IT Applications in Nursing

Application of Information Technology in Nursing

• Information Technology (IT) is crucial in modern nursing.
• IT improves efficiency, patient safety, and clinical decision-making.
• IT enhances patient care and management, reduces errors in documentation and treatment, and promotes evidence-based practice.

Key Applications of IT in Nursing

• Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are digital patient records replacing traditional paper charts.
• EHRs provide real-time access to patient information and reduce errors, redundancy, and lost records.
• Nursing Information Systems (NIS) are specialized software for nursing documentation, assessments, and care plans.
• NIS helps track patient progress and outcomes and improves workflow efficiency.
• Telemedicine and Telehealth enables remote patient monitoring and virtual consultations, is useful in rural and underserved areas, and supports chronic disease management.
• Decision Support Systems (DSS) provide alerts, reminders, and recommendations based on patient data, helping in medication safety and disease management, and supports clinical decision-making.
• Mobile Health (mHealth) applications include apps for medication tracking, symptom monitoring, and patient education.
• mHealth helps nurses communicate with patients and access clinical guidelines.
• Automated Medication Dispensing Systems reduces medication errors, enhances patient safety, and ensures accurate and timely drug administration.
• Wearable Health Technology includes devices that monitor heart rate, oxygen levels, and other vitals, helping in early detection of health issues.

Benefits of IT in Nursing

• Improved patient safety and care quality
• Enhanced communication among healthcare professionals
• Faster and more accurate documentation
• Better access to evidence-based practices
• Reduced workload and increased efficiency

Challenges of IT in Nursing

• Data privacy and cybersecurity risks
• High costs of implementation and maintenance
• Training and adaptation difficulties for staff

Summary of IT in Nursing

• The integration of IT in nursing is transforming healthcare by enhancing efficiency, improving patient outcomes, and supporting evidence-based practice.
• IT adoption in nursing is essential for modern healthcare delivery, despite challenges.

Informatics Application in Evidence-Based Nursing Practice

• The role of informatics in evidence-based nursing practice includes computer-generated nursing care plans, clinical pathways and guidelines for standardizing care, and electronic journals (e-journals) in research and practice

Computer-Generated Nursing Care Plans

• A Nursing Information System (NIS) can be either standalone, used only for nursing practices, or integrated as part of a hospital-wide system.
• Computerized Nursing Care Plans increase efficiency and accuracy, enhance documentation to meet nursing practice standards, and allow more time for direct patient care.
• Informatics supports the nursing process through assessment, where nurses can enter patient data, including health status, history, and chief complaints.
• Informatics supports nursing diagnosis; the system suggests diagnoses based on patient symptoms.
• Informatics supports planning; the system recommends interventions and tracks patient outcomes.
• Informatics supports the implementation of documenting interventions (e.g., medications, discharge instructions) electronically.
• Informatics supports the evaluation of patient data to expected outcomes, then suggests necessary adjustments.

Clinical Pathways

• Clinical Pathways are known as care pathways, integrated care pathways, or care maps.
• Clinical Pathways aim to standardize care, reduce clinical practice variability, and improve patient outcomes.
• Clinical Pathways work by providing step-by-step treatment processes based on evidence-based guidelines and ensuring efficient care delivery in settings like acute care and home care.
• Physicians give instructions, nurses confirm implementation, and other healthcare professionals (e.g., therapists, dietitians) follow through.
• The advantages improve care coordination, reduce medical errors, support continuous improvement through real-time monitoring, and enhance resource efficiency in hospitals and healthcare facilities

Clinical Guidelines

• Clinical Guidelines are evidence-based recommendations for diagnosing and treating conditions
• Clinical Guidelines are created for doctors, nurses, and healthcare professionals.
• Clinical Guidelines reduce variations in clinical practice and improve patient care quality.
• The development of include:
  • Research Evidence Collection that involves a literature review to determine best practices
  • Guideline Construction that include small group work involving healthcare experts
  • Testing & Review which is professionals assessing clarity, consistency, and feasibility
  • Ongoing Evaluation is guidelines revised periodically based on new evidence

E-Journals and Evidence-Based Nursing

• E-Journals are digital periodicals that contain current research and past volumes and can be used to search for specific topics quickly.
• E-Journals helps Nurses by providing fast access to up-to-date evidence-based research, supporting decision-making in clinical settings, and enhanceing nursing education by integrating theory and practice,
• The Libraries cannot physically own the journals which leads to accessibility issues.

