Utilizing Technology to Provide Effective Patient Care: A Nursing Informatics Approach

Sir, Nurses are at the forefront of this effort to assist individuals of all ages in achieving health restoration, and nursing informatics can assist them in achieving this goal. Nursing informatics is a subfield of nursing that protects and disseminates data, knowledge, and wisdom in nursing practice by merging nursing science and information and analytical sciences. Nursing informatics aims to employ information science and technology to support patient-centered care, improve nursing practice, and advance health-care delivery. It contributes significantly to the ever-changing health-care landscape using data and technology to improve patient outcomes and the health-care experience. This short communication explores how nurses can use technology to provide better patient care. BACKGROUND TO NURSING INFORMATICS In the era of digital transformation, technology plays a key role in optimizing health-care procedures, and nursing informatics is no exception. Nursing informatics is the intersection of nursing, computer science, and information technology.1 It focuses on the use of data, information, and technology to support nursing practice, enhance patient care, and inform health-care decision-making. Integrating information technology into nursing practices decreases the duration allocated to patient care paperwork, enabling nurses to allocate more time to providing exceptional patient care. The objective of nursing informatics is to facilitate the transformation of patient data into knowledge and wisdom to better the patient's condition. Nursing informatics focuses on three key issues: computer skills, informatics knowledge, and informatics skills application.2 Nurses must be taught and knowledgeable in nursing informatics to exhibit safe and effective nursing practice. Nurses play a significant role in patient care and performance improvement in the health-care system. EVOLUTION OF NURSING INFORMATICS Nursing informatics originated in the 1960s with the introduction of Hospital Information Systems to meet patients' documentation requirements. In the 1970s, interactive terminals with visual displays led to the placement of computers at nursing stations. In the 1980s, microcomputers were designed for nursing tasks and used extensively in hospital operations.3 In the 1990s, the American Nurses Association defined nursing informatics practice and introduced certification as a specialized area. In the 2000s, nursing concepts merged with international reference terminology standards, leading to the formation of the Alliance of Nursing Informatics and Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform.4 Evidence from literature shows that health-care experts, policymakers, payers, health consumers, and other members of health-care team are adopting technology into regular practice at a remarkable rate,5 because informatics systems improve processes, reduce errors, and boost efficiency in nursing practices. BENEFIT OF NURSING INFORMATICS TO NURSING PRACTICES Nursing informatics is crucial for delivering safe and effective patient care because it combines nursing science with information and analytical sciences to manage and transmit data.6 Health information technology (HIT) plays a crucial role in administration and nursing care services, by helping nurses perform specific tasks using optimal health IT approaches and software solutions. It enhances documentation, reduces time spent on patient care, and allows for easier access to previously hidden information.7 It also promotes patient participation, empowerment, satisfaction, and results by delivering tailored care plans, monitoring progress, educating patients, promoting self-management, and enabling social support networks.8 Technology assists in avoiding or identifying mistakes in medicine delivery, diagnosis, treatment, or record keeping.9 The discovery that medical mistakes in hospitals are one of the main causes of mortality has produced worrying reverberations throughout the health-care sector.10 Consequently, studies demonstrate that when adverse medication events occur in the hospital environment, they increase the patient's duration of stay by an average of 4–6 days. Automated dispensing cabinets are electronic drug cabinets that store medicine at the point of treatment with controlled dispensing and monitoring of medication distribution.11 This technology prevents medication mistakes by electronically confirming the "5 rights" of medicine administration – right patient, right dosage, right drug, right time, right route – at the patient's bedside. Electronic health records (EHRs) may give accurate and timely information on patients' illnesses and drugs. Technology may assist in expediting workflow operations and enhance resource usage. Nurses employ a broad variety of HIT, including EHRs, computerized prescriber order entry, and barcode medication administration as part of their regular duties. The use of information technology in the workplace decreases time spent documenting patient care, and more time is spent offering excellent care to patients.12 Mobile devices and software may allow nurses to access patient information anytime and anywhere. Technology can help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health-care delivery by reducing waste or duplication. EHRs can reduce the need for paper-based records or physical visits. Technology can also enable cost-effective interventions such as remote monitoring or home-based care.13 CONCLUSION Nursing informatics is crucial in modern health care, enabling safer, more efficient, and patient-focused care. As technology advances, nurses must incorporate informatics into their routines to enhance patient care and position themselves as leaders in the rapidly evolving health-care sector. We, therefore, advise nurses to acquire informatics training and advocate for curricular changes that incorporate informatics in nursing training in Nigeria. Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.