INFORMATICS COMPETENCIES AND NURSING LEADERSHIP

The importance of informatics in healthcare, including electronic health records (EMR), computerized-provider order entry (CPOE), and clinical decision support (CDS), is what the emerging 21st century nurse have to understand.The goal for this informatic course is to ensure that I am adequately prepared in my new Nursing leadership and  Administrative role and to use healthcare equipment's related to clinical informatics. Nurses are expected to use technology in their daily clinical practice, but there is an evident preparation practice gap related to the use of clinical informatics. Majority of these nurses are at user level of nursing informatics, which is where I was before I took this course. My proficiency involved use of 

various  computer applications in creating

Also, I was able to navigate online courses and use EHR system and various healthcare technological equipment. Now, I will be taking you on a journey in my opinion, the most important aspects of what I have learned in the Nursing informatic course. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT HEALTH CARE INFORMATICS, CLICK HERE

MEANINGFUL USE 

The most important term learned was "Meaningful Use". The term meaningful use describes the guidelines and regulations that must be met with the use of electronic health records. Meaningful use regulations are

The importance of meaningful use is for providers, nurses, patients and their families.Meaningful use consents the electronic health record to deliver information and data about one's healthcare in real time which is useful for patients and their families. For providers, it is important because it determines weather you will be reimbursed or not. For health care leaders, it is important to understand meaningful use because it improves patient quality of care, and well as its financial benefits; reimbursement. Data sharing and reporting to supplementary healthcare providers about the patient rapidly are the most crucial part of meaningful use of the electronic health record with. Interoperability is the ability to for technological devices and systems are able to share and  interpret data since the HITECT  act. Interoperability allows for improved patient-family awareness, allowing other healthcare providers accessibility to patient records which is vital to the care of the patient. As health care providers, it is crucial that we are using technology to it's fullest potential to reap the full benefits.  Nursing leaders must understand this in order to effectively use and educate other medical and nursing staff members on the importance of meaningful use of technology. 

 

MEANINGFUL USE, CLICK HERE

DATABASES

Technology and Database are solely utilized by

Various databases are available toe health care professional. Databases are accessed by healthcare professional such s nurses for evidenced based research to help educate nurses, improve staff knowledge, and to improve patient care delivery and improve patient outcome. The use of health care IT and databases fir research has demonstrated to be cost effective, high quality/safe patient care.The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQ1) is the national nursing database that offers quarterly and annual reporting of structure, process, and outcome indicators to gauge nursing care on a unit level. Nursing-sensitive quality measures can be followed and associated to local and regional and national standards for health care organizations applying for NDNQI. Operation databases is an exceptional ways to ensure that patients are receiving the best care and also, health care staff members are educated and utilizing the database in researching best practices. It is essential for Nursing leaders to encourage the database utilization, a tool for educating staff, patient, and for skills proficiency to ensure patients receives the highest quality of care. 

NDNQI, CLICK HERE 

TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES 

The weekly technological challenges we engaging, challenging, and resourceful. This challenges were are useful tools to help with presentations that are engaging to staff members. The first presentation was the use of a a new technology called Snagit on nursing sensitive quality outcomes; the dashboard also known as KPI's. It took forever to get it right because it was new to me. But that was when I was at the user stage, right now as I reflect, I  comfortably place myself on the modifier-level of informatics and have learned how to develop blogs, websites, embed videos/hyperlink, upload contents, use web based applications such as Snagit, Venngage, Movenote, Powtoon, Prezi, Youtube, to create interesting videos and tutorials.

 WATCH MY FIRST SNAGIT PRESENTATION

PREZI 

VENNGAGE

POWTOON 

MOVENOTE

INDIVIDUAL TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGE 

The individual technology challenge was different, because, it involved observations, interview, and hands on encounter with three KEY health care informatics Technological leaders. This was really exciting because not only did I get the opportunity to get to know who the health care informatics teams were at my workplace, I was able to introduce myself and acquire new knowledge. The interview was with an Informatics Nurse, Privacy officer, and Chief information  officer at Catholic Health of Buffalo, NY. This three plays a crucial role in Catholic Health informatics team. After the interviews, I turned it all into a power point presentation, then into a PDF, then uploaded it to movenote where I was able to convey what I observed and heard in relation to healthcare informatics. Their roles involves patients safety, patient privacy, patient safety, ethics, data management, quality improvement, educating staff on HIPAA regulations, work flow management, and clinical efficiency in the use of EHR. Nurses play a major role in healthcare and nursing leaders have to understand health care informatics and be part of its development and usability. The benefits of using technology to its fullest potentials in health care is to deliver the highest quality of patient care, educate staff members, data mining, a data analysis, and put into meaningful use which can prevent waste in health care and improve patient outcome.

