Nursing Informatics Best Practices

Write 3–5 pages in which you describe a nursing informatics best practices policy for effective and safe data use in a nursing practice setting or organization.

Today’s health care professionals need to be accountable for the use of information systems that are repositories for copious amounts of protected health information (PHI).

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By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:

Competency 2: Identify strategies and best practices for using informatics in nursing and health care.
Describe the best practices needed to promote and support data security.
Describe the ethical standards needed to promote patient confidentiality.
Describe regulatory requirements that promote and support positive patient outcomes related to a specific population.
Describe the types of behaviors and skills nurse leaders need to guide the use of information technology and research for improved patient-care outcomes.
Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is consistent with expectations of a nursing professional.
Write coherently to support a central idea in appropriate format with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics.
Competency Map
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Questions to Consider
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.

How do nurses develop best practice?
How does research support best practice?
What are best practices in your organization that you think are exemplars for improving patient care?
What nursing roles should be in place to support the use of evidenced-based practice?
How would you describe the concept of meaningful use and technology adoption stages: electronic health records (EHR) incentive programs, and how does this fit within the context of best practice?
What are the main points to consider as you review The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and why is this best practice?
How does the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act (PSQIA) support patient safety and improved patient outcomes?
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Resources
Suggested Resources
The following optional resources are provided to support you in completing the assessment or to provide a helpful context. For additional resources, refer to the Research Resources and Supplemental Resources in the left navigation menu of your courseroom.

Capella Resources
APA Paper Template.
APA Paper Tutorial.
Capella Resources
Click the links provided to view the following resources:

Ethics and Evidence-Based Practice.
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Capella Multimedia
Click the links provided below to view the following multimedia pieces:

Ethical Scenarios in Research | Transcript.
Library Resources
The following e-books or articles from the Capella University Library are linked directly in this course:

Cashin, A., & Cook, R. (Eds.). (2010). Evidence-based practice in nursing informatics: Concepts and applications. Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Berner, E. S. (Ed.). (2014). Informatics education in healthcare: Lessons learned. London, UK: Springer.
Gerrish, K., & Lacey, A. (2013). Research process in nursing (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Andersson, L., Eriksson, I., & Nordgren, L. (2012). Living with heart failure without realising: A qualitative patient study. British Journal of Community Nursing, 17(12), 630–637.
Shulman, K. M. (2015). Joint statement: The role of the nurse leader in care coordination and transition management across the health care continuum. Nursing Economics, 33(5), 281–282.
Burbach, B. E., Barnason, S., & Hertzog, M. (2015). Preferred thinking style, symptom recognition, and response by nursing students during simulation. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 37(12), 1563–1580.
McGonigle, D., Hunter, K., Sipes, C., & Hebda, T. (2014). Why nurses need to understand nursing informatics [PDF]. AORN Journal, 100(3) 324–327.
Fencl, J. L. (2015). Guideline implementation: Local anesthesia. AORN Journal, 101(6), 682–692.
Furst, C. M., Finto, D., Malouf-Todaro, N., Moore, C., Orr, D., Santos, J., . . .Tipton, P. H. (2013). Changing times: Enhancing clinical practice through evolving technology. Medsurg Nursing, 22(2), 131–134.
Hoe, J., & Hoare, Z. (2012). Understanding quantitative research: Part 1. Nursing Standard, 27(15–17), 52–57.
Jansen, D. A., Jadack, R. A., Ayoola, A. B., Doornbos, M. M., Dunn, S. L., Moch, S. D., . . . Wegner, G. D. (2015). Embedding research in undergraduate learning opportunities. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 37(10), 1340–1358.
Lusardi, P. (2012). So you want to change practice: Recognizing practice issues and channeling those ideas. Critical Care Nurse, 32(2), 55–64.
Neher, M., Stahl, C., Ellstro, M. P., & Nilsen, P. (2014). Knowledge sources for evidence-based practice in rheumatology nursing. Clinical Nursing Research, 24(6), 661–679.
Schaffer, M. A., Anderson, L. J., & Rising, S. (2015). Public health interventions for school nursing practice. The Journal of School Nursing, 1–14.
Travers, J., Smaldone, A., & Cohn, E. G. (2015). Does state legislation improve nursing workforce diversity? Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 1–8.
Course Library Guide
A Capella University library guide has been created specifically for your use in this course. You are encouraged to refer to the resources in the BSN-FP4004 – Nursing Research and Informatics Library Guide to help direct your research.

Internet Resources
Access the following resources by clicking the links provided. Please note that URLs change frequently. Permissions for the following links have been either granted or deemed appropriate for educational use at the time of course publication.

QSEN Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://qsen.org/
The TIGER initiative. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thetigerinitiative.org/
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (n.d.). EPC evidence-based reports. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/evidence-based-reports/index.html
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/index.html
Darvish, A., Bahramnezhad, F., Keyhanian, S., & Navidhamidi, M. (2014). The role of nursing informatics on promoting quality of health care and the need for appropriate education. Global Journal of Health Science, 6(6), 11–18.
Lewenson, S. (2015). Overview and summary: Cornerstone documents in healthcare: Our history, our future. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 2. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-20-2015/No2-May-2015/OS-Cornerstone-Documents.html
Finnell, D. S., Thomas, E. L., Nehring, W. M., McLoughlin, K. A., & Bickford, C. J. (2015). Best practices for developing specialty nursing scope and standards of practice. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 20(2), Manuscript 1. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-20-2015/No2-May-2015/Best-Practices-for-Developing-Specialty-Scope-and-Standards.html
Bookstore Resources
The resources listed below are relevant to the topics and assessments in this course and are not required. Unless noted otherwise, these materials are available for purchase from the Capella University Bookstore. When searching the bookstore, be sure to look for the Course ID with the specific –FP (FlexPath) course designation.

