Week 10: Policy Issues and Health Informatics within Nursing

Course Content and Class Discussions

With the rise in use of health technologies among the workplace, it’s important to consider the implication of policy. Nurses have a role as advocates to address the needs of their clients (individual, community, etc.) with regards to health policy.        

 

Ajami & Arab-Chadegani (2013) define EHRs as digitally stored healthcare information throughout an individual’s lifetime with the purpose of supporting continuity of care, education, and research p213. And with this amount of sensitive and important information available, it is important to consider policy making in order to provide holistic care for your client.

Koliner, & Flately-Brennan (2013) believe, “This is a unique and historic time for nurses to help shape public policy”, p.205. As nurses and advocates, we have the power to bring the voices of our patients to health policies related to health and information technologies, (Koliner, & Flately-Brennan, 2013) as well as healthy public policy.  

Koliner & Flately-Brennan introduce and idea of Meaningful Use and its standards, which shape the use of EHRs by encouraging patient engagement (2013). Something that many believe is an important asset in the success of EHRs and other health technologies.

            See the video: Texting That Saves Lives, below to see an example of how Nancy Lublin identified a significant issue and made a change through her role as an advocate!

             

Videos/Learning Tools

How Clinicians Can Help Shape Health Policies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0jZqMw4Ho8

 

Policy Writing Template

TedTalks: Texting That Saves Lives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiUClSItcy0

 

Nursing Implications

             As advocates, when building health and information technology policies, it’s important that we have the knowledge as nurses that we require in order to make the appropriate changes in the best interest of our clients. What types of things do we need to consider? As Pat Flately-Brennan discussed in her above video blog there are four important aspects when thinking of policy considerations:

1)      Recognition that EHR is just one aspect

2)      Sent in a trustable/secure way

3)      Must be practice permissive

4)      Have an expanded concept of confidentiality and privacy

If nurses are unaware of these policy considerations, or unaware in general of their roles as health policy advocates, then it is likely that they will not have the tools they require to act as proper advocates.

It’s also important that nurses take the time to work with their clients in order to identify what is important to them in accordance with a strengths-based approach. We as nurses cannot assume what is important to the client when building policy, just like we cannot assume what is important to them when it comes to their immediate health concerns.

Some literature states that nurses themselves are having a hard time adapting to the new EHR systems and often, many are reluctant to use it - this in itself poses as a huge implication! If the nurses aren’t ‘on board’ with the types of technologies that will one day be implemented fully, then how will they be able to communicate with the client his/her concerns for policy?

 

Readings and Additional References

Ajami, S., & Arab-Chadegani, R. (2013). Barriers to implement electronic health records (EHRs). Materia Socio Medica, 213-215

Bruhn, M., & Peterson, R. (2003). Policy development for improved security. Computer and Network Security in Higher Education.

Koliner, S., & Flatley Brennan, P. (2013). Advancing healthcare information technology through policy. Computers, Information, Nursing, 205-207.