare professionals, patients, and the organization for a seamless workflow environment ( STKATE. 2022). Lastly, NI can impact the medical economy by integrating efficient use of information and technology to reduce costs. For instance, data managed electronically diverts attention to patient care by using EHR, telehealth, and telemedicine services, noticeably improving return on investment (Gaines, 2023).
Evidence-based Strategies to Protect Health Information
Health information seems unimportant until a data breach leads to severe consequences. Unprotected data can be used for financial benefits, illegal purposes, or personal attacks, which is why it has economic, legal, and professional consequences for data breaches for healthcare teams (Alder, 2022). NI suggests advanced means of technology to protect health information via interdisciplinary care.
For a holistic and better health plan, the patient must feel trust in the organization where it gives information, so NI emphasizes data protection at all levels. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has given privacy and security standards for all healthcare team members (CDC, 2020). It guides to secure information recorded on EHR and protect data while transmitting it between interdisciplinary team members. Following are a few evidence-based strategies to enhance care quality and keep data secure, private, and confidential.
Access Based Strategies
Data access control is an important strategy to implement in the healthcare system. Some access control strategies are as follows to ensure it is accessible to intended personnel only. It excludes unintended persons from having access to an organization. The first strategy is Mandatory Access Control (MAC) (Yang et al., 2019). This strategy is based on the level of information provided because not all information is sensitive, so based on how important information is, the access is controlled accordingly. The second access control strategy is Discretely Access Control (DAC). It focuses on a specific access strategy, providing access to a department or person directly needing that information (Yang et al., 2019).
The following two access control strategies to keep data confidential are role-based access control (RBAC) and rule-based access control. Role-based depends on the role of the entity accessing data. For example, the IT department does not require a patient’s medical record. The administration sets the rule-based access, for instance, using electronic cards or fingerprints to access a room (Kumar & Tripathi, 2020).
Cloud-Based Systems
A cloud-based system is a cost-effective alternative to paper records. It has space to store vast amounts of data that is easily retrieved for use. So, a cloud-based system not only saves money in recording data but also saves time that is wasted in manual data entry. The cloud-based is a user-friendly strategy for analyzing data because of the easy layout of information.
Two-Factor Authentication
This strategy involves verification at two levels. The traditional username and password entry is level one of two-factor authentication. The second level uses a PIN or code sent to the intended person via email or message directly on the user’s phone. So, the chances of data breaches are reduced to a minimum (Suleski et al., 2023).
Training staff
Training should be considered the most important strategy of all. Technology integration is helpful if the staff is well-equipped and well-trained. Well-trained and well-educated staff help abide by the privacy standards better. Nursing informaticists play a vital role in training nursing staff. The staff must be trained to carefully collect, use, and exchange data in interdisciplinary care (Theodos & Sittig, 2020).
Conclusion
Nursing Informatics (NI) unites the sciences of nursing, information, computer, and cognitive for inculcating technology in the healthcare system. The role of NI in interdisciplinary care is leading and central. NI educates the nursing workforce and patients assists in interdisciplinary coordination, and advocates on the federal level. There is a need for nurse informaticists in healthcare because of their leading role in providing expert knowledge about technology usage for patient care. They can improve an organization’s care quality, economic status, and workflow. Lastly, multiple strategies are stated to ensure the patient’s privacy rights, including mandatory and discrete access control, role-based and rule-based access control, two-factor authentication, and staff training.
References
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NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 1 Nursing Informatics in Health Care
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NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 1 Nursing Informatics in Health Care
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NURS FPX 4040 Assessment 1 Nursing Informatics in Health Care
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