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) in Nursing

• EBP integrates research, clinical expertise, and patient preferences.
• EBP helps nurses make informed decisions based on the latest medical evidence.
• Strict criteria ensure research validity and relevance.

Summary of Nursing Informatics

• Nursing informatics enhances patient care by improving documentation, decision-making, and efficiency.
• Clinical pathways and guidelines standardize care to promote better patient outcomes. -E-journals support evidence-based practice, helping nurses stay informed with the latest research.

Intellectual Property Rights (IPT)

• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protect the creations of the mind, ensuring legal recognition and exclusive rights for inventors, creators, and businesses.
  • IPR encourages innovation and creativity, provides economic benefits to creators, and prevents unauthorized use or reproduction of intellectual assets.
• Copyright protects literary, artistic, musical, and other creative works, covering books, films, software, music, and paintings, and grants the right to reproduce, distribute, and modify works.
• A patent protects new inventions, processes, and technologies, grants exclusive rights to the inventor for a limited time (usually 20 years), and encourages scientific and technological advancements.
• A trademark protects brands, logos, slogans, and product names, helps businesses establish brand identity and prevent counterfeiting, like Nike's "swoosh" logo, McDonald's golden arches
• Trade Secret protects confidential business information (e.g., Coca-Cola formula).
  • No registration required but ensure secrecy and provides a competitive advantage
• Industrial Design protects the visual appearance of a product, not its function, and covers shapes, patterns, colors, and 3D designs (e.g., iPhone design).
• Geographical Indications (GI) protects products linked to a specific location, such as Champagne (France), Darjeeling Tea (India), Parmesan Cheese (Italy)
• They encourages investment in research and development, prevents counterfeiting and piracy, promotes fair competition in the market, and boosts economic growth and global trade
• Enforcement against infringement that can have fines, penalties, and lawsuits for violators, and International organizations like WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) help regulate IPR globally

Summary of IPR

• play a crucial role in protecting creativity and innovation and by ensuring legal rights for inventors and businesses, IPR fosters economic growth, competition, and technological progress.

The Electronic Health Record and Clinical Informatics

• EHRs are digital versions of patient records that facilitate easy sharing of health data across providers and institutions
• Objectives: The common components, the benefits of implementation, Ownership considerations, the flexibility with Clinicians and patients

Understanding Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

• EHRs are digital versions of patient records that facilitate easy sharing of health data across providers and institutions, they include:
  • Decision support tools
  • Electronic prescribing
  • Patient portals for engagement
• 2004: President George W. Bush promoted EHRs for improved care and cost reduction.
• 2009: The HITECH Act under President Barack Obama incentivized EHR adoption.
• 2015: Penalties introduced for non-adoption of EHRs.
• 2016: EHR use expanded enhance health outcomes

Key Components of an EHR

• Health Information & Data includes patient demographics, medical history, allergies, and test results.

• Results Management creates an electronic access to lab and imaging results.

• Order Entry Management allows clinicians to enter orders for medications, tests, and procedures.

• Decision Support has alerts for medication errors, disease screening, and treatment guidelines.

• Electronic Communication & Connectivity - Supports messaging among healthcare professionals institutions.

• Patient Support includes patient education tools

• Telehealth options. Administrative Processes

• Handles scheduling, insurance claims, and research study eligibility.

