Jauclyn

Marsha, the point that you made regarding that nurses should work together to document past medical history is very pertinent when it comes to patient care. As you know, I had a 94 year old patient this week, yet her past medical history was pretty much non existent when I viewed her EMR. Knowing her past history could have better help us understand her current history and since it was lacking the health care professionals had nothing to go from. So, if less time is spent documenting and more is focused on their medical history which could clue us in on their current history then we could deliver better care for these patients. This all goes back to communication resulting in optimal care for the patient.

Lindsey, you made a good point that really solidifies that fact that computers are a tool and not a focus of informatics. You mentioned in your reply to Esha that if computers were taken away many of the aspects would still be there and that is absolutely correct. Not all hospitals have integrated an EMR. Many hospitals still use paper charts. For instance Baptist Memorial Hospital and Regional One Medical Center have been using paper charting up until 3 weeks ago, yet they still had effective patient care. Upon launching the system at Baptist there were so many issues with the system and such an extensive break down in communication regarding how to obtain pertinent information within the system that Regional One Medical Center delayed their launch to ensure the same issues would not occur. The computer is a tool and it can be helpful or a hindrance if it does not run properly, but the fact that many hospitals still use paper charting solidifies that regardless if computers were a factor or not the knowledge and information would still be there so in essence informatics would still be there.

Esha, I think you make a great point here. It does not matter how advanced technology is if the flow of information is interrupted. This put the emphasis on communication back on health care providers. Timely communication must occur and it must occur in a manner that allows for the best decisions in patient care to occur. If there is a break down in the flow of information that then renders the informatics portion of the system useless.

Nursing informatics integrates computer science, nursing science, and information science to manage and communicate data, knowledge, and information. The discipline focuses on finding various methods in which one can improve information management and communication, reduce costs, and improve the quality of patient care. Healthcare informatics is linked to technology and computer advances, yet documentation is a key primary focus of informatics. The quality of care for a patient is dependent upon effective communication between various healthcare disciplines. Computers aid in allowing various health care providers to be properly informed of all aspects of a patient's care in a timely fashion, but computers are not the main focus. The advances in technology allows for healthcare providers to have access to up to date information on patients which in turn allows for better decisions to be made to regard their care. Timeliness and effectiveness of the systems are essential. If a system is too difficult to navigate, not user friendly, or impedes on workflow one may be against using the system. American Dental Education Association (2012). Nursing Informatics. Retrieved from Nursing Informatics | explorehealthcareers.org

Nursing informatics integrates computer science, nursing science, and information science to manage and communicate data, knowledge, and information. The discipline focuses on finding various methods in which one can improve information management and communication, reduce costs, and improve the quality of patient care. Healthcare informatics is linked to technology and computer advances, yet documentation is a key primary focus of informatics. The quality of care for a patient is dependent upon effective communication between various healthcare disciplines. Computers aid in allowing various health care providers to be properly informed of all aspects of a patient's care in a timely fashion, but computers are not the main focus. The advances in technology allows for healthcare providers to have access to up to date information on patients which in turn allows for better decisions to be made to regard their care. Timeliness and effectiveness of the systems are essential.If a system is too difficult to navigate, not user friendly, or impedes on workflow one may be against using the system. AmericanDental Education Association (2012). NursingInformatics. Retrieved from Nursing Informatics | explorehealthcareers.org