Healthcare Informatics response

You are required to reply to 2 classmates’ threads, identifying at least 1 strength and 1 weakness in each classmate’s reasoning. Each reply must be at least 450 words. Each thread and reply must include at least 1 biblical integration and 2 peer-reviewed source citations in current APA format in addition to the textbooks. APA format please!

Discussion board #1 Gibson et al. defined health informatics (HI) "as the discipline concerned with the study and pursuit of effective uses of information, often aided by the use of technology, to improve health care delivery as well as individual and population health outcomes" (Gibson, 2015).  It is often used synonymously and erroneously with other terms such as biomedical informatics (BMI), clinical informatics, and public health informatics.  BMI covers HI, clinical informatics, as well as public health informatics.  Factors drive BMI to improve human health.  Clinical informatics is utilizing health information and technology to provide health services, specifically clinical care.  Public health informatics uses health information to improve population health in the prevention of disease and health promotion.  In contrast, HI, uses these technologies to share health data and information to improve data sharing, thus improving coordination of care.  Professionals such as medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dental utilize HI for efficient and accurate data sharing. 

The development of health informatics can be traced back to the 1950s with the beginning uses of computers in healthcare.  This early period in the history of informatics extended into the 1960s and was characterized by experimenting with this new technology in medicine and nursing education.  Health informatics began as a specialty within healthcare and has evolved over the years as medical professionals have started to apply technology in the computer and information sciences to complex healthcare problems (Nelson, 2020). Computer and information science bring health informatics the technology, software, and procedures to develop and process data, information, and knowledge (Gibson, 2015). The health professions provide the knowledge to use computer and information science in delivering healthcare.  Professional associations such as the American Medical Association (AMA) began to develop educational training programs in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The 1980s was a critical period for advancements in health informatics.  Of specific note, the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Nursing Informatics group was established in 1981 and continues to operate today.   Nursing Informatics is the "science and practice (that) integrates nursing, its information, and knowledge, with information and communication technologies to promote the health of people, families, and communities worldwide." (adapted from IMIA Special Interest Group on Nursing Informatics 2009) (Nursing Informatics, 2020).

An example of some of the earlier work surrounding HI began with a nursing student Connie Settlemeyer at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing in the 1960s.  Ms. Settlemeyer designed a program to teach nursing students how to write patient care notes using Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan, and Evaluation (SOAPE) (Nelson, 2020).  Also, during this time, the article "Reasoning Foundations of Medical Diagnosis" written by Dr. Robert Ledley and Lee Lusted was published in 1959 in the Science journal.  The article discusses a computer-based approach to medical diagnosis.  The purpose of the article was to analyze and understand the human reasoning processes involved in making a medical diagnosis and then incorporate that process to utilize computers in aiding in the medical diagnosis process (Ledley, 1959).     To determine whether computers can assist in the medical diagnosis process.  The use of computers resulted in a list of possible diagnoses based on the provider's medical knowledge and the patient's symptoms. They were showing that computers can assist in determining specific complex disease processes. 

Technology has recently transformed the healthcare setting by introducing e-health records (EHR) (Gibson, 2015).  The use of EHR has doubled over the last decade.  The increased usage of EHR has also resulted in a spike in professionals to support the growth.  Electronic health records help improve patient care, improve public health, ease workflow, and lower costs.  Continued technological developments are necessary for health informatics to continue improving healthcare resulting in improved patient quality of care. 

 References:

1.  Gibson, C. J., Dixon, B. E., & Abrams, K. (2015). Convergent evolution of health information management and health informatics: a perspective on the future of information professionals in health care. Applied clinical informatics, 6(1), 163–184.  https://doi.org/10.4338/ACI-2014-09-RA-0077  .

2. Nelson, R., (2021) Introduction: The Evolution of Health Informatics.  Chapter 1.  https://cmapspublic2.ihmc.us/rid=1P0PK76XZ-1PYH3Y6-2767/Nelson%20and%20Staggers%20-%202013%20-%20Health%20informatics%20An%20interprofessional%20approach.pdf .  Accessed on 21 Jan 2021. 

