Discussion: Interaction Between Nurse Informaticists and Other Specialists

Nurse informaticists use technology and data to improve the quality of healthcare provided to
patients. I have observed that nurse informaticists and data interact with other professionals
within the healthcare organization where I work to ensure that the care provided to patients is of
high quality and timely. Through the use of data and technology, errors are preventable. I think
that one of the strategies that might help improve these interactions is the introduction of error
alerts. For example, if a nurse keys in the wrong dosage for a particular patient, the system
automatically notifies him or her and highlights the specific amount to be administered to the
patient. Also, it helps automate tasks and improve nurses’ productivity.
Documentation has, for the longest time, been a very vital aspect of the nursing
profession, specifically in the delivery of quality care. The continued evolution of nursing
informatics as a specialty and the consistent emergence of new technology has had a great
impact on professional interactions within the medical field. Nursing care in the modern world is
driven by an individual patient’s history as well as medical needs (Mastrian & McGonigle,
2019). As such, information collected and stored electronically is used to ensure that nurses are
efficient in the delivery of care. By recording and sharing information electronically about a
patient, nurses are in a position to effectively manage care and even improve its quality (Hebda
& Hunter, 2019). Consequently, coordination of care is made possible. The relationship between
nurses and other specialists such as pharmacists, therapists, the billing department, and
physicians is smooth because everyone can access information about a patient by the click of a
button, without necessarily having to make calls to nurses enquiring about individual patients
(Ladan et al., 2020). Through introducing data and algorithms into the provider-patient
relationship, informatics has helped improve care.

References

Hebda, T., & Hunter, K. (2019). Nursing Informatics: Maintaining Quality of Data and
Information. Application of Nursing Informatics: Competencies, Skills, and Decision-
Making, 181.
Ladan, M. A., Wharrad, H., & Windle, R. (2020). Uncovering a tripartite relationship between
patient, eHealth and healthcare professionals.
Mastrian, K., & McGonigle, D. (2019). Informatics for health professionals. Jones & Bartlett
Learning.