The Nerdy Nurse

The Nerdy Nurse

What role do informatics nurses play in today’s health information technology (IT) environment?, asked The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). An important one, according to the 576 healthcare professionals who responded to their 2015 HIMSS Impact of the Informatics Nurse Survey.

It appears that the longer that an organization has employed an informatics professional, the greater their impact and the more value that they can bring to the clinical systems process and the overall quality of patient care.

Key results of the survey, from the executive summary:
The most significant contribution during the clinical systems process?

During the implementation phase (85 percent) and optimization phase (83 percent).

The most significant impact of patient quality of care?

Sixty percent reported that informatics nurses have a high degree of impact on patient care.

Respondents also indicated that informatics nurses have a high degree of impact on workflow, patient safety and user acceptance.

Informatics nurses are making headway in healthcare leadership. Sixty-one percent of respondents work for an organization that employs an informatics professional leader. Twenty percent of those organizations employ a Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO).

Informatics nurses were most likely to be identified with providing assistance with emerging technologies, such as medical devices integration (70 percent) and smart device adoption (50 percent).

If you’d like to know more about informatics nursing in 2015, visit the website of The Nerdy Nurse (A.K.A. Brittney Wilson, BSN, RN). She recently attended HIMSS’s annual convention as a Social Media Ambassador. She tweeted that the biggest buzz at the show was about Apple Watch apps. Brittney gives a complete recap of the show in this HIMSS15 SoMe Ambassador Hangout.

See also
Inclusion, Part 2: Changing the Culture

Jebra Turner is a freelance health and business writer in Portland, Oregon. Visit her online at www.jebra.com.

Jebra Turner
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