The Significance of Informatics in Nursing and Healthcare Practice

This essay critically analyzes the significance of informatics in enhancing the quality of care, supporting effective decision-making, and reducing operational costs within nursing and healthcare settings. It highlights how nurses leverage information, particularly through electronic health records (EHRs), to assess patient needs, develop care plans, and manage resources effectively. The study emphasizes the role of informatics in fostering timely sharing of patient information and reducing healthcare disparities while presenting cost-effective avenues for medical research. The essay references key studies and legislation, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to underscore the investment in health information technologies and their impact on service quality and cost reduction. In conclusion, the study reinforces the essential role of informatics in modern healthcare practice.

Running head: IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATICS IN NURSING AND HEALTHCARE 1
Importance of Informatics in Nursing and Healthcare
Name
Institution

IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATICS IN NURSING AND HEALTHCARE 2
Importance of Informatics in Nursing and Healthcare
Information plays a significant role in facilitating effective decision making and delivery
of high quality services in healthcare and nursing practice. According to McGonigle and
Mastrian (2018), nurses make use of information in the processes of evaluating the healthcare
requirements of their clients, advancing the required care plans and fostering proper analysis of
staffing, budgets and reports. Glassman (2017) define health informatics as the combination of
technology, people, information, science and processes with the aim of supporting healthcare
professionals, clients and patients in their decision making endeavors. The current study seeks to
undertake a critical analysis of the significances of informatics in improving quality, fostering
effective decision making and minimizing the costs of operation in nursing and healthcare.
Informatics is of great essence in nursing. According to McGonigle and Mastrian (2018),
practicing nurses can take advantage of the novelties presented by informatics such as electronic
health records (EHRs) to foster positive interactions with the health care system. Lin, Hsu and
Yang (2017) reveal that by adopting EHRs, members of the nursing profession are presented
with ample opportunities of instilling effective decision making procedures. EHRs avail nurses
with progress notes, imaging and consultation record s as well as test results that guide in
decision making procedures. On the other hand, Glassman (2017) reveals that nursing
informatics could be used to initiate operational procedures that are aimed at promoting the
processes of generating, managing and processing applicable professional data to facilitate the
initiatives of generating knowledge.
Informatics plays an effective role in fostering the improvement of healthcare quality and
reducing operational costs. Lin et al. (2017) reveal that the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (2009) obliges the federal government to invest over $25 billion as a way of

IMPORTANCE OF INFORMATICS IN NURSING AND HEALTHCARE 3
fostering proper development of health information technologies as a technique of enhancing the
quality of services delivered by these systems while minimizing their costs of operation. For
instance, McGonigle and Mastrian (2018) reveal that informatics enhances the quality of
healthcare by initiating effective frameworks aimed at fostering on-time sharing of patient
information among the patient-authorized systems and caregivers. According to Glassman
(2017), informatics minimizes healthcare costs by presenting proper alternatives of reducing
disparities while availing cheaper avenues of undertaking medical research.
In conclusion, the study sought to undertake a critical analysis of the significances of
informatics in improving quality, fostering effective decision making and minimizing the costs
of operation in nursing and healthcare settings. Nurses use information in the evaluating the
healthcare requirements of their clients, advancing the required care plans and fostering proper
analysis of staffing, budgets and reports. Further, informatics enhances the quality of healthcare
by initiating effective frameworks aimed at fostering on-time sharing of patient information
among the patient-authorized systems and caregivers.

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References
Glassman, K. (2017). Using data in nursing practice. American Nurse Today, 12(11), 45-47
Lin, H. C., Hsu, M. H., & Yang, C. W. (2014). The influences of computer system success and
informatics competencies on organizational impact in nursing environments. CIN:
Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 32(2), 90-99.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (Eds.). (2018). Nursing informatics and the foundation of
knowledge. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.