History of Informatics and Areas of Practice: Entity Ranking - Term Paper Example

? History of Informatics and Areas of Practice - Entity Ranking History of Informatics and Areas of Practice - Entity Ranking John Jones State University Introduction The twenty-first century promises to be the epoch of enormous changes in information technology, particularly in the medical fields, especially since President Bush’s 2004 proclamation of ordering the nationwide adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Thus, informatics is now in the forefront. As with anything else, there can only be three entities that are the most important if they are indeed to be ranked. In order of importance to me are the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and the American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA). I will proceed to describe each group and give required reasoning as to why each is important to me. Discussion 1. AMIA The first to me is the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA, 2012). One of its missions is to provide information on the electronic health records, compliance and reimbursement. Rather recent in its development (1989), formed due to the merger of three older groups, the organization concentrates on the holistic study of informatics, with concentration on five specific areas. Translational Bioinformatics is basically that which deals with analyzing and finding new ways of storing medical data. Clinical Research Informatics involves the management of trials and discoveries related to health maintenance and disease prevention. Clinical Informatics is concerned with the application of information technology in the treatment arena. Other healthcare professionals, such as dentists and veterinarians, could also apply it in their work. Consumer Health Informatics is the branch concerned with the public information and education and also is responsible for EMR. Public Health Informatics is where the CDC would be involved, as it is mainly concerned with such things as infectious diseases and bioterrorism (AMIA, 2012). Therefore it can be seen that the AMIA is involved in all areas of informatics and, as it states in its own bylaws “AMIA aims to lead the way in transforming health care through trusted science, education, and the practice of informatics.” The core of their beliefs is the science of informatics, which in a nutshell is enhancing the health of the patients while providing the best in quality and safety of care through the use of information technology. As it is a nonprofit organization, most of its money can, therefore, be dedicated to promoting informatics. The AMIA also has its own journal, appropriately named the JAMIA. It should come as a little surprise that the American Medical Association (AMA) has coordinated with the AMIA to come up with a new specialty, Clinical Informatics (Dolan, 2011). Therefore, considering the arguments I have provided, I feel the AMIA should be recognized as first and foremost in importance of all informatics groups and the specific disciplines each represents. 2. HIMSS The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS, 2012) like the AMIA is a non-profit organization “exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare” (HIMSS, 2012). It specializes in the betterment of such areas as Home Health, as it is found patients respond much better in a comfortable environment such as the home. Clinical Business Intelligence uses informatics in the modernization and development of the medical practice, utilizing available statistical data to ensure better patient care. HIMSS is also heavily involved in the Electronic Medical Record conversion process in order for doctors and clinics to comply with federal law and simplify the healthcare professionals’ job. Other areas of concern for HIMSS are pharmaceutical informatics, medical banking (the business part of the medical business), and billing and paying. HIMSS is also dedicated to the smooth implementation and flow of the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010 initiated by the President Obama. The law was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in June 2012 (Condon, 2012) so it is important that HIMSS takes the lead in educating the health care community on what is to be a fact of life for us. There are incentives as well as penalties involved for failure to comply with the act, as it is to be implemented in various stages. There is also a branch of HIMSS that deals specifically with nursing, believing that nurses provide a vital part of the total health care package. It is helpful for researching and obtaining grants for qualified Health Care Centers. The organization also provides information regarding professional certifications. I can consequently nominate the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society as my number two choice as the informatics group most essential to the continued growth of the discipline. 3. ANIA The American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA) is an organization much like the AMIA. However, ANIA deals strictly with the nursing profession and the certifications required for nurses so that they can be proficient in informatics. Like the others, the ANIA is a non-profit group and works in close coordination with the American Nurses Credentialing Center to provide education and certification at various testing centers nationwide. The cost of $395 is not cheap but informatics certification means that the nurse who achieves that goal has reached APRN Consensus status. Besides, the initial cost will probably be justified many times over. As with all other health fields, due to the aging baby boomers, nursing informatics career opportunities are expected to grow 22% over the next six years (Health Career Web, 2012). The ANIA also offers reduced certification rates for employees of certain companies such as CINAHL and Thompson, as well as discount subscriptions for members of various nursing professional journals such as The American Journal of Nursing. Requirements for certification include a nursing degree from an accredited university and hold a RN license, along with two years’ experience. Part of that experience must be in the informatics field, as much as 2,000 hours, although informatics education can be substituted (ANCC, 2012). The organization devoted exclusively to the advancement of nursing informatics achieves my vote for the third place. Specific Areas of Informatics There are several categories of informatics certification in the medical field: in nursing, laboratory work, radiology, pharmaceutics, and the work of physicians. However, there are several others not previously covered, some of which are not necessarily medical informatics per se but are equally important: admitting, finance, and administrators. Yet the fact remains that all informatics areas are driven by one common factor – the increased use of information technology. However, the specific area of informatics I have chosen is patient-centered medical home. The old notion of a doctor making house calls has made resurgence as of late. From a little over one million people receiving home health care in 1982, the figure has astoundingly increased to well over twelve million subscribers thirty years later worth $100 billion (Irby, 2011). As such, the patient-centered medical home informatics area is ripe for technology, as it is most often miles from the clinical environment. The nurse in 1982 had very little in portable equipment, maybe as little as a stethoscope and a blood pressure monitor. Yet now s/he can instantly communicate with other medical personnel via cellular telephones and other devices. Portable laptop computers can provide ECG and other data as required for the patient’s condition. The future of this area can only continue to grow, especially since the baby boomers are aging rapidly, and Medicare, Medicaid, the VA and most private insurers recognize patient-centered medical home care. Increasing technology advances such as smartphones and handheld devices will only increase the availability of home health services offered. Where there is a need for a certain medical function, the manufacturers will invent an application for those devices that enables the care to take place. Probably the biggest challenge facing home health providers are the rural customers who live in such remote areas that such things as internet and mobile phone service are not available there. There are many such places in the United States; one town in Louisiana got landline service in 2005! Lack of internet can easily be overcome by such devices as Wireless Internet USB devices. Yet lack of cell phone reception due to the absence of towers depends strictly on the providers, although efforts are underway to blanket the country. Conclusion Health Care Informatics is as varied as other different fields in the industry. From the work of physicians to pharmaceutics and nursing, each field has its own unique criteria; however, it all boils down to one thing – the use of information technology to enhance the quality of medical care in this new century and to make life easier for the health care professional. One thing is certain – informatics is not going away and, as seen through various references in this paper, is only going to continue developing. References AMIA. (2012). Mission and history. Retrieved from http://www.amia.org/about-amia/mission-and-history ANCC. (2012). Informatics nursing certification eligibility criteria. Retrieved from http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Certification/ExamResources/Eligibility/ECategory/InformaticsNurseEligibility.html Condon, S. (2012, June 28). Supreme Court upholds health care mandate. CBS News. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57462646/supreme-court-upholds-health-care-mandate/ Dolan, P. L. (2011). Clinical informatics now a subspecialty. Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/m/2011/10/10/bsb1010.htm Health Career Web. (2012). Nursing informatics jobs. Retrieved from http://www.healthcareerweb.com/nursing/Nursing_informatics_jobs HIMSS. (2012). Transforming healthcare through IT. Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/ASP/index.asp Irby, R. (2011, November 28). Home health agencies celebrate industry growth. Retrieved from http://www.areawidenews.com/story/1788394.html Read More