Nursing Informatics Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

As a professional nurse, you are expected to apply your expertise to patient care. On occasion, you will also be expected to share that expertise.

With evolving technology and continuous changes to regulations designed to keep up these changes, there is usually a need to share information and expertise to inform colleagues, leadership, patients, and other stakeholders.

In this Assignment, you will study a recent nursing informatics-related healthcare policy, and you will share the relevant details via a fact sheet designed to inform and educate.

To Prepare:

Review the Resources on healthcare policy and regulatory/legislative topics related to health and nursing informatics.
Consider the role of the nurse informaticist in relation to a healthcare organization’s compliance with various policies and regulations, such as the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA).
Research and select one health or nursing informatics policy (within the past 5 years) or regulation for further study.

The Assignment: (1 page)

Create a 1-page fact sheet that your healthcare organization could hypothetically use to explain the health or nursing informatics policy/regulation you selected. Your fact sheet should address the following:

Briefly and generally explain the policy or regulation you selected.
Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on system implementation.
Address the impact of the policy or regulation you selected on clinical care, patient/provider interactions, and workflow.
Highlight organizational policies and procedures that are/will be in place at your healthcare organization to address the policy or regulation you selected. Be specific.

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Nursing Informatics Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

Introduction

Nursing informatics is an emerging field that takes the knowledge and skills of nurses to a new level. Nursing informatics involves the application of information technology (IT) to nursing practice, education and research. It aims to improve patient safety, enhance care delivery and increase efficiency in health-care systems by using computer technologies such as electronic health records (EHRs) and Internet-connected devices for collecting, exchanging and analyzing data related to the health status of patients or caregivers.

Introduction

NACO is a non-profit organization comprised of nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing informatics specialists. The membership includes both active and retired nursing professionals; CNAs and CNSs as well as other health care professionals who work in the area of healthcare technology.

NACO’s focus is on providing high quality education, research and practice information services to members through its various programs including:

A Certified Nurse Informatics Specialist (CNS) certification program for nurses who want to specialize in this field of study;
An Annual Conference held each fall where attendees can meet with experts from across Canada;
Professional development opportunities for members through courses offered during their annual conference or through distance learning modules available online at no cost.

Purpose of this Fact Sheet

The purpose of this Fact Sheet is to provide a brief overview of nursing informatics policy and regulation in Canada, the role of the Canadian Nursing Informatics Professional Organization (CNI) in nursing informatics policy development and implementation in Canada, and to answer some common questions related to nursing informatics.

Scope and Definitions

Nursing informatics is an emerging discipline that applies information technology and statistical tools to improve nursing practice. The term “informatics” can be used to describe both the science of using computers to gather, store, and analyze data efficiently as well as computer systems used by health care professionals (e.g., patient records) or patients themselves (e.g., personal digital assistants).

Nursing informatics policy refers primarily to regulations or policies that govern nurses’ use of electronic health records systems within hospitals or clinics; these include licensing requirements for staff members who work with electronic health records systems on a regular basis; security measures related specifically or indirectly with any type(s) of sensitive information contained within such systems; privacy protection guidelines established by state laws governing how healthcare providers may collect personal data about their patients during clinical encounters (e.g., identifying information about them); disclosure requirements when transferring patient information across different providers’ electronic systems so that no one person has access alone without proper authorization from another person responsible for managing all aspects related thereto.”

History of nursing informatics

Nursing informatics is a field that has been around for some time, but it’s only recently become an integral part of nursing practice. The term “informatics” refers to the use of information technology (IT) in healthcare delivery. It can be used in many ways: from gathering data from patients or caregivers so they can be analyzed at a later date, all the way through to helping with decisions about treatment plans and care settings.

The role of nursing informatics is not just limited to gathering data; it also involves providing care based on this information by using IT tools like charts/applications (e.g., electronic health records [EHRs]) or social media platforms such as Facebook groups or Twitter feeds where nurses share their experiences with other nurses around them so they may learn from each other’s successes/failures when delivering services under real-time conditions where there may not necessarily always be time enough left over after completing one task before starting another one immediately afterwards!

Nursing informatics policy framework development and implementation in Canada

Nursing Informatics Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet

The following policies and regulations are in effect in Canada as of January 1, 2017:

National Policy Framework (NPH) – The NPH is a government- mandated document that outlines the goals and objectives of nursing informatics. It includes provisions for the development of nursing informatics standards, guidelines and best practices.
Provincial Policy Framework (PFP) – Each province has its own policy framework which provides guidance on how they will implement this national initiative. For example, British Columbia’s PFP focuses specifically on standards development while Manitoba’s PFP focuses more broadly on education & workforce development initiatives related to digital technology use within healthcare institutions.* Local Policy Framework – Local healthcare providers may establish their own local policy frameworks depending upon their unique needs & circumstances

Recent developments in the United States of America (U.S.), Australia and New Zealand

In the United States, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has issued a statement outlining their expectations for the nursing informatics policy framework. The NCSBN expects that all states will have an interdisciplinary committee responsible for developing a statewide policy for the use of information technology in clinical practice. The committee should include nurses, physicians and other health care professionals who represent all disciplines involved in patient care.

In Australia, The Australian Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) published a position statement on how nursing informatics can be incorporated into your practice. This includes collaborating with other members of your team such as physicians or pharmacists if needed; using evidence-based practices; sharing information across disciplines; implementing policies related to ethics, privacy and confidentiality

Role of the Canadian Nursing Informatics Professional Organization (CNI) in nursing informatics policy development and implementation in Canada

The Canadian Nursing Informatics Professional Organization (CNI) is a professional organization that promotes the development, implementation and use of nursing informatics in Canada.

CNI has a mandate to promote the development, implementation and use of nursing informatics in Canada by:

Providing information about CNI to nurses and health care professionals through its website; newsletters; meetings; social media channels; etc.;
Making recommendations regarding standards for practice and research as they relate to health care delivery systems where appropriate, including those related to nursing informatics or other specialties that may be relevant such as telemedicine or telehealth technology – this includes providing input into standard setting processes such as ISO/IEC 17000 which governs interoperability between information systems used within organizations throughout their lifecycle including those related specifically for use within institutions like hospitals/clinics etc.;

NACO’s role in nursing informatics policy development and implementation in Canada

Nursing Informatics Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet (PDF)

NACO’s mandate is to promote excellence in nursing practice by advocating for increased knowledge, education and research; promoting continuous quality improvement; developing guidelines for practice based on evidence; examining health systems across Canada; mobilizing resources for national initiatives. NACO believes that all Canadians benefit when there is an effective health system that provides high-quality care for all Canadians. To achieve this vision, it collaborates with member organizations on a wide range of activities including:

Developing policies and guidelines for nursing practice based on evidence-based research;
Promoting scientific approaches to improve patient safety;
Supporting nurses at all stages of their careers towards professional excellence through educational opportunities such as postgraduate training programs, workshops & conferences etc.;

Conclusion

In conclusion, NACO is committed to the development of nursing informatics policy and regulation in Canada. This commitment includes:

supporting research and policy efforts; 2) providing information to our members; 3) participating in advocacy forums on behalf of Canadians who use health informatics; 4) supporting other organizations with similar interests; 5) promoting nursing informatics growth across Canada’s health care system by working with provincial partners, advocates groups and others involved with the field of nursing informatics.

Nursing Worker

Nursing Informatics Policy/Regulation Fact Sheet