The hypothetical Scenario I used for my discussion is below.
Informatics in the healthcare setting is the process of developing technologies to process, save, acquire, and utilize patient data. This data could be from various sources within the healthcare family and could be used by all healthcare team members directly involved in the patient’s care (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2022). Among other examples, an excellent vital measure of the utilization of informatics in the healthcare industry is the use of progress notes through a patient’s electronic health record to pass information from one caregiver to the other to improve the quality of care of a patient. (Tribble, 2019).
As a nurse, having access to all patients’ medical information is very important. This ensures that all data is available and that the patients get all the care required to improve. The importance of progress notes cannot be overemphasized. In the med-surge unit where I work, after receiving a detailed report from the previous nurse at the beginning of the shift, I know very well to look up my patient by reading all the information about the patient, especially progress notes that were written by physicians, nurses and other members of the healthcare team, to enable a clearer picture of my patient’s condition.
Also, when receiving an admission or a transfer, as a nurse, I would look up my patients and read progress notes. One can easily fall back to progress notes if anything comes up and there’s a need to fill some gaps. Aside from a nurse, all healthcare team members utilize written progress notes for different purposes. Since the notes are entered electronically, there will not be a question of what time the notes were put in (Baumann, et al., 2018)
Furthermore, if the supervisor or management attempts to investigate a case regarding a patient’s demise or complaint and needs all evidence to reach a fair conclusion, retrieving notes put in by caregivers will be easy, and events can be easily traced in the patient’s records. In conclusion, one cannot dispute how much technology through informatics has improved patient care over the years. Hence, there is hope for more improvements in the future.
References
Baumann, L. A., Baker, J., & Elshaug, A. G. (2018). The impact of electronic health record systems on clinical documentation times: A systematic review. Health policy, 122(8), 827-836.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K.G. (2022). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (5th ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Tribble, C. G. (2019). Are You Making Yourself Clear? You Can’t Communicate, or Think, Effectively If You Can’t Write Clearly. In The Heart Surgery Forum (Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. E271-E276).
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