REFLECTION

Overall, I find all these technological tools to be exceptionally easy, fun, educational, engaging, and an easy way to address any health care issues. Although Powtoon was challenging, it was accomplished and I see myself using it again for future presentations. It allows you to customize it, to use your own voice or music, an easy way to convey a massage. I am excited to continue to develop my technological skills and share what I have learned with my peers and future staff members. The technologies, the terminologies, and research projects have all given me the tools to be a better leader role and educate other staff members on the importance of meaningful use of technology.I am confident that I will continue to discover new ways in which I can use informatics both local and international.

CLINICIAN WORKFLOW ENHANCED BY TECHNOLOGY

 
The first rule working as a nurse is "WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER"! If you are a nurse and no one told you about the first rule, then you are at a disadvantage. The number one priority to every nurse is the PATIENT also known as the big Boss! As a nurse, my focus is all about my patient, so I depend on Technology to help me deliver the best level of care that is efficient and cost effective. It is hard to deliver the quality of care with outdated technology or technology that are hard to use. Miscommunication between caregivers can lead to medical errors, as well as the lack of collaboration among the team. Improving communication, and responding time, patient safety and connecting with staff members effortlessly can be achieved with the help of a technological tool.The IT department helps with the struggles that we encounter as nurses using technology to help us deliver the best care to the patient.IT department helps nurses with technological advances on workflow through consultation and collaborations on what works best for the nurses. If you have ever walked into a hospital, majority of the nurses if not in the patient room delivering care will be found right at the nurse's station, also known as the Mecca of the hospital. The majority of what nurses do centers around the nurse's station, its the HEART of patient care.



 WHAT IS WORKFLOW?Workflows represent how work actually gets done, not the protocols that have been established to do the work. This eliminates waste, improve communication, and helps the clinical workflow to run efficiently.

 HOW DOES TECHNOLOGY IMPACT THE CARE NURSES PROVIDE?

 Imagine being a patient in a hospital, you put on your call light, someone answers, you told them you would like to go to the bathroom, 15 minutes later you are still in bed waiting for that someone to help you to the bathroom.You got so tired of waiting you peed on yourself, and had to sit in it for another 10 minutes to get help. Now, how many of us nurses have been caught in a patient room unprepared for an emergency, but encounter one once in the patient room and there is nobody around. What do we typically do? Well, this is what is typically done, put on the call light, wait, and hope someone answers it. Finally, how many of us have walked away from the bulky phone that is assigned to you by the charge nurse, which is too heavy for your pocket, can't find a place in your cart so it get left behind right at the nursing station where you got it. Then  you need to call a doctor, so we walk to the nursing station to page a provider. Okay, so maybe I exaggerated a little bit, but this has and can happen in any hospital setting.This is where technology comes in, in a form of a portable clip on phone called Vocera.With a centralized call system, anyone can answer the call lights but not everyone will do what is required by the patient. With the new call system, with a push of the button, the call light goes directly to the patient care providers; the nurse and the nursing assistance. At my work setting, this goes directly to an assigned Vocera phone that vibrate and lights up with the room number to alert you if you are not looking at the central call board or can not hear the call light going off. This is achieved by assigning all patients the nurse will be caring for on the phone beginning of the shift, and then you record your name and record "start shift" to activate it and "end shift"at the end of the shift. It's lite, and cute and effective communication tool. Vocera phones are the truth! For example, if a nurse finds themselves in an emergency situation alone with the patient and needs help, with the help of the Vocera, all he/she needs to do is speak her command and it shall be done. What this phone does is improve point of care right at the bedside. Typically, in an emergency situation, you need to put on your call light or walk away from the patient to call for help. Vocera phone enhance patient care, prevent delays, keep you at the side of the patient and save lives. All nurses and staff members can be assembled with just a simple command such as "call all nurses to room 44", "call hospitalist" "call pharmacy" and much more. These can be done hand free since the vocera is clipped on compared to the old fashioned wireless phones nurses don't carry around because of it weight. Vocera does not only prevent falls, or call providers, it also sends alerts such as increased heart rates about patients on telemonitors, or Massimo reading that is not satisfactory. This way the nurse can react in time, communicate effectively with all teams involved in the patient care, and prevent adverse effects. This is effective since it prevents delays in care, prevent falls that are due to toileting, prevent fatal injuries that can be costly to the organization.This way, people can be accountable for their patient and improve patient satisfactions and outcomes. This was done in a collaborative effort with the IT department by making sure the IT system can handle the traffic coming in with the patient technology experience. An extensive education was given to nurses and aides by the IT team and nurse educators.
 INFO GRAPHIC OF WORKFLOW

BENEFITS:  

Enhance Healthcare Services

 

Watch this video to see the technology story from both sides!

 

Keep up with evolving patient needs, compete with industry peers through access to vital information at the right time,  improve patient safety and improve patient outcomes WITH VOCERA. 

