Nursing Informatics in Clinical Practice

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) defines
nursing informatics as “the specialty that integrates nursing science with multiple information
and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage and communicate data, information,
knowledge and wisdom in nursing practice” (What Is Nursing Informatics?, 2019) . From this
definition, it can be deduced that nursing work is presently executed around technology.
Therefore, nurses need to be well educated on nursing informatics in order to improve
outcomes and optimize the benefits of information technology.
Nursing informatics is more than data analysis and collection in today’s practice. It
empowers nurses to make data-informed decisions in delivery of care, skills, and generally
contributes to a knowledgeable workforce that can coordinate multifaceted technology
operations with regard to patient safety and care (Darvish et al., 2014) . As the field is based
on the implementation of best practices to achieve the best patient outcomes, nurses with
skills in this sector are more capable of delivering value-based care compared to those
without.
Nursing informatics can help reduce the possibility of medical errors in healthcare
facilities, which means that it can help reduce costs associated with medical errors.
Importantly, proper training and improvement of processes improves quality of care (Mehta
& Pandit, 2018) . Some of the areas that are improved by nursing informatics include
communication, information sharing, and verification of facts. Ass these areas have been
shown to be primary factors in medical errors. Moreover, nursing informatics allows for the
improvement of end-to-end treatment, which means that it is easier to create and coordinate
protocols of interdepartmental interactions. This helps drive efficiency in healthcare, and
treatment plans become more effective.

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Undoubtedly, project management aligns seamlessly with technology, and the structural
integrity of projects deployed under the same field need to be considered in order to achieve
the best outcomes. Thus, nursing informatics can be equated to an organizational framework
and thought process. For instance, there are different levels of involvement in a patient’s
treatment plan, from the doctor to nurses and lab technicians. For all these individuals to
cooperate, they must adhere to a framework and probably follow a protocol engagement.
With this approach, healthcare organizations should be able to provide the best value
possible.

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References

Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The Role of
Nursing Informatics on Promoting Quality of Health Care and the Need for
Appropriate Education. Global Journal of Health Science, 6(6), 11–18.
https://doi.org/10.5539/gjhs.v6n6p11
Mehta, N., & Pandit, A. (2018). Concurrence of big data analytics and healthcare: A
systematic review. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 114, 57–65.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2018.03.013
What is Nursing Informatics? | HIMSS. (2019, July 3).
https://www.himss.org/resources/what-nursing-informatics