Implementing Change

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nurse leaders will have an opportunity to expand their understanding of the issues and importance surrounding IT system interoperability and health data exchanges includ- ing quality and patient safety, meaningful use, the TIGER Initiative (Technology Infor - matics Guid ing Educational Reform), and the HITECH Act (Health IT for Economic and Clinical Health). The column will provide a place where nurse leaders can discover the

latest information about health IT implementation issues such as electronic health records, decision sup- port, standardized vocabularies, and evidence-based practice in automated care planning and documenta- tion. Technology is only a means to an end and it can also contribute to nursing’s and health care’s strategic goal of safe and cost-effective patient-centered care. As technologies leverage and improve the workplace by providing data about the impact of nursing care, nurse leaders are able translate, synthesize, interpret, and manage the data into measurable outcomes.

Nursing Informatics and Patient-Center Care We are on the edge of moving beyond the elec-

tronic health record to a dynamic, clinically intelli- gent system that can provide the nurse and other pro- fessionals with useable, evidence-based data at the point of care. There are many informed decisions that managers, chief nursing officers, and others in part- nership with staff nurses need to make as we move into the new world of stimulus dollars. The implica- tions of these decisions are of great financial and patient care concern now and in the long term. Nurse leaders need to be present at the tables where clinical IT is discussed and be key players in the decision making. However, that requires competency in the world of IT. Hence, this column was conceived as an endeavor to provide some of the information needed to build and maintain these skills for the nursing leader. “Meaningful use,” interoperability, and health data exchanges are examples of topics stimulated by the HITECH Act that need the attention of clinical nursing leadership.

O NCE AGAIN, NURSING Economic$ is keeping its eyes on the horizon of contemporary nurs-

ing practice and is pleased to announce a new column enti- tled “Nursing Informatics (see page 204).” The decision to launch an information technology column was an easy one, and builds on an information systems and technology column previous- ly featured in the journal. As nurse leaders, we recognize health care is our business and, as such, we must respond seamlessly to clinical changes in the patient- centered care that will be created, supported, and enabled by technology. Therefore, to ensure our read- ership of nurse executives, managers, and faculty stay informed and knowledgeable about health infor- mation technology (IT) and the essential informatics competencies required to function within the patient-care environment, we asked Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, vice president - information services, Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WI; a HIMSS Board Member; and a member of the federal HIT Standards Committee to lead and manage the column’s content.

Why Nurse Leaders Need to Stay Informed It is our belief the use of IT to improve the efficien-

cy, safety, and quality of health care delivery combined with the unique role of nursing warrants our undivid- ed attention. Nursing leaders have a dual responsibili- ty to develop systems in the world of IT to first, enable safer patient care and second, to support the work of managers and leaders by leveraging IT. Competency in clinical IT is an essential foundational tool for the lead- ership practice of managers and leaders and will become more important in the future as we develop more sophisticated clinical IT. This inaugural column of nursing informatics will act as a formidable reminder on how nursing informatics as a specialty (American Nurses Association, 2008), including the development of scope of practice, competencies, and certification has been invaluable to the nation’s health IT dialogue and nursing’s presence on federal IT boards and com- missions (American Nurses Credential ing Center, n.d.). By including nursing informatics as a featured column,

Editorial

Nursing Informatics: Why Nurse Leaders Need to Stay Informed

Donna M. Nickitas, PhD, RN, CNAA, BC; Karlene Kerfoot, PhD, RN, CNAA, FAAN

Donna M. Nickitas Editor

Karlene Kerfoot Editorial Board Member

continued on page 158

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Timing Is Everything! Ever since the passage of the Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,

nurse leaders have come to recognize the promise made by President Obama when he committed federal funding of $19 billion in incentives allocated towards “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs) in hospitals and ambulatory settings beginning in 2011 and ensuring that all medical records will be digitized by 2014. This commitment towards computerized health records will help avoid dangerous mistakes, reduce costs, and improve quality. The EHR helps connect and align patient-cen- tered care into information that is distilled and used for good decision making towards improving quality and patient safety. We believe that launching the “Nursing Informatics” column will keep you connected and informed about meaningful, timely IT information for sound clinical decision making. We hope you believe so too. $

REFERENCES American Nurses Association. (2008). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of prac-

tice. Silver Spring, MD: Nursebooks.org. American Nurses Credentialing Center (n.d.). Nursing informatics certification. Retrieved

from http://www.nursecredentialing.org/NurseSpecialties/Informatics.aspx

Editorial continued from page 141

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