INTERACTION BETWEEN NURSE INFORMATICISTS AND OTHER SPECIALISTS Discussion Post

Hi Oluyemi,

Thanks for the read.

I also work in mental Health and it appears that a lot of mental health facilities lags behind when it comes to technology.  Recently Mental Health/Behavioral health has joined in the race to improve the type of care we give to patients. The use of IT In general healthcare has been shown to have significant potential to facilitate the delivery of safe, high-quality, and cost effective care ( Ranallo, et el., 2016).  However, its application to behavioral health care has been slow, limiting the extent to which consumers seeking care for mental health or substance use disorders can derive its benefits.

Ranallo, P., Kilbourne, A., Whatley, A., & Pincus H. (June, 2016) Behavioral Health Information Technology: From Chaos To Clarity.  Health Affairs Vol 35, (NO.6) https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2016.0013

Nurse informaticists facilitate communication between clinical and IT staff. They speak two languages—technology and health care—and focus specifically on developing strategies. Knowledge management systems combine knowledge needs, the basis of knowledge, and decision support systems that inform decision-making (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). Nurse informaticists play an integral role in effective knowledge management and transfer in healthcare systems by forming informatics tools and systems that facilitate new knowledge creation and sharing within interdisciplinary teams (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2017). The nurse informaticists translate between data languages, between different systems, and interdisciplinary staff, thereby enabling communication between systems and different health professionals (Public Health Informatics Institute, 2017). To prevent readmissions, nurses rely on technology to keep everything efficient and organized. Nurse informaticists play a massive role in evolving technology (Laureate Education, 2018).

Works Cited

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

Laureate Education (Producer). (2018). The Nurse Informaticist [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Hi Adeogbo,

I agree that facilitating communication, collaboration, education, and networking for researchers and practitioners working at the interface of informatics and mental health helps improve mental health and healthcare delivery. This is indeed a great mission whose importance cannot be underestimated. Professionals in Nursing Informatics are essential in ensuring improved patient care, patient safety, and overall healthcare outcomes (Darvish et al., 2017). You did an excellent job with this post, and I concur that acquiring advanced nursing abilities benefits nursing professionals.  Additionally, advanced education encourages the utilization of advanced technology and the implementation of advanced nursing abilities into medical procedures, both of which help patients. According to Jefferson et al., one of the most important criteria for student nurses to successfully manage clinical circumstances during clinical practice is to develop and increase their self-assurance. In addition, the remarkable growth of healthcare practice over the past few decades has supported the notion that technology may represent the third piece of the healing triangle. I have always been interested in technology and the application of information technology to enhance the delivery of nursing services (Hack Polay et al., 2022).

Reference

Hack-Polay, D., Mahmoud, A. B., Ikafa, I., Rahman, M., Kordowicz, M., & Verde, J. M. (2022). Steering resilience in nursing practice: Examining the impact of digital innovations and enhanced emotional training on nurse competencies. Technovation, 102549.

Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2018). The role of nursing informatics on promoting quality of health care and the need for appropriate education. Global journal of health science, 6(6), 11.

Hi Oluyemi,

Thanks for you very enlighten post. I totally agree mental health tends to lag behind when it come to technology and especially transitioning to electronic health records (EHR) and according to  Jung et.al (2021)  there remains a lack of evidence regarding barriers and facilitators to the implementation of mental health care EHRs. Jung et.al further cites that, The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was incited in 2009 as a result of evidence which shows that the  transition to “EHR can improve the quality of care delivered. HITECH drove annual increases in EHR adoption by 8% points after implementation of the act’s incentive program (2021). However when compared to other medical and surgical facilities  “possessing certified EHRs, only 49% of psychiatric hospitals have certified EHRs as of 2017. The number is lower than rehabilitation (89%), children’s (87%), and acute long-term care (59%) hospitals” (Jung et.al., 2021).

There are multiple reasons for this lag in EHR usage among mental health providers such as lack of finance for technology and training for independent providers as well as concern for confidentiality for their patients. Despite the fact that EHR can save providers money in the long run, the initial financial investment may be too much for a solo provider or group practice to bear as they might not have sufficient cash flow to pay for the EHR implementation training as well as technical support and personnel cost ( McGregor et.al., 2015). The concern for patient confidentially is also of great concern.