• Reporting Population Health Management collects data for public health reporting quality improvement

Benefits of Implementing EHRs

• Common advantages: Improves adherence to clinical guidelines, Enhances monitoring of diseases, Reduction in medication errors, Decreased unnecessary care utilization
• Notable key Studies- findings: Dorr et al found EHRs improve chronic illness management and patient adherence to treatment.
• Shekelle et al found EHRs reduce costs -improve pediatric ambulatory care
• Reduces lab result turnaround times
• Speeds up first-dose administration of antibiotics

Ownership Implementation of EHRs

• Vendor Selection - Assess institutional needs, budget, potential barriers.
• System Selection - Choose an EHR aligns with clinical workflows reporting needs.
• Implementation Planning - Define success metrics align with organizational goals.
• User Adoption - Train clinicians to integrate EHRs into their daily workflows.

Flexibility Expandability of EHRs

• Flexibility- Expandability of EHRs: No system meets the needs of all specialized areas.
• Specialized areas oncology require advanced features (dose tracking) for support for allied health (dietitians.)
• Financial & technical barriers exist.
• Data sharing concerns

CCD

• Continuity of Care Documents (CCD) Standardize EHR Exchange, Accountable Care Organizations use EHRs to improve cordination and reduce costs minimize redundancy in data patient
• The implementation of IT systems and EHR requires.
  • clinicians must be properly trained and systems must evolve to support roles
  • Privacy an important feature

Using Information to Promote Community and Population Health

• Community Health focuses on health status and group within a geographic area
• Population Health incorporates outcomes for a group
• Why?: Addresses health beyond individual inventions tackles society problems

Public Health Informatics (PHI)

• Public Health Informatics is the use to improve information and informing through government and local data
• Key Example:
  • Syndromic Surveillance: Monitors for infection outbreak.
  • Public Essential Services (cdc) of assess , investigate, educate, strengthen, use, ensure, build, maintenance

Community Health Risk Assessment

• Pesticides, chemicals, foods, and water should be assessed.
• Hazard Identification and determine assessment

Informatics Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance (govt

• Modern tools to improve
• Disaster Planning and Preparedness:Real time data to track trends early.
• Tools provide improve analysis

Using Feedback to Improve responses

• Public Health depends on data
  • includes hospitals, pharmacies, control centers

Public Health Informatics

• Public Health Informatics Ensures Data standards are meant on a international level
• The Covid 19 accelerated
• The PHI shapes

Telenursing and Remote Access Telehealth

• Telehealth gains relevance that focuses on healthcare technology such as:
  • Knowledge a acquisition -Processing

Telehealth

• real time access: Improves complications

Driving Forces Behind Telehealth

• Demographics: Require needs
• Long-term illnesses
• Consumer
• Economic

Clinical

• Remote
• Preventive

-Emergency

• Real time Video consultation

Store and forward health tools of:

Live interaction through video conference or phone health management Health applications, mobile apps, and home healthcare ready devices such as blood pressure cuffs are important.

      Those Include :
   - People wChronic Conditions
    -At Rick populations
    - Hospital readmissions

Home Health

• Needs and privacy
• Legal Ethical Concerns

Home Telehealth includes:

• Clinical comparisons and satisfaction
• Patient engagement Leveling
• Tele health promotes efficiency

INFORMATICS TOOLS TO PROMOTE PATIENT SAFETY AND QUALITY OUTCOMES

• Culture: (recognition and acknowledgement of risks related to healthcare
• Reporting for safety that includes training resource, and safe technology.
• System designs and implementaion should be proper

Key Informatics Tools that are used in healthcare are:

• Computerized Physician Order entry CPOE: Which includes drug intervention for safe measure
• Automated dispensing system include medication control.
• Barcode includes medical adminstration
• Wearable include monitoring
• Nurses are key safety goal settings and maintaince
• All nurses should have proper training in areas like, safety quality

Explore information technology applications in nursing. IT improves efficiency, patient safety, and clinical decision-making. Learn about Electronic Health Records (EHRs), Nursing Information Systems (NIS), Telemedicine, and Decision Support Systems (DSS).