Name: Maria RIza Mae M.

Mejia

BSN2-RUBY

How can nursing informatics be of help in my workplace?

Informatics is changing the face of healthcare. As technology advances, healthcare organizations and
providers are able to collect, analyze and leverage data more effectively, influencing the way care is
delivered, resources are managed and teams operate each day. You would be hard-pressed to find an
aspect of medicine that has yet to be touched by the mass collection and analysis of data that has been
ushered in by the Information Age. One specific area that health informatics is having a significant
impact on is the practice of nursing. Though the mission of nursing remains unchanged, the daily work
of these professionals is being strongly influenced by informatics, with particular attention to the
accuracy and communication of patient data and care.

Health informatics in nursing

The nursing profession is rapidly changing to keep up with advancements and new challenges in the
healthcare field. As direct caregivers, nurses are in the front lines of patient care and consequently often
feel the impact of changes in best practices more immediately than other healthcare professionals.
Spyros Kitsiou, Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences at the University of
Illinois at Chicago, reported that there are three specific challenges that healthcare is currently facing:
the aging population, the incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases – such as cardiovascular disease,
diabetes and pulmonary disease – and the shortage of doctors and nurses. Though these problems are
diverse, there is a solution that addresses all three data. “A lot of these challenges can be supported by
the avocation of information and communication technologies, particularly as hospitals are becoming
more and more interested in reducing their costs and shifting care from hospital care to home care,”
Spyros said. “Information and communication technologies, mobile health devices, wearable
technologies are all becoming very, very important for supporting remote patient monitoring and home
care. ”In nursing, as with healthcare in general, informatics is being used to address the challenges of
the day, significantly impacting the way nurses function in patient care .One of the primary ways that
informatics has changed nursing practice is through documentation. Gone are the days of paper charts
that had to be meticulously updated with handwritten notes. Today, nurses are more likely to input
notes into electronic health records and other systems that keep a patient’s medical history up-to-date
and easily accessible. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society reported that as
the result of electronic charting, nurses are able to obtain information quickly and efficiently, using the
information to improve the daily workflow. Storing the information electronically is more easily available
to all members of the care team, including the physician and other care providers, as well as staff teams
at other healthcare organizations that the patient may visit. As the U.S. population becomes more
mobile, it is increasingly important that their personal medical records can travel with them to any office
or medical organization they may visit during their lifetime. Health informatics is also an important part
of care coordination in nursing. The ability to track staffing, workflow and communication can help
nurses to identify areas where current processes can be improved. This can also help ensure that
staffing levels remain adequate, which is critical for providing patients with the best possible care. If the
nurse-to-patient ratio drops too low, patients are more likely to suffer adverse results. Maintaining
adequate levels helps nurses provide the best possible care each day without burning out.
My Reaction of this question how can nursing informatics be of help in my workplace?

The nursing record is where they write down what nursing care the patient receives and the patient's
response to this, as well as any other events or factors which may affect the patient's wellbeing. These
‘events or factors’ can range from a visit by the patient's relatives to going to theater for a scheduled
operation.

Anyone on the nursing team who provides patient care can contribute to record keeping. However, if
they are a qualified or senior nurse supervising unqualified colleagues, you should assume responsibility
for providing guidance on documentation.

Increase Communication Informatics simplify communication being able to rely on equipment and
healthcare technology like telemetry monitors helps reduce errors and makes it possible for them to be
present and engaged with the patients.

My Reaction of this question which do you prefer nursing the traditional way of keeping records or the
use of Nursing Informatics?

Nurses can review vital signs history for a patient to spot abnormalities and creating a baseline with a
few clicks of a mouse and identify inconsistencies and changes in health quickly, which saves not only
time but lives too when using nursing informatics. Opportunities in nursing care can be discussed with
management and the nursing informatics team to better serve patients. There is a huge push to reduce
costs in healthcare and nursing informatics helps save money while improving patient care. Various
members of the healthcare team can now look at the same patient's chart at the same time at many
healthcare facilities. Nursing informatics professionals look for ways to improve the patient experience
so that redundancy and waste are removed, but they try to keep the nursing process in mind to avoid
sacrificing the level of care provided. Most jobs in this field are in hospitals, insurance companies,
pharmaceutical and research companies, and healthcare consulting companies.
Which do you prefer nursing the traditional way of keeping records or the use of Nursing Informatics?

In the busy working day of a nurse, with the many urgent demands on your time, you may feel that
keeping nursing records is a distraction from the real work of nursing: looking after your patients.

This cannot be more wrong! Keeping good records is part of the nursing care we give to our patients. It
is nearly impossible to remember everything you did and everything that happened on a shift. Without
clear and accurate nursing records for each patient, our handover to the next team of nurses will be
incomplete. Needless to say, this can affect the wellbeing of patients.

In fact, the quality of our record keeping can be a good (or bad) reflection of the standard of care we
give to our patients: careful, neat, and accurate patient records are the hallmarks of a caring and
responsible nurse, but poorly written records can lead to doubts about the quality of a nurse's work.

Another important consideration is the legal significance of nursing records. If a patient brings a
complaint, your nursing records are the only proof that you have fulfilled your duty of care to the
patient. According to the law in many countries, if care or treatment due to a patient is not recorded, it
can be assumed that it has not happened. Poor record keeping can therefore mean you are found
negligent, even if you are sure you provided the correct care - and this may cause you to lose your right
to practise.

In short, the patient's nursing record provides a correct account of the treatment and care given and
allows for good communication between you and your colleagues in the eye care team. Keeping good
nursing records also allows us to identify problems that have arisen and the action taken to rectify them.