References

Brian McGregor, P. D., Dominic Mack, M. D. . M. B. A., Glenda Wrenn, M. D. . M. S. H. P., Ruth S. Shim, M. D. . M. P. H., Kisha Holden, P. D. . M. S. C. R., & David Satcher, M. D. . P. D. (2015). Improving Service Coordination and Reducing Mental Health Disparities Through Adoption of Electronic Health Records. Psychiatric Services, 66(9), 985–987. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.201400095

Jung, S. Y., Hwang, H., Lee, K., Lee, D., Yoo, S., Lim, K., Lee, H. Y., & Kim, E. (2021). User Perspectives on Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of Electronic Health Records in Behavioral Hospitals: Qualitative Study. JMIR formative research, 5(4), e18764. https://doi.org/10.2196/18764

Hi Oluyemi,

Thanks for sharing your experience and perspective with us. Although there is a general trend by most healthcare settings to move towards incorporating informatics into their practice, yet mental health practitioners lag behind in incorporating informatics into their practice. Among physicians working in clinical informatics, child and adolescent psychiatrists are lagging behind other specialties and lapses in the translation of health information technologies to child mental health care are apparent. In fact, many EHR workflows and decision-support systems are developed for adults in medical settings that do not readily map to psychiatric and pediatric care (Peters, 2017). I did contract work in a state mental health hospital between April and July, 2022, where they are still using paper charting. I am aware of multiple mental health hospitals within my locality that are still using paper charting. And those free-standing mental health hospitals do not have the privilege of nurse informaticists.

Until all those facilities that are still using paper charting transition to EMR systems, they will continue to lag behind in quick access to patients’ data, nurses in such facilities will continue to lack access to current EBP information at the point of care, and there will be slow process of data dissemination among other specialties and parties of interest.

Reference

Peters TE. (2017). Transformational Impact of Health Information Technology on the Clinical Practice of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2017;26(1):55–66.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8114086/#R3

Hi Shiela, Nice Post! 

I agree that teamwork in every profession is essential, especially in nursing. Because it enables individuals to collaborate in order to achieve goals, teamwork is essential in all fields. Nurse teamwork is important because it allows nurses on different floors or units to work with other healthcare providers, like doctors and social workers, to give each patient in a hospital room the best possible care. Nursing is crucial, and nurses are the backbone of healthcare. They offer a wide range of services to patients and their families, including surgical assistance and emotional support. According to the Multi-professional Patient Safety Curriculum Guide published by the World Health Organization (WHO), “effective teamwork in delivering health care can have an immediate and positive effect on patient safety.” The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that in modern healthcare, patients rarely see a single doctor. Errors in communication and a lack of understanding of professional roles can be minimized through teamwork and coordination. The nursing profession relies heavily on trust and teamwork. Attendants cooperate to give quality patient consideration. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals comprise the teams (Wilson, 2022). 

Additionally, as you mentioned, your primary position is in the intensive care unit, which extensively uses telemonitoring devices for patients. The modern intensive care unit is built on monitoring equipment. These revolutionary devices are necessary for clinicians to have the information they need to care for critically ill patients, significantly if their status changes quickly. Treatment delivery in the intensive care unit (ICU) relies heavily on monitors. Assessing neurologic, pulmonary, and cardiovascular (CV) function is the primary focus of the current devices. These monitors populate the patient’s charts thanks to their connection to CERNER, the hospital’s electronic medical system. The multidisciplinary team uses the information from these telemonitoring devices that are loaded into the system to plan these patients’ care and treatment options (Neideen, 2012). 

References: 

Neideen, T. (2012). Monitoring Devices in the Intensive Care Unit. In Surgical Clinics of North America (Vol. 92, Issue 6, pp. 1387–1402). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.suc.2012.08.010Links to an external site. 

Wilson, B. (2022, August 10). Why is teamwork important in nursing? The Nerdy Nurse. Retrieved December 16, 2022, from https://thenerdynurse.com/why-is-teamwork-important-in-nursing/#:Links to an external site. 

Response #1

Hi Katrina,

The application of technologies has increasingly affected nursing practices, but research shows that “A perennial concern is that nurses have generally not kept pace with rapid changes in digital technologies and their impact on society. This limits the potential benefits they bring to nursing practice and patient care” (Booth et al., 2021). One of the nurse informaticist’s roles is to work as an educator to the health care team. They introduce the new technologies into patient care, they maintain the technology systems, and the most important thing is that they help nurses, doctors, and other professionals to keep their proficiency with the technology.

