Interfacing Science and Technology

Healthcare has transition from depending on paper charting, to using health information technology, to improve quality of care.  Over a decade the government advocated for a national system of electronic health records (EHR).  In 2009 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed addressing healthcare technology called Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH).  Since the government experienced some resistant’s from healthcare providers during the implementation of EHR.  Health Information Technology (HIT) systems are to facilitate a more reliable exchange of information among practitioners and patients and significant improvements in the way care is delivered (McBride et. Al., 2012) using electronic health records, with meaningful use guidelines.  The concept of meaningful use is a strategic plan that uses EHR to provide better healthcare within an organization.  The Center for Medicare & Medicaid services provided reimbursement incentives (Martin, at. El., 2011) for healthcare organizations to use electronic health records to improve patient care (Nelson & Staggers, 2014).  It is vital for interoperability between multiple health systems in healthcare to exchange health data without restricted access (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, 2013).  The optimal goal is for each individual to have a panoramic electronic health record from birth to death, from any health provider.

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Nursing informatics is a subcategory of health informatics that incorporates nurses' interactions with healthcare technology systems.  Nursing informatics (NI) is the specialty that integrates nursing science with multiple information management and analytical sciences to identify, define, manage, and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice.  For nurses to be visible within the era of the patient’s electronic record requires academic preparation of nurses not only in terms of using equipment and knowing how and what to document, to make data meaningful. Using standardized nursing languages to capture data will provide new opportunities for national and international research to improve care.

Nurse Leader on Frontline

For healthcare organizations to stand any chance of truly transforming the way that care is managed nurses leader need to be on the frontline.  The burden of many of the necessary but difficult changes healthcare is making today fall squarely on the shoulders of frontline leaders.  Nurse Leaders are in critical positions to make healthcare reform work to improve quality of care (Kirby, K. 2010).  In countless ways, nurses leaders indisputably have earned the right to play a major role in  healthcare redesign efforts at all levels. 

 

 

 

 

References

 Kirby, K. (2010). Are your nurse managers ready for health care reform? Consider the 8 'Es'. Nursing Economic$, 28(3), 208-211

Martin, K. S., Monsen, K. A., & Bowles, K. H. (2011). The Omaha System and meaningful use: applications for practice, education, and research. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 29(1), 52-58.

Nelson, R. & Staggers, N. (2014) Health Informatics: An Interprofessional Approach. Elsevier: St. Louis, Missouri.