Nursing informatics is a specialty that integrates nursing and analytical and information sciences to communicate and manage data in nursing practice. It involves the application of information technology in nursing education, research, and nursing services (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2021). Therefore, nurse informaticists are nurse practitioners who incorporate information technology in nursing services to improve the quality of healthcare services.
Role of Nurse Informaticists
With the advancing technology in the world, there is a need for healthcare providers who are experts in information technology, such as nurse informaticists. According to American Informatics Association, the roles of nurse informaticists include creating protocols for data retrieval and data presentation to promote patient-centered care.
Secondly, nurse informaticists should do further studies on informatics to add new information and knowledge. Lastly, informaticists should actively promote health facility infrastructure by developing standards for communication and even advocating for evidence-based practice in the service provision (Wu et al., 2019).
Additionally, nurse informaticists should also be responsible for data validation using variety, volume, and velocity to promote a data-dependent decision-making process in the nursing practice (Garcia, 2021).
The informaticists should also be in charge of implementing the new technologies in the health facility by motivating and inspiring other healthcare providers to adopt the use of technology in clinical practice. From the above-described roles, it is apparent that the healthcare industry should promote nursing informatics expertise. This can be done by encouraging nurses to advance their studies in nursing informatics.
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Organizations
There are several health organizations and institutions with nurse informaticists. Nurse informatics specialists can identify measures promoting transformation since they can identify existing gaps in healthcare. An example of a healthcare organization with nurse informaticists is the John Peter Smith Hospital, located in Texas.
The facility assists in recognizing red flags for domestic violence and human trafficking by applying Mobile Health and Electronic Medical records to monitor patients’ progress (Azoui et al., 2021). This method has greatly improved the nurses’ workflow and has also provided nurse practitioners with guidelines and measures for problem-solving.
Another organization of note is the Texas Hospital. The hospital has nurse informaticists who leverage technology to validate and evaluate the clinicians’ work through Electronic Medical Records. For this reason, the hospital has experienced a reduced workload from handwritten documentation to electronic health records.
The nurses in the hospital have also positively influenced the predictive model through the integration of technology and analytical strategies in clinical practice. This technique has significantly improved identifying patients who require palliation and those at high risk of mortality, hence reducing mortality rates.