I like your strategy of “hold monthly meeting to discuss questions and concerns” to facilitate the interaction between nurse informaticist and other specialists. My suggestion of anther strategy is that the nurse informaticists be part of educators in the health care team. Nurse informaticists will not only provide support for the specialists using the technology in health care, but also, they will evaluate the specialists how well they can apply the technology on their daily basis (Jobst et al., 2022). For example, nurse informaticists will held “technology skills fair” annually, to ensure the proficiency of technology among the specialists. This is like the annual nursing skills fair in the hospital to us. Through the skill fair, specialists will know the expectations of their technology skills in their fields and enhance their interaction with nurse informaticists in their daily works.

References

Booth, R. G., Strudwick, G., McBride, S., O’Connor, S., & Solano López, A. L. (2021). How the nursing profession should adapt for a digital future. The BMJ, 373, n1190. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1190Links to an external site.

Jobst, S., Lindwedel, U., Marx, H., Pazouki, R., Ziegler, S., König, P., Kugler, C., & Feuchtinger, J. (2022). Competencies and needs of nurse educators and clinical mentors for teaching in the digital age – a multi-institutional, cross-sectional study. BMC nursing, 21(1), 240. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-022-01018-6Links to an external site.

Hi Katrina, Excellent Post! 

As you mentioned, healthcare will continue to benefit from new technologies and the development of nursing informatics. Technological advancements have reshaped the medical landscape over the past 30 years. The days of accurate charting and recordkeeping by hand are numbered. Patients now have greater access to their data than ever before, thanks to telehealth and electronic recordkeeping technologies that are emerging. RNs can use technology to work more efficiently and communicate more effectively in nursing. The advances in data innovation and new gadgets have worked on the same personal satisfaction for patients and medical services experts. Electronic health records (EHRs) have significantly changed the healthcare information technology sector. A patient’s medical history is stored digitally in an electronic health record. It might include information about providers, problems, medications, lab results, Etc. By making data easily accessible to healthcare providers, doctors, and patients, electronic health records (EHRs) can enhance patient care by enhancing the clarity and accuracy of medical records. New technologies can lessen human error. Nurses who work long hours or in units with insufficient staff are more likely to make mistakes. Routine procedures are now made more accessible by cutting-edge medical technologies. For instance, the dosage of a patient’s medication can be measured by automated intravenous pumps. The process of changing the dosage and amount of a drip becomes quicker. Prolonged mental and physical exhaustion can make nurses feel stretched thin, which leads to nurses leaving their practice setting. Nurse burnout has been a factor in the US nursing shortage. Because fewer nurses are required to provide adequate care, emerging technologies in telehealth can help alleviate the burden placed on nurses (Avant Healthcare Professionals, 2019). Even for people who do not consider themselves computer savvy, telemedicine has become more accessible thanks to improved technology. Both health and convenience are enhanced by telemedicine, allowing patients to schedule appointments with their healthcare provider via video or phone. More and more healthcare providers are offering to “see” patients via smartphone and computer (William, 2022). 

References: 

Avant Healthcare Professionals. (2019, September 10). How technology is impacting nursing practice in 2020. Registered Nurse Staffing and Recruitment Agency. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://avanthealthcare.com/blog/articles/how-technology-is-impacting-nursing-practice-in-2019.stml#:Links to an external site. 

William, B. (2022, January 18). Benefits of telemedicine. Benefits of Telemedicine | Johns Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved December 17, 2022, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/treatment-tests-and-therapies/benefits-of-telemedicineLinks to an external site. 

Great post Katrina,

Nursing informatics plays a significant role in supporting the health care system’s technology-driven care. Health informatics connects technology with healthcare using the analysis and design of Electronic Health Record (EHR) data to lower costs and improve health outcomes. Nurse informaticists are skilled in the development and utilization of healthcare technology. They are medically trained, coupled with hands-on experience, which makes them uniquely suitable to work with information technologist professionals to ensure proper healthcare delivery in the real-world electronic health records (EHR) are getting complex due to the continuous growth of healthcare technology, making the nurse informaticist relevant currently (McCormick, 2016). Some of the roles performed by the nurse informaticists are to implement and manage the transition of paper records to digital; they develop information systems using current evidence-based standards of care and update systems to remain current; they develop other healthcare technology such as patient health monitoring system and home care management system. They also work with agencies and policymakers to ensure laws are put in place to support healthcare technology and its compatibility with patients’ and providers’ needs (Sipes, 2016).

References

McCormick, K. (2016). Understanding new types of evidence ready for translation into nursing informatics. Studies in health technology & informatics, 225, 686–688.

Sipes, C. (2016). Project management: Essential skill of nurse informaticists. Studies in Health Technology & Informatics, 225, 252–256.