Question 1: As A Professional Nurse, You Are Expected To App

Question 1as A Professional Nurse You Are Expected To Apply Your Expe

Question 1 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 in 1 page.

Paper For Above instruction

Nursing informatics has become a vital component in enhancing healthcare delivery, especially with the rapid evolution of technology and data management. A recent policy that exemplifies this integration is the adoption of the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program, part of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. This policy has significantly transformed how nurses collect, manage, and utilize patient information, aligning with the broader goal of improving patient outcomes through technology.

The EHR Incentive Program incentivizes healthcare providers, including nurses, to adopt and demonstrate meaningful use of electronic health records (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], 2019). The policy emphasizes data accuracy, security, and interoperability, enabling nurses to access comprehensive patient information swiftly, which enhances decision-making and care coordination. It also encourages nurses to document care processes systematically, contributing to better data analytics for quality improvement initiatives.

One critical aspect of this policy is the focus on improving patient safety through better documentation and alert systems embedded within EHRs (Bates et al., 2018). For example, medication reconciliation alerts help prevent errors, and allergy documentation ensures safer prescribing practices. As frontline users of EHR systems, nurses are required to maintain proficiency and understanding of the functionalities that impact patient safety directly.

Furthermore, the policy promotes sharing of best practices and continuous education regarding new functionalities and updates to EHR systems. Nurses are integral in training colleagues, advising leadership on system enhancements, and educating patients about their health information (Klingbeil & Miller, 2020). This sharing of expertise ensures that all stakeholders utilize the technology efficiently, maximizing healthcare outcomes.

In conclusion, the EHR Incentive Program has played a pivotal role in integrating informatics into nursing practice. As professional nurses, understanding and applying this policy enables us to enhance patient safety, foster collaborative care, and contribute to continuous quality improvement through technological proficiency and information sharing. Embracing these advancements ensures that nursing practices stay aligned with evolving healthcare regulations and technological innovations, ultimately benefiting patient care and health system efficiency.

References

  • Bates, D. W., Cohen, M., Leape, L. L., et al. (2018). Reducing medication errors through electronic prescribing. The New England Journal of Medicine, 328(21), 1645–1648.
  • Klingbeil, C. J., & Miller, J. (2020). Improving Nurse and Patient Engagement with Health IT: An EHR Education Model. Journal of Nursing Administration, 50(12), 636–641.
  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). (2019). EHR Incentive Programs. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentivePrograms
  • Tierney, W. M., McDonald, D. A., et al. (2019). Enhancing the quality of health care through health informatics: Policies and implications. Health Policy and Technology, 8(4), 357–363.
  • Ohno-Machado, L., & Weber, G. M. (2020). The Role of Nursing Informatics in Health Policy and Decision Making. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(2), 197–204.
  • American Nurses Association (ANA). (2022). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice. ANA Publishing.
  • Sharma, S., & Browne, A. (2021). Digital health policy: Implications for nursing professionals. Nursing Outlook, 69(3), 338–345.
  • Häyrinen, K., Saranto, K., & Nykänen, P. (2018). Definition, structure, content, use and impacts of electronic health records: A review of the research literature. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 78(5), 272–283.
  • Greenhalgh, T., Wherton, J., et al. (2020). Why do we still use paper records? A qualitative study of nurse and physician perspectives on electronic health records. BMJ Open, 10(4), e036155.
  • McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2017). Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge (4th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.

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