Nursing and medicine are the leaders in healthcare concerning the study and application of informatics to practice, but all healthcare disciplines are realizing the need to manage and process the vast amounts of information needed to guide their practices. The term “medical informatics,” coined in the mid-1970s, borrows from the French expression informatique médicale. It describes “those collected informational technologies which concern themselves with the patient care, medical, decision-making process” Experts use the term “health informatics,” which he defines as the use of information technology with information management concepts and methods to support the delivery of healthcare. Mandil’s definition encompasses medical, nursing, dental, and pharmacy informatics, as well as all other healthcare disciplines. His definition of health informatics focuses attention on the recipient of care rather than on the discipline of the caregiver.
Each allied health discipline has distinct, discrete information needs based on the scientific basis and practice of that profession. Accordingly, each discipline has particular information requirements and may structure its information processes differently, but the basis of informatics is the same in all disciplines. In the broadest sense, informatics for healthcare professionals is the management and processing of information to support decision making in practice. It encompasses all information needs related to a healthcare practice. Information systems do not have to be electronic, but electronic systems certainly increase accessibility, accuracy, and efficiency. Informatics supports all areas of practice, including education, administration, and research; it also facilitates and guides the management of data.
GOAL OF INFORMATICS
The goal of informatics is to:
• Inform healthcare providers
• Expand knowledge
• Deliver efficient, well-managed care or services
The study of informatics improves the effectiveness of data assimilation, interpretation, and representation so that healthcare professionals can make informed decisions. It is no longer an elective that is “nice to know” but a necessity in today’s competitive and rapidly changing healthcare delivery system.
FUTURE OF INFORMATICS
Healthcare organizations from acute care to outpatient care to home care are automating. These organizations need knowledgeable practitioners to investigate, implement, and use automation to support their practice. In the future, practitioners will be hired not so much for their knowledge of skills as for their ability to handle information to make decisions that produce favorable, cost-efficient results.
No comments:
Post a Comment