1. Role of Nursing Informatics in
Hospital Information system
Ms.Ansamma Neelakantan
Deputy Nursing Superintendent
AIIMS

2. Information technology
• Any technology which processes and communicates
data, includes: – computers, voice, data and image
sensing and communications devices, graphics devices,
multi- media storage, etc. – pen, paper, telephones and
fax machines

3. What is the significance of information
systems for health care?
– Information processing is an important quality factor,
but an enormous cost factor as well. It is also
becoming a productivity factor.
– Information processing should offer a holistic view of
the patient and of the hospital.
– A hospital information system can be regarded as the
memory and nervous system of a hospital

4. Information processing as a quality factor
 Decisions of health care professionals are based on vast
amounts of information about the patient's health state
 It is essential for the quality of patient care and for the
quality of hospital management to fulfill these
information needs. Information should be documented
adequately, available on time, and to be up-to-date and
valid which enable health care professionals to make
sound decisions This is also increasingly important for
the competitiveness of hospitals

5. Examples:
• When a patient is admitted to a hospital, a physician or
nurse first needs information about the reason for patient
admission and about the patient history. Later, she or he
needs results from services such as laboratory and
radiology which are some of the most frequent diagnostic
procedures
• Incorrect reports, e.g. lab report, may lead to erroneous
and even harmful treatment decisions
• Repeated examinations or lost findings have to be
searched for, the costs of health care may increase

6. Holistic view of the patient
Information processing in a hospital should offer a
comprehensive, holistic view of the patient and of the
hospital
This holistic view on the patient can reduce undesired
consequences of highly specialized care with various
departments and health care professionals involved in
patient care

7. Hospital information system as memory and
nervous system
A hospital information system might be regarded as
the memory and the nervous system of a hospital
A hospital information system, comprising the
information processing and storage in a hospital to a
certain extent can be compared to the information
processing of a human being
The hospital information system also receives,
transmits, processes, stores, and presents
information

8. Nursing Informatics
• 1989—Graves and Corcoran defined Nursing Informatics
as
– “Computer science, information science, and nursing
science combined 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.”

9. New Definition -- ANA
• “Nursing Informatics is a specialty that integrates
nursing science, computer science, and information
science to manage and communicate data, information,
and knowledge in nursing practice. Nursing informatics
facilitates the integration of data, information, and
knowledge to support patients, nurses, and other
providers in their decision-making in all roles and
settings. This support is accomplished through the use
of information structures, information processes, and
information technology.”
ANA (2001)p. 17

10. How it all began….
• Late 1960’s first computer systems were implemented in
hospitals
• Computer nurses began to appear in hospitals
– Excellent clinicians
– Technically curious and willing to try new things

11. The First Informatics Nurse?
• “In attempting to arrive at the truth, I have applied
everywhere for information, but scarcely an instance
have I been able to obtain hospital records for any
purposes of comparison. If they could be obtained, they
would enable us to decide many other questions besides
the one alluded to. They would show subscribers how
their money was spent, what amount of good was really
being done with it, or whether the money was not doing
mischief rather than good.”

12. American Nurses Association
• Recognized as a specialty in 1992
• Defined NI, outlined roles and responsibilities and
developed standards for practice.
• Certification for generalist

13. Who Should Become a Nurse Informaticist?
• You do not have to be a computer expert to consider a
career as a nurse informaticist. Everyone must start
somewhere. If you see the computer as a problem-solving
tool instead of an inconvenience, then you are a
prime candidate to be a nurse informaticist (Bridges,
2007)

14. Nursing Informatics
• Management and processing of nursing data,
information, and knowledge to support the practice of
nursing and the delivery of nursing care.
• Data-objective entry without interpretation
• Information- data that is interpreted ,organized, or
structured
• Knowledge- information that has been synthesized so
that interrelationships are identified and formalized.

15. Example
• Data= 9:00 am -100mg/dl, 4:00 pm 180mg/dl
• Information=
Time Glucose
9.00 am 100 mg/dl
4.00pm 180mg/dl
• Knowledge= My clients glucose level rises in the late
afternoon. His insulin dose needs to be adjusted

16. Use of Computers in Nursing Practice
• Bedside Data Entry (medication record etc)
• Computer-Based Patient Records
• Client Monitoring- Local and Distant
• Telenursing
• Practice Management
• (scheduling)

17. Use of Computers in Nursing Research
• Literature Search
• Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Research Dissemination

18. Use of Computers in Nursing Administration
• Human Resources
• Medical Records
• Quality Assurance
• Accreditation
• Budget and Finance

19. Issues Related to Computers in Nursing
• Legal/Ethical Issues
• privacy/confidentiality
• access to data for research and other purposes
• informed consent
• License issues with telenursing
• Copy right of materials on the Web

20. Impact of NI on hospital information system
• Progress in information and communication technology
(ICT) changes societies and affects the costs and quality
of information processing in health care
• Important progress due to improvements in modern ICT
can also be observed in information systems of health
care organizations.
• The role of computer-supported information systems,
together with clinical documentation and knowledge-based
decision support systems, can hardly be
overestimated in respect to the quality of health care, as
the volume of data available today is much greater than
it was a few years ago
•

21. Contd….
Due to the importance of information processing as a
quality and cost factor, an institution has to invest
systematically in its health information system
These investments concern both staff and tools for
information processing. They aim at increasing quality of
patient care and at reducing costs
Unsystematic information processing normally leads to a
low quality of health information systems, and the
information needs of the staff and departments cannot
be adequately satisfied

22. When health information systems are not systematically
managed, they tend to develop in a chaotic way
This has severe consequences: decreased data quality, and
higher costs, especially for tools and information processing
staff, not to mention aspects such as data protection and data
security violation
Insufficiently managed information systems can contribute to
breakdowns in established clinical workflows, to a reduced
efficiency of care, to user boycott, to decreased quality of
care and even endanger patient safety
To adequately process information and apply information and
communication technology, knowledge and skills for these
tasks are required

23. Ergonomics-
Most common injuries- muscle and eye
strain

24. Proper Posture

26. September 2014