Module Components

• Overview
• Assignments

Topics

• Health Information Technology
• Nurses Role in HIT
• Essential Knowledge
• Emerging Technologies: Artificial Intelligence (AI)

NURS 450 - RN to BSN Transition: Implications for Practice, Policy and the Profession

Module 12: Informatics

Overview

Informatics is the use of information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making (Johnson, n.d.). Technology is changing how patients manage their own health care needs and how nurses manage patient care. Therefore, nurses need new skills to use and contribute to the development of electronic health records, to find and evaluate the relevance of evidence to support clinical decisions and to use data to solve patient and system problems (Johnson, n.d.). Informatics knowledge and skills are essential competencies for all professional registered nurses. We remember that the Institute of Medicine (2003) explained that all health professional education must consist of five core concepts: 1) patient-centered care, 2) teamwork and collaboration, 3) evidence-based practice, 4) quality improvement, and 5) informatics.

The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) competencies are integrated into the undergraduate curriculum supporting graduates possessing the requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities to function well within the current health care delivery system. The QSEN initiative supports the IOMs call for information technology skills for nurses.  Specifically, baccalaureate prepared nurses must have a “solid foundation and skills in using cutting-edge information technology to deliver high-quality medical care, such as being able to search the medical literature online or being able to use computerized order entry systems that automatically flag pharmaceutical contraindications and errors” (QSEN, 2020). Informatics technology solutions improve the several care processes and promote care that is safe for patients. Quality and safety are critical attributes in today’s health care delivery system and nurses need to participate in and evaluate the integration of information technology solutions to enhance patient care processes.

This module provides an overview of the role of informatics within the health care delivery system and offers several examples of information technology solutions to facilitate patient care processes. Current issues addressing informatics usage, within health care, are discussed.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this module, the learner will be able to:

• Identify information and communication technologies used in care settings.
  
• Use information and communication technology in a manner that supports the nurse-patient relationship.
  
• Describe how information and communication tools support patient team communications.

Required Readings

Nursing Informatics: Connecting Patient Care and Technology (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5Lsf7RZMTA)   (3:12 minutes)

PSQH: The Podcast Episode 20 – Using Data to Improve COVID-19 Patient Outcomes (https://www.psqh.com/podcast/psqh-the-podcast-episode-20-using-data-to-improve-covid-19-patient-outcomes/) (25:54 minutes).

Sorkin, C. (2020, October 31). What is health information technology? https://www.wheel.com/companies-blog/what-is-health-information-technology

McKeon, J. (2021, June 14). AI finds gene expression data to predict COVID-19 patient outcomes. HealthITAnalytics.com. https://healthitanalytics.com/news/ai-finds-gene-expression-data-to-predict-covid-19-patient-outcomes