The Doctor of Nursing Practice in health informatics prepares students for senior positions in an informatics role in any patient care setting large enough to manage large data sets. The Chief Nursing Informatics Officer (CNIO), the chief clinical information officer, the vice president of clinical informatics, and similar roles are becoming key positions in hospitals, integrated health systems and managed care organizations throughout the country.
Informatics nurses educated at the doctoral level are able to address the many healthcare reform initiatives that require patient care organizations to better coordinate care across the continuum, improve patient safety, and better document how care is delivered.
Implementing the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program
Hospitals are expected to demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs (electronic health records) to qualify for incentives offered through Medicare’s EHR Incentive Program. DNP-educated nurse informaticists have proven to be instrumental in helping organizations meet a variety of meaningful use requirements.
Hospital-based organizations rely on DNP informatics nurses to:
- Implement the necessary IT infrastructure
- Integrate IT systems across the healthcare continuum
- Optimize IT systems for point-of-care data collection and clinical decision support
DNP health informatics leaders are not just needed for the coordination of IT efforts; ancillary services must also be in their wheelhouse. For example, as more healthcare organizations adopt electronic health records, they must collaborate with multiple departments, including pharmacies and laboratories.
CNIOs and other nursing informatics leaders that possess a DNP are able to better understand the nuances of local, state, and national policies, evaluate clinical information systems, and serve as active participants in policy development. They are also prepared to better articulate the data needs for healthcare facilities, which may include selecting and implementing information technology products.
According to
The Doctor of Nursing Practice Essentials (3
rd Edition, Zaccagnini and White), DNP-prepared nurse informaticists have the skills and knowledge required to help providers implement the CMS program (and earn the related certification) so as to qualify for the meaningful use incentives made available to these organizations for doing so.
Provider training is a necessary component of implementing the program, and DNP nurse informaticists have been critical to improving provider proficiency to ensure the program is implemented successfully.
Project Management
The DNP-prepared informatics nurse is prepared to take on leadership roles in health informatics, particularly in project management:
DNP informatics nurses manage any number of projects; some of can be as extensive as full systems implementation. Their work includes planning, analyzing, designing, implementing, and evaluating a full system development lifecycle. Thanks to their extensive, doctoral-level training, DNP informatics nurses enjoy a deep involvement in all phases of the project lifecycle.
The role of the DNP informatics nurse includes overseeing the work plan, work breakdown structure, project schedules, and project reporting tools. For example, the DNP informatics nurse often uses tracking tools to facilitate the delivery of projects, on time and within budget.