 

NOW THIS WILL SET OFF YOUR ALARMS!

REFERENCES

REDESIGNING WORKFLOW 

CLINICAL WORKFLOW 

IMPROVE WORKFLOW

NURSING LEADERSHIP, TECHNOLOGY, AND ETHICS

All healthcare workers and care takers can possibly confer a moral or limit infringement.

All Healthcare care givers can possibly be blamed for a moral or limit infringement 

All Infringements are PREVENTABLE

All these three statements are true! In healthcare, nursing leaders, front-line nurses, and the other interdisciplinary team work hard in pursuing excellence to adhere to standards that enhance the patient's experience by meeting ethical standards of behavior and values. These ethical standards and expectations are rooted and embedded in the value of the nursing code of ethics and principles of ethics. Dignity is identified with human rights, health, as well as emotional/mental well being. In health care practice in general, nurses need to advance great safe care and assume their moral liability to shield the patient’s nobility in caring situations with 

 Nonmaleficence: Nurses have to remain competent in their field to avoid causing suffering or injury to patients as well as a mandated reporter  

  Beneficence: As patient advocate protecting patients rights and doing what is right for them
Autonomy: Patients rights to what happens to them in their care

 Justice: By advocating for the poor and vulnerable, recognizing and affirming each individual's contributions and uniqueness, staying honest and ethical in all dealings such as informed consents, clients rights and respect, and maintaining an inclusive environment.
 Fidelity: With compassion, courteous, collaboration, resources allocated, empathy, tenderness and respect to the patient.
 The principal of total and integrity: Using technological advancements to provide the highest quality of care and service, meeting and exceeding the patients and families expectations with professionalism whiles maintaining confidentiality.

INNOVATIVE NURSING LEADER
 In every organization, there are Leaders. Nursing leaders are innovative leaders in healthcare also known as Quantum Leadership. In today;s fast paced business and every changing technological healthcare world, on the off chance that you are not developing, you are falling behind. Each healthcare organization today needs to accomplish more with less, achieve new clients, and utilize assets admirably. Regardless of whether you are building up a totally new amusement changing item or basically another procedure to spare cash, these are all developments. As a healthcare leader and pioneer, it is your duty as a leader to encourage development with the group to meet the constantly expanding objectives. That implies you should construct your authority abilities so you can give innovative tools to the team. All these have to be done by adhering to ethical standards by protecting and safeguarding patients privacy, and dignity,  valuing and protecting staff,  making sure that resources are utilized in a resourceful way to prevent waste and fraud and to establish trust and security in the community. All these roles of a nursing leader can be challenging, but nursing leaders use the innovative ways through technology and ethics to excel in delivering excellence to the patient and community as a whole. Innovative leaders

•    Explore how current technology trends are driving global growth

•    Leverage technology changes for a competitive advantage

•    Apply design thinking principles to better understand and shape customer behavior and patient satisfactions

•    Create a corporate culture that recognizes and rewards innovation

•    Build personal power and influence within their organization and

•     Drives results-Through coaching

 

 COMMUNICATION
Compelling correspondence is maybe the most critical nature of a Nursing leader. Ordinarily, there are numerous partners found in a solitary venture each having their own correspondence inclinations. For instance: while one needs to stay up with the latest every day by means of email, others lean toward making telephone calls. Now, it's your obligation to coordinate with all stakeholders, through the various communication styles. It is instructed to practice numerous types regarding correspondence as favored by the partners and every so often holds meeting too, as up close and personal meeting is the best type of correspondence to communicate goals and values to enable a team to work toward the goal and in the end success. Documentation is also important to bring clarity to everyone.

TIME/COST
 Cost management and effective cost estimation is another factor which has a broader impact on any project. A good leader needs to ensure that the cost invested in the project must not exceed the budget resulting in losses. To prevent such type of situation, costs involved in the project must be tracked and accounted time to time.

NEGOTIATING/NETWORKING AND REPORTING

Due to the advances such as EHR, leaders in healthcare have to be constantly collaborating and networking with other interdisciplinary teams to deliver quality and excellence to their patients. Reporting constantly both internal and external to improve and to measure organizational growth. Also, reporting to State and Federal can earn the organization rewards due to patients outcomes. As we can all see, it takes an extraordinary person with exceptional skills, with flexibility and adaptability for the betterment of result. But the skills does not just end here, there is much more ahead.

 WHY IS ETHICS IMPORTANT IN NURSING?

Morals are critical in nursing since it puts forward a progression of activities and choices that are to the greatest advantage of a patient and direct what must be finished. Morals guarantee that each individual is given the best level of consideration and care conceivable. It is an ethical compass that pushes attendants to regulate benefits reasonably and in an opportune manner. Nursing morals manage expects toward the correct choice in troublesome conditions. This incorporates cases wherein a man might be in terminal hazard or situations where the probability of misery or threat is high. Morales becomes an integral factor by giving a response to any ethical question to such an extent that it permits the person to continue with other employment undertakings and act in a way that conveys obligation, and trust. In nursing, ethics dictate the provider must oblige the desire of a patient and his family, regardless of the possibility that the nurse does not concur with these decisions. Nurses also must follow doctor's orders and administer care in a safe manner as well as alert the provider and protect the patient. These issues are all Ethical dilemmas of nurses and nursing leaders. This set me back to my undergraduate years where I told my ethics professor that I do not need ethics to be a nurse, and it is not important and does not understand the reason why I am being forced to take it. Boy,  was I wrong! You see, ethics plays a role in the daily delivery of patient care. Making the right choices and decisions to protect the patient as well as respecting the patients right. Fighting with your individual morals and that of the patients and respectfully agreeing to what the patient's desires are even if it is not the right choice.

ETHICAL DILEMMAS/TECHNOLOGY 
As a registered nurse, I have personally had to deal with the ethical dilemma. This dilemma was personal because it was my mother. As a cancer patient, she chooses to abort her routine treatments of chemotherapy and radiation. My initial thoughts were not what is ethical for her but what will be better for me. I want my mother to be here forever no matter how tired or painful her treatments were. I tried to intervene and stop her requests as her health care proxy, forgetting she can make her own decisions. But I had to step back as a professional and ask myself what I will do if the roles were reversed and that was one of my patients, what will I do?  Will I try to intervene on behalf of the patient or the family? Those were hard choices when it was personal. But I would like to know what will you do in this kind of situations? Would you continue with care knowing that the outcome is grave? Or will you just respect the wishes of your dying parent? I struggled with that I can honestly tell you, but in the end, she made the right decisions. Now, pretend you are the part of a team in the emergency department (ED), your patient have difficulty breathing and you know without incubating that patient they are not going to make it but the patient stated clearly that they do not want that kind of treatment, instead signed a paper against medical advice (AMA), and walked out of the emergency department only to drop dead on the floor right at the door steps of the emergency department. As a health care provider you are furious because that could have being prevented, but due to ethics your have to respects that patients rights. Now how about in that same scenarios, these family members want to live but the provider is new and does not know all their medical history. You have tried several times to get hold of your family members medical records but was told the printer is broken, or your have to pay money for each page of their health record to be printed, or worse, it will be mailed to you in a couple of days. You know they don't have a couple of days or hours to drive back and forth to get that medical record, and know they could have could have being saved if the provider caring for them have access to all their medical records instantly? Will technology help in this situation? Yes! We are all worried about how intrusive and how our privacy can be compromised when it comes to technology. But having access to care and data saves time, saves money, above all save lives. Technology helps with easy access to patient electronic health record (EHR). In the United States, both State and federal councils have officially settled tenets for telemedicine; however, it is still important to further this dialog to include the whole health care service area. Since there are numerous eHealth ventures being created in the United States, there is an earnest need to outline protocols and educational programs for all professionals involved especially nursing.The important ethical dilemma arises at the point of guideline implementation, relating to risk labeling and medicalization, as well as resource allocation and sustainability within the health care system. In spite of the fact that eHealth can give intriguing arrangement/solution, for example, a moment master feelings in topographically separated territories, an expansive number of moral and lawful issues must be considered. It is basic to talk about, among others, viewpoints identifying with advanced recording, stockpiling, and transmission of clinical information; copyright; approval from expert administrative bodies and authorizing for the remote routine of medicine. Now let us all be real if your family member or YOU need instant care, and technology can help, will you choose technology, or walk away? You be the Judge.

Nursing Leadership Challenges in Integrating New Technology

Balancing the Human Element with Technology

Balancing Cost and Benefits

Training a Technology Enabled Nursing Workforce and Assuring Ongoing Competency

Assuring that Technology Use is Ethical

Human services results including personal satisfaction measures are the aftereffect of a multifaceted relationship between the patient, the medical caretaker, the treatment and the data social insurance framework. A solid establishment for tending to the difficulties of electronic documentation is the informatics attendant's capacity to comprehend and coordinate adjustment of patient care with the innovation frameworks and hierarchical structure that backings this adjust. Keeping in mind the end goal to ensure a fruitful execution of technology systems while overseeing tolerant care it is essential to coordinate nursing ' observations, convictions, and learning in the utilization of new innovation and how nurture actualize this innovation into their everyday nursing practice. Finding the correct adjust of data science in conjunction with nursing science is a proceeding with the process that will depend on the groundbreaking and diligence of today's present day nurture and the support of nursing informatics experts.

NOW THIS IS AN EYE OPENER

REFERENCES 

Ethical Standards

Ethics
 Impact of Technology on Nursing 
Technology and patient care