One of the main reasons why I chose nursing as my career path was
due to the many career opportunities having a nursing degree could
lead to. Having transitioned from a hospital-based setting to an
ambulatory setting, the immediate change I noticed was in the
documentation system through the electronic medical record (EMR).
Some of the roles of a floor nurse include in person assessments,
passing medications and placing IVs, among other things. The role of
an ambulatory nurse however is much different. Most ambulatory
nurses triage calls which require us to assess the patient over the
phone and determine the most appropriate course of action to take.
Do we provide home care measures or have them evaluated? If the
patient needs evaluation we must determine how quickly and where
the evaluation needs to take place (emergency room, office visit or
urgent care). The changes in these two nursing settings alone require
two different documentation and access needs. An ambulatory nurse
won’t require access to the medication dispensing system nor will
they need the in-person documentation flowsheet. Alternatively, the
floor nurse won’t need access to the triage protocols an ambulatory
nurse requires to perform their daily duties. Understanding the
variety of roles and functions each team member plays within the
healthcare system will greatly affect the access they require within a
patient’s chart.
Being knowledgeable on the different roles and functions team
members hold is crucial when managing health information. For
healthcare systems to continue to provide quality healthcare they
must seek qualified and credentialed persons to manage health
information using technology. To do this, healthcare systems require
health information managers. “Health information managers are
considered specialists in handling patient health information and
medical records, administering computer information systems, and
coding diagnoses and procedures for health care services to patients”
(Bowie, 2019, pg. 45). In other words, health information managers
truly understand the complexities of healthcare settings across
departments and weaves together the clinical, operational, and
administrative factors. This understanding helps to ensure an
organization’s health data will be managed efficiently and with quality
care. But I want to exercise a note of caution here. The flow of in
information is for the efficiency purposes so that we will have more
time to address the needs of the patient. We must be careful not
create a seven-story mountain of “process” shining in all its dubious
unimportance. It reminds me of story my father once told me. God
and the Devil are walking down the street and they come upon a
shiny coin and God picks it up and says, “Ah, Truth” and the Devil
says, “Here give it to me, let me organize it.” a We must never forget
our patients needs take the lead in all we do.
References
Bowie, M.J. (2019). Essentials of health information management
principles & practices (4th edition). Cengage Learning, Inc.
