Information Systems in Nursing
Introduction
Information technology is forming the foundation for the advancement of healthcare systems in the present and the future. Over the last 3 decades, massive technological advancements have seen the evolution of the use of computers for administrative purposes to the current use in clinical processes. In this function, primary care has been the center for the development of new concepts and ideas in medical technology (Jones, Rudin, Perry, & Shekelle, 2014). This paper will study the use of North American Nursing Diagnosis (NANDA) information system to evaluate how it contributes to evidence-based practices (EBP), how it is used to define the safety of patients, and how it contributes to better patient outcomes.
Contribution of IS to Evidence-Based Practice
NANDA is one of the languages that are used to design the Nursing Information Systems (NIS). NIS is a system that controls clinical data from diverse environments of healthcare and makes it available to nurses in a timely and orderly manner to help in delivering quality patient care. Some of the key features of NIS include patient charting which allows the vital signs and symptoms, admission records, assessments data, nursing notes, and care plan to be fed into a system in either a structured manner or free text (Schmidt & Brown, 2014). The entered information can then be retrieved as and when it is required. Besides charting, NIS is used for staff scheduling. Nurses are able to schedule their shifts using the rules provided in the modules of the system (Sewell & Thede, 2013). The system is flexible as it allows the shifts to be changed or confirmed by a scheduling supervisor or coordinator. The shift modules in the system are programmed to handle cases of overtime, absences, staffing in a cost-effective manner and check on staffing levels. Shift scheduling and staffing are essential components in achieving the goals of an evidence-based nursing practice. By ensuring that every patient’s needs are met in a timely and orderly fashion, scheduling the shifts must be done properly to avoid lapses in or overworking the staff (Schmidt & Brown, 2014).
Another key function of a nursing information system is the integration of clinical data. The information of a particular patient from all disciplines of a health care system is easily retrieved viewed and analyzed (Sewell & Thede, 2013). The nursing staff then integrates the analyzed data into the care plan for the patient. The ability to organize all data from various departments and use it to prepare a care plan is of immense importance in achieving the quality of care as it allows for each and every aspect to be captured in the care plan. NANDA also provides a module for decision support where prompts and reminders are added together with guides on how the diseases are linked to the signs, etiologies, and patient populations. These are necessary additions for the nursing leadership in forecasting for staffing and scheduling needs (Schmidt & Brown, 2014). Furthermore, they enable the nursing leadership to plan, direct, control for the resources available for maximum utilization. The system further offers access to online medical resources that allows the medical nurses to further their studies, enhance their knowledge, or consult on various issues to ensure that they arrive at the best care for the patient (Sewell & Thede, 2013).
How a Nurse Researcher Uses IT to Improve Patient Safety
The safety of the patient together with quality outcomes are some issues that continue to define the nursing practice from the professionalism framework. Safety is one of the six aims for improvement in the healthcare system (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2014). Rather than using the phrase “First, do not harm,” the providers in the institutions should strive to make safety a property of the system. No single person should suffer harm within the health care organization. The use of informatics to enhance the security of the patients is fundamental in this regard. The use of information systems allows the nurses to continuously carry out research on the best methods to improve the safety of the patients (Munhall, 2012).
The use of informatics allows the nurses to access ongoing professional development that improves the knowledge base of the patients. This has the benefit of high-quality care to patients, patient safety, and satisfaction. The use of evidence-based decision-making improves innovation and motivation for the nurses to be involved in information system development and design. Offering sound evidence-based nursing practice is heavily reliant on the gathering of and application of nursing evidence (Jones et al., 2014). This empirical knowledge is based on research and tactile experience. Decision-making aimed at achieving safety and satisfaction of patients and the ultimate outcome of the quality patient care plan rests on the clinical decisions made from the research done. The information technology allows the nurse researchers to compile the various data and information to reach at meaningful conclusions that profoundly influence the safety policies developed (Munhall, 2012).
Use of IT and EBP by Nurse Leaders and Nurse Informaticists
The Informatics Nurse is a fundamental aspect of the delivery of care as they assist in the building of knowledge, experience, and skills in the use of IT. They are in charge of clinical informatics sessions that have enormous influence for the nurses in helping them to coordinate the various aspects of technology-based activities in patient care, safety, and documentation. The nurse informaticists and the nurse leader offer continuous guidance in the advancement and execution of IT based solutions to patient care and nursing practice (Schmidt & Brown, 2014).
Besides, to achieve the quality of care, the nurses use information technology to offer patient education, which is the ultimate role of nurses in providing safety. Education is a major concern for many hospitals, and it is the role of the nursing administrators to implement policies to offer a better education to both the patients and their families (Sewell & Thede, 2013). The use of such devices like a television, I-pads, and other sophisticated devices allow the patients to watch and listen to the safety precautions required of themselves. Besides, the nurses use the technology to learn the best and new safety measures that they implement into their facility to enhance patient safety. The NANDA has various safety measures for the various diagnoses that should be able to help the researcher nurse to develop a safety policy for the organization.
Conclusion
The use of North American Nursing Diagnosis (NANDA) information system allows the nurses to continuously carry out research on the best methods to improve the safety of the patients. Therefore, it is vital that the nursing professionals keep the right balance in the quality of patient care and the use of informatics in the clinical processes. The use of information systems is used to assist in arriving at expert opinions, use of external scientific evidence to reach an opinion as well as focusing on the needs of the patients in providing a high quality of care (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2014).
Information Systems in Nursing
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