Embracing Evolution

You are the new Director of Nursing Service in the Le Grande General
Hospital. As part of the continuous development of nursing care, you
wanted to propose the use of information and technological system in
the hospital.

1. During the Board Meeting, one of the members asked you about Nursing
Informatics. Explain comprehensively what is Nursing Informatics including its
scope. (10 Points)
Nursing Informatics is simply a combination of nursing and informatics. It has a
blend of nursing science, computer science, and information science. With the help
of informatics in the field of nursing, it would overcome barriers in different aspects
especially in communication. It makes use of technology to improve multiple
information and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage and communicate
data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in the nursing practice. And would
result in improving quality, efficiency and productivity in the field wherein both the
patient and healthcare providers may benefit to it.
2. Another member of the board has asked you about the benefits of using
Nursing Informatics in the hospital. Cite the major benefits that we would be able
to enjoy in using this technological advancement. (10 Points)
There are a variety of benefits of implementing Nursing Informatics in the
management, namely;

Ease of Workflow - It is much less time consuming than paper-based ways to input
data into a computerized system, and it eliminates the possibility of mistakes in
medical data and financial information. Digitally viewing health information often
helps specialists in medical coding to work from home, increasing quality and
competitiveness.

Lower Healthcare Costs - Smart technology will streamline the handling of claims,
cut costs by a wide margin, and increase response times dramatically. When
explaining the incidents that lead to a lawsuit, the technology will simplify data
gathering and correspondence procedures, resulting in reduced healthcare costs as
well as an improved patient service.

Better and Safer Data Storage - makes it possible to store loads of information at
an extremely low rate, and without the restrictions (and expense) of extra
hardware or servers. With an increased dependency on EHR systems, cloud storage
with good backup and recovery services defends against the loss of critical data.

Reducing Medical Errors - In a healthcare institution, nursing informaticists can

decrease the risk of medical mistakes along with related costs. A mix of preparation
for workers, enhancement of procedures and best practice can increase the quality
of treatment and reduce patient risks.
Enhancing Treatment and Continuity of Care - The treatment of a patient can
include many places, several teams, and hundreds of people. In order to ensure
proper coordination and communications between units, teams, people, and
patients, nursing informaticists may establish procedures and processes to cope
with it. Via electronic health reports, they will allow healthcare workers to check
out "one viewpoint of the facts," because everybody has the background and
knowledge, they need to ensure excellent continuity of treatment.

Nursing Informatics is beneficial to the entire organization for optimizing patient

quality and driving productivity and continuous improvement.
3. At the course of the meeting, the board was generally impressed and gave the
GO Signal on the initial implementation. Briefly discuss what are the possible
limitations and hindrances involved in the implementation of Nursing Informatics
in the workplace? (10 Points)
Although these Nursing Informatics bring advancements and numerous
advantages, the main issue revolves around patient-doctor encounters, wherein
the use of it solely depends on the healthcare team. As it may create drawbacks
and builds up ethical dilemmas. If information is not encrypted, or if it is misused,
data breaches could occur. Abuses of laws and regulations about privacy can
include failing to log off a computer when not in use, illegally accessing patient files,
lending passwords or access codes, losing electronic devices, not shredding
printouts with private info, and texting patient information.

Moreover, Nursing Informatics is relatively new in some healthcare managements.

Wherein some nurses may lack knowledge prior to the use and care of the different
tools. Some tools may not be available in the place where it limits and hinders the
overall implementation of the Nursing Informatics in the workplace.