Samples / NURS FPX 4045 / Assessment 1
Nursing Informatics in Health Care
NURS FPX 4045 · Assessment 1
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Health care delivery, documentation and evaluation have all changed rapidly thanks to innovations in health information technology. As organizations continue to implement electronic health records (EHRs), mobile health applications or patient portals, the requirement for clinically-trained personnel who can act as a bridge between technology and patients has never been greater. This solicit is intended to demonstrate the need for an additional nurse informaticist position within our organization with the main responsibility of improving consumer education through digital means (Nashwan et al., 2025).
Nursing Informatics and the Nurse Informaticist
Nursing informatics combines nursing science with computer science and information management systems for managing and exchanging data, information, knowledge, and wisdom in practice. The American Nurses Association (2022) states, "Nursing Informatics is the science and practice of integrating nursing information and knowledge management using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve the health of people, families, and communities around the world." Nursing Informatics is key to converting raw clinical data into actionable information that supports evidence-based decision-making in clinical practice, health care organizations, and health policy development.
The nurse informaticist serves as the crucial link between clinical nursing practice and the complex, multi-layered field of health and health information technology in regards to the design and implementation of digital systems that effectively cover and support the provision of quality patient care. Nurse informaticists are knowledgeable with both the clinical and information systems process, and utilize this knowledge to support safe, effective, and patient-centered healthcare delivery through utilizing data-driven approaches to problem solving and decision-making. Virginia Saba is one well-known and highly respected pioneer in this field of healthcare informatics. She developed the Clinical Care Classification System (CCCS), the first standardized nursing language developed for use in documenting and measuring nursing care in various clinical settings, and has provided ongoing contributions to developing a foundation for data-driven nursing practice that has significantly shaped current practice within the discipline of nursing informatics (Shi et al., 2025).
Nurse Informaticists and Other Health Care Organizations
Major healthcare providers in the U.S. have found great success in incorporating nurse informaticists into their operational and clinical groups. Examples of institutions utilizing nurse informaticists include Mayo Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and Cleveland Clinic, with nurse informaticists leading efforts on implementing patient education platforms, increasing utilization of portals, and ensuring that the digital health content provided to patients is evidence-based, available to all, and culturally appropriate. Support for these findings has been provided by research conducted by Watson (2024), which found that organizations using nurse informaticists as dedicated resources have successfully implemented technology and fewer workflow interruptions during the rollout of digital platforms.
In these organisations, nurse informaticists work together with an extensive and varied interdisciplinary team that includes bedside nurses, physicians, pharmacists, social workers, health educators and information technology professionals. In the specific setting of digital patient education, nurse informaticists collaborate with content developers to create interactive and multimedia educational materials; work with IT teams to ensure platform security and accessibility; and involve frontline nurses in the adoption of new technologies through focused educational and training initiatives. The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (2023), states that nurse informaticists that actively collaborate with interdisciplinary teams are significantly more successful in producing technology-related advancements in patient education and care coordination, than those working independently.
Justification for a Nurse Informaticist Role
We need to create a nursing informatics position, as the need for better patient education through improved clinical care is documented by research studies with measurable outcomes. It has been shown in numerous studies that very few patients leave medical offices knowing or fully understanding their diagnosis, medications, and how to manage their disease. While patients can use a patient portal and mobile health apps to get more personalized patient education at any time, it takes a clinician with experience in developing educational content and leading the selection of potential applications to guide the delivery of this information and follow up on how well patients are utilizing these tools (Zareshahi et al., 2022).
There's also an excellent financial argument for this position. Guo et al. (2024) found that investing in health information technology will lead to significant cost savings when that investment is directed by clinically sound individuals who can understand how the clinical workflow and the capabilities of the system work. For example, organizations that utilize nurse informaticists to manage their digital patient-education programs have seen reductions in preventable readmissions, less cost associated with in-person education, and an increase in reimbursement rates for delivery of patient-engagement/contentment under value-based payment models. Thus, the establishment of this role is a strategic investment that will provide our organisation with both- clinical and financial returns.
Impact of Full Nurse Engagement in Health Care Technology
Patient Care
There is a direct relationship between nurses’ level of engagement with technology (and digital patient education) and the impact on the quality and safety of care received by patients. Nurses’ involvement in the design and delivery of digital education tools results in patients receiving clinically accurate information, educational content targeting their unique health conditions, and providing information in a format which encourages understanding and engagement (e.g., using mobile apps, computer applications, or portals that include interactive media such as videos on how to take medications or manage conditions). Research has shown that patients with chronic disease who utilize mobile applications and patient portals that feature interactive media (videos, tracking symptoms, taking medications) have improved adherence to treatment plans and improved competence in managing their own health (Harerimana et al., 2021).
Protected Health Information: Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality
Digital platforms are being widely used as a resource for patient education; therefore, it is the duty of nurse informaticists to ensure compliance with all applicable Federal standards when using these platforms to protect patients’ health information. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has very specific regulations concerning the privacy, security, and confidentiality of protected health information. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act complements HIPAA by enhancing protections around electronic health records (EHRs) and electronic communications. Strategies that can be implemented by nurse informaticists and the interdisciplinary team based on the evidence include: implementing role-based access controls to limit the amount of exposure to data; implementing end-to-end encryption of all patient facing digital communications; conducting regular security risk assessments; and providing mandatory privacy training to all employees who are interacting with digital education platforms.
