Healthcare Informatics v. Nursing Informatics

rninformatics, DNP, RN · Apr 25, 2005

HIM aka Medical Records and coding are not the same as Informatics. Believe it or not, I've coded for Home Health and acute care reimbursement A LONG TIME AGO, lol. Being able to accurately select the correct ICD9, ICD11, CPT, HCPCS, etc. are worlds apart and very different from the work done in health, nursing and medical informatics.

Related to graduate certification in healthcare or Nursing Informatics. Think about the titles/names. Healthcare informatics would be a more general course of study where as "Nursing" Informatics would have as its primary focus Nursing -which and how system(s) support the nursing process, work flow issues that impact nursing practice and patient care, how data can be transformed into information into knowledge to improve patient care and nursing practice, etc. The choice you make between certification (or degree0 focus all depends on what area you want to direct your informatics practice to. B.T.W. St. Scholastica's nursing informatics certification is post graduate.

Good Luck

Ok, so I'm now a minute closer to the informatics sector. I have entered the world of HIM (health information management) by getting a coding certificate. I think it's the wave of the future, and I feel that more nurses will follow this trail. Rninformatics, what I need to know is the ROI for nursing informatics as opposed to healthcare informatics? You mentioned in a much earlier thread that nursing informatics is a subspecialty of healthcare informatics. I'm looking at the College of St. Scholastica which offers both graduate certificates. Thank you for a response.

Mijourney · Apr 25, 2005

You're right that HIM and healthcare informatics are not the same. It was not my intention to indicate they were. However, you should know that the HIM profession is hot and heavy on the subject of HIPAA, EHR, PHR, and all of the other issues that you have brought up on the subject of nursing informatics. These professionals, who do not have the same billing (no pun intended) as nurses and physicians, do intend to fight tooth and nail to let the public know how qualified they are to have large participation in e-HIM and all the other acronyms associated with electronic programs. As a nurse, I want the best of both worlds, if possible, and if that means getting a taste of HIM to do that then so be it. I frankly think that if nurses, physicians and allied health professionals did more indepth studying of coding and reimbursement, documentation would improve and that would help offset much of the administrative cost of auditing medical records and processing claims. You ask what does this have to do with nursing informatics? The fact that clinicians will learn the medical record in and out will help those who want to specialize in informatics experience less culture shock (you know the problem many of us experience when we start out as nurses). I hope that your coding and reimbursement experiences come in handy at some point on the job in terms of setting up electronic clinical documentation programs. I know it's not necessary to get an HIM certification or degree but if you want to generalize or specialize, I just think it makes a stronger case. I think gradually easing in informatics one way or another will aid in longevity and reduce burnout.

Thanks for the info on St. Scholastica's nursing informatics program. I will indeed study that program more closely as informatics education grows. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that the healthcare informatics program requires an HIM degree.

rninformatics, DNP, RN · Apr 25, 2005

You're right that HIM and healthcare informatics are not the same. However, you should know that the HIM profession is hot and heavy on the subject of HIPAA, EHR, PHR, and .

Yes, I am aware - You are preaching to the choir so to speak... as I've worked with Medical Records professionals for the last 20 + years. The dept name change from "Medical Records" to the current "Health Information Management" term seems to have some confused as to the scope of this area..............

These professionals do intend to fight tooth and nail to let the public know how qualified they are to have large participation in e-HIM .

I dont think "fighting tooth and nail" will be necessary as HIM professionals should be (and are) at the table as team members when it comes to the medical record.

You seem very impassioned about the "medical record".

As you wrote in your original post "Ok, so I'm now a minute closer to the informatics sector." I myself have been practicing in the field of healthcare informatics/nursing informatics and HIT/HIS for much more than "a minute" and I truly enjoy it. Good Luck and well wishes!!! I'm sure you will make a wonderful contribution to the HIM arena or whatever area you choose to pursue.

Mijourney · Apr 26, 2005

Yes, I am aware - You are preaching to the choir so to speak... as I've worked with Medical Records professionals for the last 20 + years. The dept name change from "Medical Records" to the current "Health Information Management" term seems to have some confused as to the scope of this area..............
I dont think "fighting tooth and nail" will be necessary as HIM professionals should be (and are) at the table as team members when it comes to the medical record.

You seem very impassioned about the "medical record".
As you wrote in your original post "Ok, so I'm now a minute closer to the informatics sector." I myself have been practicing in the field of healthcare informatics/nursing informatics and HIT/HIS for much more than "a minute" and I truly enjoy it. Good Luck and well wishes!!! I'm sure you will make a wonderful contribution to the HIM arena or whatever area you choose to pursue.

Thank you. I can get impassioned from time to time. I just reviewed the College of St. Scholastica's website regarding healthcare informatics. They actually show nursing informatics as part of that broader dynamic of healthcare informatics. I noticed they want potential students to have experience in HIM for all the certificate in informatics programs including nursing informatics. My current position utilizes my coding experience so I have emailed them to see if that would suffice for HIM experience depending on how they define it. I noticed that the only difference between the curriculums of nursing informatics and health informatics was the offering of a course called nursing informatics. So there you go. If I can come up with the funding (boy schooling in high tech areas and for distance education is expensive) I will pursue this program pending the outcome of what is said about my experience. I will take your recommendation that you previously gave to other posters and subscribe to the nursing informatics journal.