The Nursing Informatics Workforce
To mark my first anniversary as a Nursing Economic$ columnist, I would like to revisit the nursing informatics (NI) workforce, since so much has happened in the last year related to health information technology and the implementation of electronic health records. In my inaugural column, I described NI as a well-established specialty within nursing, provided background on the birth and evolution of NI, and explored the NI scope of practice and certification (Murphy, 2010). But I did not elaborate on the unparalleled potential of NI and the NI workforce as we move into the era of practice transformation enabled by health information technology (HIT). There is no question nursing informatics has evolved into an integral part of health care delivery and a differentiating factor in the selection, implementation, and evaluation of health IT that supports safe, high-quality, patient-centric care. So, let's explore the why's and how's of that statement, and take a closer look at the NI profession's reality and potential in this age of meaningful use.
First, we will look at the NI workforce as a whole by examining select results from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 2011 Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey (HIMSS, 2011). In this survey, data were collected to gain a better understanding of the background of informatics nurses, the issues they address daily, and the tools they use in their jobs. Data from the 2011 survey were also compared to similar surveys done previously (HIMSS, 2004; HIMSS, 2007), in order to gain insights into how the NI profession and roles have changed over the years.
Next we will examine the up-and-coming role of the chief nursing informatics officer (CNIO) and look at how this function augments the informatics nurse and the chief nursing officer (CNO)/chief nursing executive (CNE) position, and adds benefit to the organization. Finally, we will discuss how the nursing informatics workforce is uniquely positioned to help with the federal incentives for clinician adoption of electronic health records spelled out in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and its Health Information Technology Act component.
Abstract and Introduction
Introduction
To mark my first anniversary as a Nursing Economic$ columnist, I would like to revisit the nursing informatics (NI) workforce, since so much has happened in the last year related to health information technology and the implementation of electronic health records. In my inaugural column, I described NI as a well-established specialty within nursing, provided background on the birth and evolution of NI, and explored the NI scope of practice and certification (Murphy, 2010). But I did not elaborate on the unparalleled potential of NI and the NI workforce as we move into the era of practice transformation enabled by health information technology (HIT). There is no question nursing informatics has evolved into an integral part of health care delivery and a differentiating factor in the selection, implementation, and evaluation of health IT that supports safe, high-quality, patient-centric care. So, let's explore the why's and how's of that statement, and take a closer look at the NI profession's reality and potential in this age of meaningful use.
First, we will look at the NI workforce as a whole by examining select results from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 2011 Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey (HIMSS, 2011). In this survey, data were collected to gain a better understanding of the background of informatics nurses, the issues they address daily, and the tools they use in their jobs. Data from the 2011 survey were also compared to similar surveys done previously (HIMSS, 2004; HIMSS, 2007), in order to gain insights into how the NI profession and roles have changed over the years.
Next we will examine the up-and-coming role of the chief nursing informatics officer (CNIO) and look at how this function augments the informatics nurse and the chief nursing officer (CNO)/chief nursing executive (CNE) position, and adds benefit to the organization. Finally, we will discuss how the nursing informatics workforce is uniquely positioned to help with the federal incentives for clinician adoption of electronic health records spelled out in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and its Health Information Technology Act component.