A brief look back to another industry (retail) lets the healthcare industry see into its future and beyond. Think about how much technology we use in our everyday life without even realizing it. Cell phones, laptops, our automobiles, email, facebook, online bill paying and the list continues on and on.

Remember back to when the retail stores particularly the grocery stores computerized.  Bar scans came about and replaced the price tag on items. The public was outraged because no one knew what the price of an item was anymore. The public had to learn to read the store shelf pricing. Many times when you got to the checkout lane the price was different than what you thought. There was a lot of frustration for not only the clerks performing the tasks, but the public as well. We watched every item ring (scan) because the public did not trust the computers.

Time has gone on and now this is just normal business. Sadly enough the healthcare industry is in the transition phase of total computerization as the retailers were many years ago. As healthcare continues to take the computer path the future will be ubiquitous health (McGongle & Mastrain). Right now we are in the growing pains of health care informatics, which like the retailers is very frustrating for health care staff and the patients.

Millions of dollars are being made available by state and local governments to facilitate informatics into the healthcare industry. Health IT is efficient and cost effective so this transition must take place (Nursezone-Devices & Technology). As we continue to move forward ease and speed will move healthcare to our fingertips. Centralized monitoring is already at a hospital near you wherever you are. Physicians in the near future will have all your medical information  available from their remote laptop or PDA. Lab monitored draws will become as easy as blood glucose monitors are now and in the privacy of your home. Colonoscopies may become as easy as swallowing a computer chip capsule. Telemedicine will expand into home health care reaching many patients that now struggle to receive healthcare. Medical monitoring devices will become smaller and more precise.

There is no way to completely see into the future of healthcare informatics, but the future looks very bright. We are just in the infancy and already see many things advancing.

McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2009). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge (pp. 405-409). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

http://www.nursezone.com/Nursing-News-Events/devices-and-technology/Reform-or-No-Reform-The-Future-of-Health-Information-Technology_33526.aspx

Nursing Informatics Specialist- Nurses In The Know

The nursing informatic specialist is a fairly new and exciting career  that combines clinical nursing practice with computer technology. Nursing informatic specialist have been around since the 1970’s, but not until the past four years have they become the backbone to linking traditional nurses with computerized healthcare (RN 2009). It was not until very recent that I was introduced to this profession and all that it could offer to nurses wanting to pursue nursing in a different capacity.  Nursing informatic specialist are nurses that have either received on the job training with certification in informatics or more recently pursued a master’s degree in informatics (University of Maryland). The focus of the Nursing informatic specialist is bridging the gap between nursing and technology.

As healthcare has changed with technology advances new careers have also developed. The Nursing informatic specialist is an advancing nursing career that utilizes clinical experience, organizational skills and informatics knowledge. Responsibilities include marketing, research, education, data entry, program and software analysis (Biohealthmatics 2006).

The phrase “healthcare informatics” is new to my vocabulary and mindset. Recently, I have been exposed to the informatics of healthcare and in my desire to learn more. I choose to research the  clinical informatics nurse specialist because I found it an intriguing career with an exciting future.

The selection strategy  used in validating my research was based on whether the websites contained authors, URL, dates of publish, and subject content. Regarding authors I reviewed that they had expertise in the field of study and that the sponsor of the page was reputable. Evaluation of the URL was to ensure it was not a personal page and what type of organization it came from. I was seeking articles that contained dates of publish that were with in the past four years. This is current information and I wanted the latest that was available. As for subject content, I wanted career information about nurse informatic specialists so I focused on articles that provided such information.

Nursing Schools.net

Nursing Informatics

http://www.nursingschools.net/nursing-informatics.htm

This site breaks down the career, the educational requirements and certifications that are available for nurse informatic specialist. Potential salaries are mentioned.

Cleveland Clinic Nursing Institute

Nursing Informatics- Nursing Past, Present and Future

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/nursing/informatics.aspx

This article gives a detailed description of nursing informatics from its conception to where it is headed in the near future. Nursing is uplifted in this article as to what clinical nurses can offer to the advancement of technology within the healthcare system.

University of Maryland School of Nursing

Careers in Nursing Informatics

http://nursing.umaryland.edu/print/informatics-careers

This site is for nurses interested in pursuing a career in nursing informatics.

A detailed description of the various types of organizations that are currently seeking nurse informatic specialists.

Biohealthmatics.com

Nursing Informatics Specialist-Career Overview

http://www.biohealthmatics.com/careers/PID00317.aspx

An overview of what the nurse informatic specialist position encompasses. Career requirements, job outlook, the career track and compensation.

RN

Informatics: The future of nursing

www.rnwebcom/ehr

This articles focus is on the link of clinical nursing to technology and the development of the clinical nurse informatic specialist career. Results from a survey done by Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS) is detailed providing information as to the future prospects in nurse informatic specialist degrees and training.

AACN Clinical Issues

Nursing Informatics: The Key to Unlocking Contemporary Nursing Practice

http://www.Ovid_online@ovid.com

An in depth article about nurse informatics. Areas of practice that are currently utilizing nurse informatic specialist and the future of this profession.

Why is this form of technology so important we ask? Healthcare is a field of profession where no mistakes are allowed or in reality we do everything in our power to reduce. Healthcare Informatics has greatly impacted the safety of medicine. With computerized charting alerts, and improved communication amongst departments errors have been significantly reduced. Computerized charting is not speedier in the beginning but when you look at the examples given earlier regarding what we now have access to at our doctors appointment you begin to see the light.

The use of Healthcare Informatics has transformed the way hospitals and physician offices do business. Paper has been reduced. Employees have had to step up to the plate and become computer savvy. Communication between all health care staff involved in direct patient care has been streamlined.  Standards of care have been established to provide better quality of care for the patient. These are just a few of the many reasons Healthcare Informatics are so important to the delivery of care to the patient.

So with the patient in mind the question now becomes who owns the electronic health record? There is no concise answer because there are a lot of hands in this pie. We have to go back to the beginning and say well, there would not be a record if it were not for the patient. With this thought in mind it is fair to say the patient probably holds the strongest ownership. The EHR also is very private information about the patient so therefor ownership is granted.  The health care provider has some ownership in the EHR as it is their medical decisions about the patient that are contained with in this file. The health care provider is legally responsible for outcomes and treatment decisions with in the EHR. The insurance companies, government and the health care system all have a limited ownership based on the fact they are monetarily driven.

Alexa Martin RN, ASN