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Health Informatics
Name
Institution
Professor
Course
Date
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Health Informatics
Thank you for sharing your perspective on how health-related legislation affects
public wellbeing. Your acknowledgement of how such legislation positively impacts various
aspects of healthcare, from disease prevention to expanding treatment access, is well noted,
and appreciated. It is unfortunate that politics often influence public policies, including
healthcare policies, in the United States. However, it is important to identify that healthcare
policies have the potential to either ease or worsen health disparities.
Informatics nurses contribute their expertise in patient care and informatics to shape
healthcare policies and advocate for the patient population. They address issues like
information blocking, where vendors restrict medical information for financial gain, which
negatively affects patients. To effectively influence policy, informatics nurses need political
skills to engage stakeholders and reach agreements. Stakeholders in the field of informatics
include universities, government bodies, organizations, tech businesses, foundations,
employers, insurance companies, and hospitals. Understanding the policy-making process
and recognizing which stakeholders are essential for enacting change is vital. The Institute of
Medicine (IOM) serves as an example of a stakeholder that influenced the adoption of
electronic health records (EHRs) after expressing concerns about medical errors and quality
of care (Tapuria et al., 2021).
Communication and collaboration skills are essential for informatics nurses to express
their ideas and concerns clearly to policymakers and stakeholders. They need to be persuasive
and engage stakeholders by using their patient care experiences and evidence. Collaboration
with other disciplines, such as physicians and IT professionals, is also crucial to meet the
complex needs of patients and communities (Johansen and Eryik, 2022).
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Innovation plays a significant role in healthcare, and informatics nurses must stay up
to date with emerging technologies that can enhance patient care. Being patient advocates and
utilizing critical thinking skills are also crucial in assessing the impact of policies on patient
care and safety (Potter et al., 2022).
In summary, health policies are vital for improving public health, and informatics
nurses play a crucial role in shaping HIT policies. Political skills, effective communication,
collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking are all essential for informatics nurses to
contribute to policy development and implementation.
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References
Johansen, M., & Ervik, B. (2022). Talking together in rural palliative care: A qualitative
study of Interprofessional Collaboration in Norway. BMC Health Services Research,
22(1). [Link]
Potter, P. A., Perry, A. G., Stockert, P. A., & Hall, A. (2022). Fundamentals of nursing (11th
ed.). Elsevier.
Tapuria, A., Porat, T., Kalra, D., Dsouza, G., Xiaohui, S., & Curcin, V. (2021). Impact of
patient access to their electronic health record: Systematic review. Informatics for
Health and Social Care, 46(2), 194-206.
[Link]