INTRODUCTION

TO NURSING
INFORMATICS
Chapter 1
WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF HEALTHCARE
INFORMATICS?
 For decades, in healthcare, the increase in
knowledge has led to the development of many
specialties and subspecialties.

 The number of health cases increased

exponentially with increase in population,
discovery of more diseases and extension of life
expectancy.

 There are simply so much data in so many places

that it is difficult to merge the data that we find
and the knowledge that we already have.

 This led to the development of healthcare

informatics.
NIGHTINGALE EMPHASIZED DOCUMENTING
HEALTH

 In the middle of
1800s Florence
Nightingale had
constantly thought
of developing an
efficient
documentation
system for war
patients so she can
compare outcomes
after applying the
best interventions
Nurses have serious problems in the
workplace.

 Excessive
documentation

 Long turnaround
times

 Inaccurate nursing
processes

 Poor
communication
DOCUMENTATION IS EXCESSIVE
 Automation relieves
nurses on writing on
and handling forms
thus creating a
paperless
environment.

 This new process

eliminates ambiguity,
redundancy and
tedious process of
documenting.
TURNAROUND TIME IS TOO LONG.

 Automation helps accelerate the processes

of request and facilitate presentation of
current status or result of the request.
NURSING PROCESSES ARE INACCURATE.

 Automation of these processes mostly done

beside a patient leads to great reduction of
errors.
COMMUNICATION IS POOR
 Computers provide
different modes of
communication like
chat, telephony, or
videoconferencing
(real time) or e-mail
and simple text
messaging (non-real
time) whatever is
most convenient and
appropriate.
Can Automation save the nurses?

 Among care providers,

nurses benefit the most
because of the large
reduction in paper-based
documentation process,
shortening of turnaround
times, improvement of
accuracy of many nurse’s
processes, and elimination
of time-consuming and
redundant processes that
haunts nurses in the
healthcare environment.
Teaching Nursing Informatics is a must.
 The aim of maintaining the global
competitiveness of Philippine nurses,
prompted the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) to require a more
specialized computer course in the BSN
curriculum.

 In January 2008 CHED passed

memorandum order CMO No. 5 series 2008
to all deans of the colleges of nursing
throughout the country.
 It requires the replacement of basic
computer subject with the 3-unit Nursing
Informatics in the curriculum of the new
5-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

 In April 2009, CMO No. 14 series 2009

was passed, where the course Nursing
Informatics was subject-coded as IT.
How automated information system grew in
Philippines
 In early 1970s the first personal and network-
ready computer systems started to appear in the
healthcare community exclusively used in
business and accounting.

 In few health institutions, the earliest computers

are mainly used to automate billing.
 In the mid 1970s hospital networks expanded to
include the information process in the
admission, discharge and transfer or ADT
section.
 In late 1970s networks further expanded to
include pharmacy section.

 During this time, an integrated system was

formed connecting the three big departments:
accounting, ADT and pharmacy.
 In early 1980s, the laboratory and imaging
departments, with their special computers,
attempted to connect to the main integrated
system but to no avail due to incompatibility
reasons.
 Because of their detached status the computers
in the laboratory and imaging department
remained as stand-alone systems.
 In the middle of 1980s, the integrated system
expanded to the clinical area.
 Nursing clinical information systems were
implemented and automated the process of
order entry.
 In the middle of 80s to late 90s hospitals
bought conversion software and hardware from
same vendors who delivered the laboratory and
imaging machines to link their stand-alone
systems to the main system creating interfaced
systems.
 In early to mid 2000s laboratory
information system (LIS) and radiology
information system (RIS) started to encroach
into the main hospital information systems that
are developed with more flexible programming
languages such as Oracle, SQL (structured
query language) or FOSS (free open source
software).
 In late 2000s, the Philippine Heart Center will
soon implement the Internet-based hospital
information system (HIS).
END OF CONCEPT