You might have heard the term healthcare informatics before. But, do you know what healthcare informatics is?
What is healthcare informatics?
Healthcare informatics includes the use of computer science as well as information science. To what benefit, though? Improving the data side of healthcare has huge benefits for patient care. Concordia University Wisconsin offers a Master of Science in Nursing – Healthcare Informatics. This program would allow nurses with their bachelor’s degrees to become nurse informaticists (NIs).
How do nurse informaticists impact patient care?
Jana Pownell, DNP-NI, is Concordia’s M.S. in Nursing – Healthcare Informatics program director. She’s passionate about the key role that NIs play in healthcare. Pownell states: “NIs advocate at the local, state, and federal levels for data privacy. They also advocate to hold vendors accountable for their intentions when consumers use mobile health apps on their digital devices. Do you know what is done with your health data?”
NIs can make the patient experience better by helping patients get treated faster. Pownell talks about this more here related to her work with the VA.
Nurses who are trained in this field can use their expertise to implement better documentation. This can mean using digital tools to complete medical forms. But it can also mean better organization of data so that it can be more easily shared. This allows healthcare teams to communicate more fluidly and provide better patient care.
When healthcare teams are able to have accurate patient information that is easily shareable, this can lead to better communication and fewer medical errors.
Nurse informaticists are different.
Healthcare providers need data more and more to provide the best possible treatment for patients. Healthcare informatics is making this possible. Noodle.com shares an interesting insight on what sets nurse informaticists apart from other healthcare informatics specialists.
Nurse informaticists are nurses. They’re clinicians first.
This means that while nurse informaticists love efficiency, they’re going to advocate for the patient first and foremost.
Nurses formally trained in healthcare informatics are uniquely situated to affect change and lead within the healthcare industry. While on the job, NIs draw from their clinical nursing experience, evidence-based practices, and management of technologies and systems. They create, implement, and promote health and wellness within the healthcare ecosystem.
Do you want to know more?
NIs get to blend their calling as nurses with their love of data. If you like advocacy, data, and have a passion for excellence in patient care, it might be time to make your move into healthcare informatics. Feel free to request more information here.
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