Health Care Informatics Implication for Advanced Practice Nursing Essay

Health Care Informatics Implication for Advanced Practice Nursing - Essay Example Typically, the foundation of a CIS is the electronic medical record or computerized patient record, which is a digital record of the care delivery episode. Building on this electronic record, a comprehensive clinical information system also incorporates computerized order entry and results reporting, as well as integration with information systems in the laboratory, radiology and other diagnostic services, and the pharmacy. A CIS frequently also includes elements of expert systems that perform quality functions such as alerting physicians to potential drug interactions or dose errors. The CIS also provides for data collection and analysis for administrative and quality processes. All nurses have a role in informatics because nurses are primarily responsible for maintaining patients' records and helping doctors and their supervisors by providing relative information about the patients under their care. That is why nurses must embrace the clinical information system to facilitate and improve patients' healthcare related issues. Most of the time nurses practice informatics without prerequisite education. However, it is the need of time that all nurses must be fully aware of the healthcare informatics and well conversant with the use of computers software and equipments so they put their full potencies to facilitate timely delivery of healthcare to the much needing patients under their direct supervision. ... r this may be the lack of understanding on the part of nurses about how they can utilize information technology to improve the patient care services and how they can save time and generate vitally useful information in shortest time span. Nursing Informatics Nursing informatics is composed of theory and skills and it is a combination of nursing science, information science, and computers in which a nurse stands in the forefront duly supported by informatics and computers (Figure 1). According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), nursing informatics is "a specialty that integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, and knowledge in nursing practice . . . to support patients, nurses, and other providers in their decision-making . . . using information structures, information processes and information technology" (ANA, 2001, p. 46). FIGURE 1: The relationship of information technology, computer science and nursing. The main purpose of nursing informatics is to improve the health of individuals, families, and communities. This can be done by optimizing the management and communication of information to enhance the availability of patients' medical history and medicine records, promptly responding to any emergency and utilizing information system to deliver in time service to the healthcare management and patients. In this direction, computers can be used to manage and communicate data, information, and knowledge. It is very important that nurses are able to interpret data, utilize the information generated through the collection of data and put their knowledge to make the data meaningful and helpful for timely decision-making process which would enhance the healthcare services. The

Is Biomedical Model out of Date Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is Biomedical Model out of Date - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  the main focus of this model is on the pathology, the biochemistry and the physiology of a disease. The role of the person's mind or society in the cause and treatment of the disease is discarded in this model. The main reason behind the birth of this model was the influence of Cartesian paradigm on medical thought. This model is considered as the conceptual foundation to the modern medicine. There is a growing perception, however, that the biomedical model cannot fully reflect the broad realities of modern health care.This discussion highlights that disease is considered to be malfunctioning of certain part in the body. It is based on 'the notion of the body as a machine, of disease as the consequence of breakdown of the machine, and of the doctor's task as repair of the machine.' This approach has a serious shortcoming because by focusing on smaller parts of the body we lose the sight of patient as a human being. Also by considering health as pro per functioning of organs we are unable to deal with the phenomenon of healing as it is not only based on physical factors but on psychological factors of the human body.  The concept of health and the concept of life are closely related. Around the globe people follow different cultures and life styles.  They are adapted to different environment and slight change in the environment may lead to change in their health.... So here the ecological dimension is also considered while considering the concept of health. This contradicts the bio medical model. In the biomedical model, health is defined as the absence of disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as 'a dynamic state of complete physical, mental, spiritual and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity'. This clearly shows that the biomedical model fails to address the social and psychological issues and thus can be considered to be outdated. The new era of medical science witnessed tremendous advancement in technology and physicians succeeded in knowing human body deeper and deeper. In spite of much advancement physicians are failing to deal with the unique self of their patients. The medical profession, which is mainly based on reductionistic biomedical model of human being, has left no room for the social, psychological and behavioral dimensions of illness. Due to this patients are unable to communicate their exact problem to the physician and are responding only with a spate of malpractice suits. This clearly shows that by following the outdated biomedical model physicians were failing to treat their patients well. There has been difficulty in assessing the relation between medicine and health as most health statistics use the narrow biomedical concept of health which defines it as the absence of disease. The correct approach is to consider the health of the individual and also health of the society .this should include mental illness and social pathologies. This clearly shows that the biomedical model can only contribute to the elimination of certain diseases but cannot guarantee complete restoration of health. Holistic view of illness tells that