3. Ledley, R. & Lusted, L.  (1959).  Reasoning Foundations of Medical Diagnosis:  symbolic logic, probability, and value theory aid our understanding of how physicians reason.  Science, vol 130, number 3366.   https://www.cs.tufts.edu/comp/150AIH/pdf/LedleyLu59.pdf . 

4. Nursing Informatics Working Group. (n.d.).  Retrieved from

https://www.amia.org/programs/working-groups/nursing-informatics#:~:text=Nursing%20Informatics%20is%20the%20"science%20and%20practice%20%28that%29,IMIA%20Special%20Interest%20Group%20on%20Nursing%20Informatics%202009%29.  Accessed on 21 Jan 2021.

Discussion board #2 The health care industry has gone through immense change over the past several centuries. Physicians now have educational requirements thanks to the American Medical Association, licensure approvals, established accreditation processes for acute facilities, and Medicare and Medicaid have been implemented. These monumental occasions in healthcare all share a common theme, the desire to put processes in place to support high quality care.

It is no secret healthcare in the 21st century looks different than the past largely due to the incorporation and advancement of technology. Every aspect of healthcare integrates an element of technology from patient records, billing, bi- directional provider communication, workflow templates, quality indicators, and patient portals. Technology too, shares the common theme of supporting quality care. I have not been in a healthcare environment that hasn’t been dominated by the many offerings of technology. It seems quite antiquated to think of the days pre- electronic medical records which really opened the gates to health informatics in the care delivery system.

In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act provided incentive payments and support for EHR adoption and their “Meaningful Use”( Shanholtzer & Ozanich,2016). The large adoption of electronic health records across the country has created a new pivotal sector in the healthcare workforce. Planning, training, and go live support are all required for a smooth implementation. Once implemented there is on-going necessary technical support for maintenance and enhancement. According to Shanholtzer & Ozanich (2016), healthcare is a mission-critical business and any failure on technology can have serious consequences. This concept emphasizes the need to have appropriate support to limit potential patient disruption. The adoption of electronic medical records has not only bolstered job growth but also empowered patients to take a more active role by having direct access to their own health records. Patients even have the ability to communicate with care teams through secure web-based portals.

With the use of technology comes an absorbent amount of data. The world is estimated to produce more than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day (Fridsma, 2018). Working with an Accountable Care organization, we have access to an influx of data that can help determine where we may have gaps in care and how to best focus our educational efforts.  With so much data available, an important component is to be able to make it actionable and impactful.

Now more than ever, health care organizations are relying on health informatics through the use of telehealth and virtual visits to stay connected with patients during COVID. Telehealth is not  just centered around primary care and specialty providers doing assessmenst but also keeping families connected when while visitation schedules are reduced.  Studies have found quality of telehealth visits may be comparable to those traditional face to face office visits, with the additional benefit of superior access to care (Polinksi et al., 2016).  Other resources such as remote patient monitoring where teams can track data daily and make necessary care plan recommendations.

Looking into the future, I can’t wait to see what will become the next big new technological advancement for healthcare.  God Reminds us through 1 Peter 4:10, "we each have a gift and should use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s grace". Technology has been a gift shared with us that creates so many possibilities if we channel them to serve and support one another.

References

Fridsma, D.B. (2018).Health Informatics: A required skill for 21st clinicians. British Medical Journal. BMJ, 362.

 

Polinksi et al. (2016). Patients satisfaction with and Preference for Telehealth Visits. Journal of Internal Medicine, 31 (3).

 

Shanholtzer.M.B, & Ozanich, Gary (2016). Health Information Management and Technology. McGraw Hill.

 

Shi, L., & Singh, D. A. (2015). Delivering health care in America: A systems approach (Sixth edition). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning