Nursing informatics An evolving discipline

Nursing informatics in the 1960s Hospital Information Systems (HIS) were beginning to be used to process financial and billing transactions Application to nursing was not yet occurring Nurses began to question how information management technology could be utilised effectively in nursing care.

Nursing informatics in the 1960s The focus was on technology (technocentric view). –Critical questions were ‘Why computers?’ and ‘What should be computerised?’ –Studies were conducted to determine which aspects of nursing should be automated.

Nursing informatics in the 1970s Nurses began to recognise the value and potential of using information systems. Mainframe computers were introduced. These were still primarily used for financial and management functions. Some patient care systems emerged.

Nursing informatics in the 1980s Dr Marion Ball coined the phrase nursing informatics. Nursing Informatics became an accepted specialty. The discipline was defined by Scholes and Barber as ‘...the application of computer technology to all fields of nursing: nursing services, nurse education, and nursing research’. (1983:73) Nursing Information Systems (NIS) emerged to document several aspects of patient care.

Nursing informatics in the 1980s The discipline continued to evolve. This is reflected in changing definitions: –The use of information technology in relation to any of the functions which are within the purview of nursing and which are carried out by nurses. Hence, any use of information technology by nurses in relation to the care of patients, or the educational preparation of individuals to practice in the discipline is considered nursing informatics (Hannah, 1985:181). –A combination of computer science, information science, and nursing science designed to assist in the management and processing of nursing data, information, and knowledge to support the practice of nursing and the delivery of nursing care (Graves and Corcoran, 1989:227).

Nursing informatics in the 1990s Computers were beginning to be placed at the bedside. Local Area Networks (LAN) become a standard in hospitals. The Internet (WWW) began to be used in health care. Smart card technology began to emerge.

Nursing informatics in the 1990s The changing definition continued to reflect the evolving discipline: –use of information technologies in relation to those functions within the purview of nursing, and that are carried out by nurses when performing their duties. Therefore, any use of information technologies by nurses in relation to the care of their patients, the administration of health care facilities, or the educational preparation of individuals to practice the discipline is considered nursing informatics (ANA Council on Computer Applications in Nursing, 1992).

Nursing informatics in the 1990s Definitions became increasingly comprehensive: –The use of technology and/or a computer system to collect, store, process, display, retrieve, and communicate timely data and information in and across health care facilities designed to: Administer nursing services and resources Manage delivery of patient and nursing care including documentation and planning Link research resources & findings to nursing practice Apply educational resources to nursing education Administer nursing services and resources Manage delivery of patient and nursing care including documentation and planning Link research resources & findings to nursing practice Apply educational resources to nursing education (Saba and McCormick, 1997).

Nursing informatics in the 2000s The focus of health informatics includes: –Electronic health records –Standards and vocabularies –Security –Public health informatics –Consumer health informatics –Bioinformatics.

Nursing informatics in the 2000s The AMIA Nursing informatics working group defines the mission of nursing informatics in the twenty-first century as being: To promote the advancement of nursing informatics within the larger multidisciplinary context of health informatics. The organization and its members pursue this goal in many arenas: professional practice, education, research, governmental and other service, professional organizations, and industry. AMIA NI-WG, 2005

Reflect How does the changing definition reflect: –Changes in technology –Changes in the focus of nursing informatics –The expanding parameters of nursing informatics?

References American Medical Informatics Association Nursing Informatics Working Group (2005) American Nurses Association Council on Computers in Nursing. (1995). Report on the designation of nursing informatics as a specialty. Congress of Nursing Practice unpublished report. In Saba, V., McCormick, K. Essentials of Computers for Nursing. (2nd ed). New York: McGraw-Hill. Graves, J. R., & Corcoran, S. (1989). The study of nursing informatics. Image: The Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 21 (4), Hannah, K. (1985). Current trends in nursing informatics: Implications for curriculum planning. In K. J. Hannah, E. J. Guillemin & D. K. Conklin (Eds.). Nursing Uses of Computers and Information Science: Proceedings of the IFIP=IMIA international Symposium on Nursing Uses of Computers and Information Science, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 1-3 May Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier Science Publishing, Inc Saba, V. & McCormick, K. (1997). Summer Institute at U of MD - July 21st, 1997 Scholes, M. & Barber, B. (1980). Towards nursing informatics. In D. A. D. Lindberg & S. Kaihara (Eds.) MEDINFO: Amsterdam, Netherlands: North-Holland, 7-73