The epidemic-oriented technology revolution has changed the healthcare industry more than ever in the past two years. While some changes represent temporary measures, digital solutions to clinical challenges are emerging rapidly. No matter how effective these technologies are, change is disruptive, and resisting change is a natural tendency for all of us — including doctors and nurses.
Special care must be taken when designing and implementing new technologies used in clinics to alleviate these human-centered barriers and ensure minimal disruption. Nursing Informatics is an improved field for bridging the gap between healthcare technology systems and its clinical staff. In this new age of digital-based healthcare, nursing informants will play a key role in ensuring the long-term success of new technologies and the use of physicians, nurses and staff.
What is Nursing Informatics?
Nursing Informatics Specialists have played a key role in managing technology changes since health care organizations moved to EHRs. Despite decades of history, nursing informatics is largely unrecognized. The role of one part of this can be ambiguous. For example, some argue that nursing informatics falls under the shadow of medical or clinical informatics, while others argue that it needs its own definition. According to the American Nurses Association, Nursing Informatics “combines nursing science with multidisciplinary information and analytical science to identify, determine, administer, and transmit information, information, knowledge and wisdom.
The day-to-day responsibilities of a nurse informant vary according to the organization’s specific information management needs. In addition to selecting, implementing and integrating these systems for clinical services, nurse informationalists generally play an important role in designing and building health information systems. Nurse informants can work in a variety of settings outside of hospitals and healthcare systems, including organizations that do not treat patients directly, such as a technology vendor or EHR company.
As nurses and information technology specialists, trained nursing professionals understand how all components are integrated and provide valuable insights into how systems should be designed for optimal use. Understanding how all systems and departments work together in one organization is an integral part of streamlining health care operations and making it easier for providers to focus on what is most important – their patients.
Combining the value gap
The demand for nurses’ information has increased dramatically today as health professionals visit healthcare facilities that are often overcrowded. This demand is further exacerbated by the proliferation of systems needed to provide better patient care in response to the epidemic. While digital tools and software solutions help to increase providers’ ability to provide high-quality patient care, not only does technology exist – it also ensures that technology is implemented correctly.
Studies show that if the clinical view is not taken into account, the technology could have a negative impact. For example, in a recent survey of more than 15,000 health care workers, a third (32.7 percent) reported being frustrated with healthcare technology for at least 3-5 days a week. According to the study, technology frustration is associated with high levels of emotional stress and poor work and life balance. The technology was not the cause of the fire – it was the way the technology was implemented. And that’s where nursing information plays a role – to help health professionals decide how best to design and implement technology, not as a barrier.
Clinics The benefits of facilitating technology adoption and use cannot be overstated. In addition to easing the burden on service providers, nursing professionals play an important role in improving the quality of care and improving patient outcomes. For example, one of the many benefits of incorporating technology into healthcare is that it allows providers to gather more information about their patients. This information, however, will only be useful if it is collected, analyzed and implemented effectively, and this is only possible if suppliers can easily use the organization’s HR system. Nurse Informants help ensure that EHRs are designed to be easy to use and conveniently tailored to the organization’s workflow. The less time providers spend exploring ineffective technology, the more time they spend focusing on finding and sharing accurate information about their patients.
More recently, the CVD-19 epidemic has highlighted the need for healthcare systems to develop strategies that will facilitate the effective and efficient implementation of tele-health solutions. Nursing staff played a key role in ensuring that the technology complied with the guidelines for the operation of ambulances and hospitals.
Finally, comprehensive and information-based patient care and health care services benefit providers, staff, patients and organizations. As the role of technology in healthcare expands, the role of nursing informatics will be enabling healthcare organizations to help patients and providers receive new technologies that improve outcomes, implement them efficiently, and gain long-term value.
Photo: chanut iamnoy, Getty Images
.