2023 Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days

Respond to at least two of your colleagues* on two different days, offering one or more additional interaction strategies in support of the examples/observations shared or by offering further insight to the thoughts shared about the future of these interactions.

At least 2 peer reviewed citations. 

Ms SA.

The growing use of electronic health records (EHRs) to document care now offers the opportunity to use the data captured in practice for discovering knowledge to transform health care. The documentation entered by nurses into EHRs is a potential source for discovering the impact of nursing care on patient outcomes and using the knowledge to improve care (NCBI, 2017).  Nursing informatics is important to nursing and health care because it focuses on representing data, information, and knowledge. Nursing informatics in an ever-evolving specialty (McGonigle & Garver Mastrian, 2018). Informatics is used in direct patient care by supplying physicians, nurses, physical therapists, aides, and other caregivers with information that can be used in collaborating patient care.

I currently work at a correctional facility where information is shared through our electronic health records. Our information specialists are responsible for supplying data based on patient information from electronic health records. Our information specialists have recently compiled data that reflects our compliance with patient appointments. The data captured has allowed medical staff to evaluate the areas in which patient appointments have been delayed. With this data, we have been able to communicate with facility Wardens to address the concerns for patients transported to clinic areas.

Improvements can be made by educating our staff on the advantages of utilizing informatics to enhances our medical services. Competency in nursing informatics strengthens our clinical decision-making skills. The informatics competency helps nurses use information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making at the point of care (Practice Matters, 2017). The nursing profession is rapidly changing to keep up with advancements and new challenges in the healthcare field. Informatics is being used to address the challenges of the day, significantly impacting the way nurses function in inpatient care settings. One of the primary ways that informatics has changed nursing practice is through documentation. Informatics improves the coordination of this information, allowing nurses to give their patients all the information they need, improving both outcomes and satisfaction with care.

References

NCBI. 2017. Evidence of Progress in Making Nursing Practice Visible Using Standardized Nursing Data: A Systematic Review. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5977718/

McGonigle, D., & Garver Mastrian, K. (2018). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge (4th ed.). Burlington: Jones & Barlett Learning.

Practice Matters. 2017. Using data in nursing practice. Retrieved June 15, 2020, from

https://www.myamericannurse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/ant11-Data-1030.pdf