Nursing informatics key role in patient care as it is practiced today

Discution post one

Nursing informatics plays a key role in patient care as it is practiced today. Nursing informatics can be defined as a subcategory strictly catered

to the field of nursing and how information is processed to provide better patient care (Sweeney, 2017). The struggle between health care

facilities, psychiatric facilities, and outpatient services has struggled to meet the demands of collating its information and interactively

communicating it to its full capabilities. Even further, looking at the psychiatric patient who is managed in outpatient clinics, who then require

emergency inpatient services, communication of psychiatric diagnosis and medications, may benefit from a better operating system (Shields et al.,

2020).

When a patient is brought into the acute behavioral health setting there is oftentimes an inability to communicate current psychiatric

medications and diagnosis. An operating system that would allow acute setting providers the opportunity to see current medications and

behavioral health history, as prescribed from outpatient clinics would create better care for the patient in many ways. To date, some systems will

aid in the support of such nursing informatics but are not utilized to their full potential at alarming percentages (Adler-Milstein et al., 2020).

Knowledge and information that can be accessed is an accurate account of medications and mental health information that will lead to a less

traumatic and quicker stabilization of the patient’s mental health status while creating safer environments for not only the patients themselves

but the staff at the facilities caring for the individuals.

Nurse leaders can advocate and inspire their facilities to engage in the exchange of information with outpatient clinics by using references, data

and clinical studies showing information shared create better patient outcomes. By utilizing shared or easily accessed behavioral health electronic

medical records (EMR), specific evidence-based best practices, acquired through data analysis can be used and stabilization of the acutely ill

patient can be achieved, contributing ethical worth at the clinical and organizational level (Riahi et al., 2017).

Nursing informatics is beneficial and crucial for the profession whether it be direct patient care, management, research, or organizational

institutions. The more known and data gathered, quality care can be given to the individual and better outcomes can be achieved.