Grove, S. K., Gray, J. R., & Burns, N. (2015). Understanding nursing research: Building an evidence-based practice (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.
Assessment Instructions
Imagine an organization asks you to contribute to the development of an information system best-practices policy to help maintain patient safety and patient confidentiality in their practice setting. The organization wants you to create a document to help the group better understand why an informatics policy is needed and the practices that should be included in the policy.

A nursing informatics best-practices document can serve multiple purposes, such as a handout for new-hire orientation or as a background report given to a committee tasked with creating or updating a nursing informatics best-practices policy.

Preparation

To expand your understanding of nursing informatics best practices within the industry, research the most current information about the topics of nursing best-practices documents and nursing informatics best practices.

Using the Capella library, the suggested resources, and other methods (Web search, for example), locate 4–6 scholarly articles related to best practices designed to support positive patient outcomes related to the following areas:

The meaning of secure data practices.
Ethical standards needed to promote and support data security.
Patient confidentiality.
Regulatory requirements.
Behaviors and skills nurse leaders need to guide the use of information technology and research for improved patient-care outcomes.
Directions

Create a description of a nursing informatics best-practices policy document designed to define and encourage effective and safe data use in a practice setting or organization.

Purpose Statement: Statement of why an organization would create the policy. Include any reasons and intent that supports the creation of an informatics best-practices policy.
Best Practices Definitions and Descriptions:
Definitions of secure practices, data security, and patient confidentiality.
Ethical standards.
Regulatory requirements.
Implementation:
Behaviors – describe the behaviors nurse leaders will need to demonstrate that will guide implementation of the policy.
Skills required – describe the skills needed to ensure policy adherence.
Format your document using the professional format and style (corporate identity) used in your organization or practice setting. Note: If you are not currently working in an organizational setting, follow the formatting instructions below.

Additional Requirements

Written communication: Ensure written communication is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
APA formatting: Format resources and citations according to current APA style and formatting guidelines.
Number of resources: Cite a minimum of four peer-reviewed resources.
Length: Submit 3–5 typed, double-spaced pages.
Font and font size: Use Times New Roman, 12 point.
Nursing Informatics Best Practices Scoring Guide
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ANSWER

Nursing Informatics Best Practices

Purpose Statement

Nursing informatics is greatly growing within the healthcare industry. It is basically described as the combination of nursing practices and information technology by avoiding a lot paper work like it is in the traditional nursing practice. By implementing such a system, patient data will be secured and the provision of quality healthcare to patients will be guaranteed (Yen, Phillips, Kennedy & Collins, 2017). Every organization has to come up with a best practice policy document as it provides standards for the daily activities in regards to the safety of the patient data. It also helps provide clarity on issues that could be critical in the healthcare facility. The policy document also provides the guidelines for practice nurses to ensure they follow the ethical and legal practices to promote the safety of a patient.

Best Practices

Secure data practices involve the use of technological mechanisms as a way of ensuring that patient information is kept secure. Promoting data integrity (accuracy, consistency, and reliability) is one the best practices that an organization should invest in because most treatment procedures rely on electronic health records. The approach requires healthcare practitioners to comply with the set regulations on data privacy, confidentiality, and availability (Ghosemajumder, 2017). Data validation is also another best practice of maintain data security and quality in a hospital setting. This involves setting procedures to ensure appropriate authorization in handling and accessing health records. Other best practices involve information governance, record correction, authorship validity, and patient identification among others.

For clinicians and nurses, documentation is a very important practice in ensuring that quality patient care is guaranteed. The privacy and security of patient information helps in building trust which is essential in healthcare. This idea is important since patient data is sensitive and have to be protected against theft, disclosure, or improper use. The data have to be in the hands of authorized personnel only.

The organization has to use evidence-based practices that can guarantee patient data security and provision of quality healthcare services. Such practices include ensuring that healthcare is accessible to all citizens without discrimination, creating a positive patient experience, ensuring that patients are given quality patient care among other quality care practices (Yen et al., 2017). Therefore, data security refers to the means that can be used to control the access of patient information by unauthorized persons who may have malicious intent.

However, data integrity and security may not be possible if the organization uses manual data entry methods. In this case, there is high possibility of making errors and documenting inaccurate data, regardless of staff training. In addition, ignorance of some patients and healthcare practitioners poses threat to heath records (Ghosemajumder, 2017). Clueless users may be tempted to share their login credentials with unscrupulous individuals who may steal, adjust, or amend stored data for their interest. Lack of regular data audit and failure to ensure employees access data based on their roles and responsibility also pose threats to data integrity and confidentiality.

Ethical Standards Needed to Promote Patient Confidentiality The first ethical standard concerns access to sensitive information. Data privacy can always be breached if multiple access is allowed. Therefore, it is unethical for any healthcare facility to provide permission for access to patient data to unauthorized persons. The healthcare facility should be accountable for data loss or breach if the mess resulted from healthcare practitioners’ negligence. The hospital management has to define roles and responsibilities of each employee and should provide limited access to private and sensitive data (Epstein & Turner, 2015). For instance, nurses should have access to data that help them prevent illnesses, treat health conditions, and manage physical needs of the patient while doctors should have access to data that help them to diagnose, care for and treat patients.  This approach promotes…