Workflow
The successful integration of Digital Patient Education (DPE) tools into a clinical workflow, guided by a nurse informaticist, will improve the efficiencies achieved by front-line nurses while also decreasing the load on front-line nursing staff. Automating the delivery of education content specific to a patient's condition will allow nurses to have fewer repetitive verbal education instructions freeing up their time and efforts to concentrate on complex, hands-on patient care situations. The nurse informaticist will collaborate with Nursing Leadership and IT teams in mapping the current education workflow and to identify inefficiencies and process redesign so that DPE tools enhance and do not complicate the current workflows (Chipps, et al, 2022).
Costs and Return on Investment
Current evidence supports the financial return on investing in a nurse informaticist position that focuses on digital patient education, and thus aligns with our organization's cost-reduction goals. Digital patient education platforms will substantially reduce costs associated with printing, distributing, and updating paper-based patient education materials (formerly in-person education sessions used staff time and physical resources). According to data collected by Shen et al. (2025), clinical professionals guiding health IT investments consistently produce a positive financial return on investment due to measurable improvements in patient outcomes, staff efficiency, and compliance to regulations. Thus, adding the nurse informaticist to our team is a financially responsible decision.
Opportunities and Challenges
Our organisation has an opportunity to leverage a newly introduced nurse informaticist role focused on the provision of digital education to improve patient engagement and optimise health outcomes. With an increased focus on patient-centred care, we are able to provide patients with ongoing education and support to manage chronic diseases through digital solutions that enable them to engage with healthcare services at home and throughout their daily lives. There are a number of challenges that may hinder our ability to implement this transition successfully including the resistance from nursing staff who may not feel prepared to engage with new technologies, patients’ unequal access to digital devices and internet connectivity, and the ongoing need for continual training/support of technical assistance for the purpose of sustaining the successful adoption of these types of technologies (Batran et al., 2022).
Summary of Recommendations
The recommended first step is to implement this new role as a full-time clinical position within our Nursing leadership team, where accountability for all digital patient education projects will be defined, from development, implementation, to evaluation. The second step is to give the nurse informaticist the authority to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration among the nursing, medical, pharmacy, IT, and administrative teams regarding the safety, effectiveness, and operational integration of digital tools (Yu et al., 2023). The third recommendation is to have our organization invest in best practices for privacy and security, based on HIPAA, HITECH, and national informatics standards to protect the privacy of all patients' health information when utilizing digital formats.
Conclusion
The leader must understand their role to not be a supporting function only but a strategic clinical investment that will yield measurable returns, including, but not limited to; improved patient outcomes, decreased hospital readmissions, increased staff productivity, and improved performance on value-based care metrics. There is no doubt that a nurse informatics specialist focused on providing digital education to patients will help carry out the mission of all healthcare organizations and improve the quality of care for the patients we serve.
References
American Nurses Association. (2022). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.). ANA. https://www.nursingworld.org/nurses-books/nursing-informatics-scope-and-standards-of-practi/?srsltid=AfmBOornVyT5yMPu97AykJN4T0x1P5PIR9PfAuFxXxc-r7vUnbbOqRjd
Batran, A., Al-Humran, S. M., Malak, M. Z., & Ayed, A. (2022). The relationship between nursing informatics competency and clinical decision-making among nurses in West Bank, Palestine. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 40(8). https://doi.org/10.1097/cin.0000000000000890
Chipps, J., le Roux, L., Agabus, J., & Bimerew, M. (2022). Nursing informatics skills relevance and competence for final year nursing students. Curationis, 45(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/curationis.v45i1.2277
Guo, J., Liu, J., Liu, C., Wang, Y., Xu, X., & Chen, Y. (2024). Nursing informatics competency and its associated factors among palliative care nurses: An online survey in mainland China. BMC Nursing, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01803-5
Harerimana, A., Wicking, K., Biedermann, N., & Yates, K. (2021). Nursing informatics in undergraduate nursing education in Australia before COVID-19: A scoping review. Collegian, 29(4), 527–539. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2021.11.004
Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. (2023). HIMSS nursing informatics workforce survey. https://www.himss.org/resources/himss-nursing-informatics-workforce-survey
Nashwan, A. J., Cabrega, J. A., Othman, M. I., Khedr, M. A., Osman, Y. M., El‐Ashry, A. M., Naif, R., & Mousa, A. A. (2025). The evolving role of nursing informatics in the era of artificial intelligence. International Nursing Review, 72(1), e13084. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.13084
Office for Civil Rights. (2022). Summary of the HIPAA privacy rule. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/laws-regulations/index.html
Shen, M., Feng, Z., Shen, Y., & Shi, Z. (2025). Enhancing undergraduate nursing informatics literacy through design-based learning: A mixed-methods participatory action research study. BMC Nursing, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03927-8
Shi, Q., Wotherspoon, R., & Morphet, J. (2025). Nursing informatics and patient safety outcomes in critical care settings: A systematic review. BMC Nursing, 24(1), 546. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-025-03195-6
Watson, A. L. (2024). Ethical considerations for artificial intelligence use in nursing informatics. Nursing Ethics, 31(6), 1031–1040. https://doi.org/10.1177/09697330241230515
Yu, M., Kim, S. Y., & Ryu, J. M. (2023). [Pathway analysis on the effects of nursing informatics competency, nursing care left undone, and nurse reported quality of care on nursing productivity among clinical nurses]. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing, 53(2), 236–248. https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.22110
Zareshahi, M., Mirzaei, S., & Nasiriani, K. (2022). Nursing informatics competencies in critical care unit. Health Informatics Journal, 28(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/14604582221083843