Post a description of experiences or observations about how nurse informaticists and/or data or technology specialists interact with other professionals within your healthcare organization. Suggest at least one strategy on how these interactions might be improved

Interactions Between Nurse Informaticists and Other Specialists

Every day, informatics alternates the delivery of patient care. Healthcare companies and experts will be able to obtain and evaluate data more efficiently as technology advances. Consolidating informatics with evidence-based practice can aid in the advantage of providing high-quality treatment to patients. When analyzing massive volumes of data, methods can be identified that have the potential to improve any process. While integrating technology into knowledge may help in identifying potential concerns sooner, it should not replace the nurse’s ability to interact with patients (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). The nurse informaticists and IT team at the home care organization where I presently work provide a lot of value.

MUMMS is the primary program for palliative and hospice patients’ electronic medical records, and it is used by all medical directors and professionals (EMRs). The nurse informaticist’s key responsibilities include training new employees on how to use the MUMMS software, providing refresher courses for staff during competency reviews, and updating staff when a new tab in MUMMS is created. A patient was just discharged from the hospital with prescriptions on their list that were out of date and were intended to be terminated but were still present when they were admitted to their home. The nurse informaticist updated the team about a new tab created for the medication profile reconciliation system to resolve the medication error issue.

To avoid medication errors, the nurse informaticist emphasized that two nurses must verify the patient’s medication discharge list from the hospital to their home during an admission. The home care organization provides a 24-hour IT hotline that can be reached after hours if the nurse informaticist is unavailable. Medication errors connected with hospital discharge can become a problem, resulting in re-admissions and ER visits. Implementing and involving pharmacists with MUMMS software during post-discharge transitions is one way of reducing medication mistakes.

The present pharmacist works with Enclara Pharmacia software, which is not currently linked to MUMMS. According to Graabæk et al. (2019), a pharmacist-driven intervention should focus on patient education and medication reconciliation after discharge to improve drug consumption and reduce healthcare costs, resources, and re-hospitalizations. The influence of technological advancements in hardware and software acknowledges the need to provide up-to-date and correct information to all healthcare practitioners to improve patient care. Important information can help to avoid prescription errors and mistakes, such as providing discontinued medications before they expire.

Reference

Graabæk, T., Terkildsen, B. G., Lauritsen, K. E., & Almarsdóttir, A. B. (2019). Frequency of undocumented medication discrepancies in discharge letters after hospitalization of older patients: a clinical record review study. Therapeutic advances in drug safety, 10, 2042098619858049. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042098619858049

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. G. (2017). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.