Application of nursing informatics in the

healthcare delivery system

BY: JOANNIE ROSE V. PELIEN

Objectives

To know the definition of the application of nursing informatics in the healthcare delivery system

To know the used to support various areas of nursing practice.

To know the Benefits of Computer Automation in Health Care

Application of Nursing Informatics

Nursing Informatics can be applied to all areas of nursing practice, which include; clinical practice, administration, education, and research. The next slides are some examples of how nursing informatics, information technology and computers, are used to support various areas of nursing practice.

a. Nursing Clinical Practice (Point-of-Care Systems and Clinical

Information Systems)

Work lists to remind staff of planned nursing interventions

Computer generated client documentation

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Computer-Based Patient Record (CPR)

a. Nursing Clinical Practice (Point-of-Care Systems and Clinical Information Systems) continuation…

Monitoring devices that record vital signs and other measurements directly into the client record (electronic medical record)

Computer - generated nursing care plans and critical pathways

Automatic billing for supplies or procedures with nursing documentation

Reminders and prompts that appear during documentation to ensure comprehensive charting.

b. Nursing Administration (Health Care Information Systems)

Automated staff schedulingE-mail for improved communicationCost analysis and finding trends for

budget purposesQuality assurance and outcomes

analysis

c. Nursing EducationComputerized record-keepingComputerized-assisted instruction Interactive video technologyDistance Learning-Web based courses

and degree programs Internet resources-CEU's and formal

nursing courses and degree programsPresentation software for preparing

slides and handouts-PowerPoint and MS Word

d. Nursing ResearchComputerized literature searching-

CINAHL, Medline and Web sourcesThe adoption of standardized language

related to nursing terms-NANDA, etc.The ability to find trends in aggregate

data, that is data derived from large population groups-Statistical Software, SPSS

Adapted from Nelson & Roos (1992),Computer Applications in Nursing Education and Practice

Benefits of Computer Automation in Health CareMany of these benefits have came about

with the development of the electronic medical record, which is the electronic version of the client data found in the traditional paper record.

Other benefits of automation and computerization are related to the use of decision-support software, computer software programs that organize information to aid in decision making for client care or administrative issues.

EMR (Electronic Medical Records)

Improved access to the medical record. The EMR can be accessed from several different locations simultaneously, as well as by different levels of providers.

Decreased redundancy of data entry. For example, allergies and vital signs need only be entered once.

Decreased time spent in documentation. Automation allows direct entry from monitoring equipment, as well as point-of-care data entry.

Increased time for client care. More time is available for client care because less time is required for documentation and transcription of physician orders.

EMR (Electronic Medical Records)

Facilitation of data collection for research. Electronically stored client records provide quick access to clinical data for a large number of clients.

Improved communication and decreased potential for error. Improved legibility of clinician documentation and orders is seen with computerized information systems.

Creation of a lifetime clinical record facilitated by information systems.

DSS (Decision-support Software)

Decision-support tools as well as alerts and reminders notify the clinician of possible concerns or omissions. An example of this, is the documentation of patient allergies in the computer system. The health care providers would be alerted to any discrepancies in the patient medication orders.

Effective data management and trend-finding include the ability to provide historical or current data reports.

Extensive financial information can be collected and analyzed for trends. An extremely important benefit in this era of managed care and cost cutting.

Data related to treatment such as inpatient length of stay and the lowest level of care provider required can be used to decrease costs.

Importance Of Nursing Informatics (September 2001)

Information is the key to effective decision-making and integral to quality nursing practice.

Nurses work in an information-intensive environment Much of what nurses do involves information… from assessing the health care needs of the patients to developing care plans to communicating patient’s information to other

health professional To analyzing staffing and budgeting reports

References

Hebda, nursing informatics as (Hebda, 1998)ReferencesHebda. (1998). "the use of computers technology to support nursing, including clinical practice, administration, education, and research.''