Nursing Informatics - Essay Example

Nursing Informatics al Affiliation Nursing Informatics What is nursing informatics and your perception of how it affects healthcare? Description of Nursing Informatics In an article written by Staggers & Thomson (2002), the authors explored the evolution of the definition of nursing informatics, whose origin was identified to have emerged in the early 1970s. As such, the earliest definitions of the term seemed to focus more on a information-technology oriented perspective; as contrasted to two other orientations: the conceptually-oriented definitions and the role oriented definitions.

One of the earliest definition was noted to have been provided by Scholes and Barber who defined the term as “the application of computer technology to all fields of nursing—nursing service, nurse education, and nursing research” (1980, p. 70; cited in Staggers & Thomson, 2002, p. 3). This evolved to a conceptual-oriented definition, as provided by Graves and Corcoran (1989), to wit: “A combination of computer science, information science, and nursing science designed to assist in the management and processing of nursing data, information, and knowledge to support the practice of nursing and the delivery of nursing care” (p. 227). The currently widely accepted definition of nursing informatics is one that is published by the American Nurses Association (2008), as: “a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice.

NI supports consumers, patients, nurses, and other providers in their decision- making in all roles and settings. This support is accomplished through the use of information structures, information processes, and information technology” (American Nurses Association, 2008, p. 4). Perception of How it Affects Health Care Through the evolution of the definitions of nursing informatics, it could be deduced that there are crucial elements which are integrated in the nursing process through a knowledge of nursing informatics towards the provision of health care.

As emphasized, a knowledge of nursing informatics assists the professional nurses in coordinating all facets of patient care: from assessment, to plan of care, to the implementation of recommended interventions, and finally, to the evaluation and monitoring phases (HIMSS, 2012). The additional steps that were allegedly included in the nursing process as required from having a theoretical knowledge of nursing informatics are as follows: (1) observing and adherence to a standardized documentation process; (2) application of information management; (3) process re-engineering; and (4) research and evidence collection (HIMSS, 2012).

All of these phases enable the improvement of provision to high quality of patient care through collecting accurate information about the patient and enabling regular updates to be incorporated in the patients’ file each time every new information is documented. This updating would allow various stakeholders and health care practitioners to enhance their respective knowledge on the patients’ current health profile which would assist in their provision of interventions and in making informed decisions.

As such, the collaboration of healthcare approaches and the provision of professional interventions would improve the quality of care, patient satisfaction and the overall health outcome, which could even exceed the patients’ expectations. It was actually emphasized that “the goal of nursing informatics is to improve the health of populations, communities, families, and individuals by optimizing information management and communication. This includes the use of information and technology in the direct provision of care, in establishing effective administrative systems, in managing and delivering educational experiences, in supporting lifelong learning, and in supporting nursing research” (Staggers & Thomson, 2002, p. 11). As deduced from the objective, the effect that nursing informatics potentially accords in the health care setting is a significant improvement in the quality of patient care.

Through providing the nurse practitioners with opportunities through a conceptual knowledge of nursing informatics, the necessary tools and ingredients for a more focused patient care in the most efficient and effective manner could be provided. As most applications at work become technologically entrenched, an exemplary competency in information technology, applications, as well as systems and structures would facilitate the provision of high quality of care. Conclusion The current discourse has successfully described nursing informatics through the provision of definitions of the term that evolved through its inception.

The three orientations in the evolution of the term’s definition focused on categorizing the thrust into information-technology oriented, conceptual oriented and role oriented. Likewise, one perceived that nursing information would significantly impact the health care setting in terms of providing nurse practitioners with more theoretical frameworks on technology systems, applications, and structures that would improve the delivery of high quality patient care. References American Nurses Association. (2008). Nursing Informatics Defined.

Retrieved from himss.org: http://www.himss.org/files/HIMSSorg/handouts/NI101.pdf Graves, J., & Corcoran, S. (1989). The study of nursing informatics. Image, Vol. 21, No. 4, 227–31. HIMSS. (2012). Nursing Informatics. Retrieved from himss.org: http://www.himss.org/files/HIMSSorg/handouts/NI101.pdf Scholes, M., & Barber, B. (1980). Towards nursing informatics. In D. Lindberg, & S. Kaihara, Medinfo (pp. 70-73). Amsterdam, The Netherlands: North-Holland. Staggers, N., & Thomson, C. (2002). The Evolution of Definitions for Nursing Informatics.

Retrieved from Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC344585/