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Paula Procter and colleagues explain why it is important that nursing leaders embrace informatics and implement unitary care records that all services can share
Abstract
This is the final in a series of four articles that discuss issues relating to the UK's growing reliance on health information technology. It is becoming increasingly clear that information and communication technologies are increasing the availability of health care, and improving the management, sharing and understanding of health care at a local and national level. This article explores the role of senior nurses in the management, delivery and support of care.
Keywords
Health information technology, patient information
THE PICTURE of health care emerging in most western countries is one of rising demand, ageing populations with comorbidities, and the need to manage costs.
There is growing reliance on the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of information, most commonly through digital devices and tools, such as smartphones, tablets, televisions and computers, to support professional decisions. There is also research evidence suggesting that better use of information can improve decision making (Davenport and Harris 2007) and, therefore, patient care.
Liberating the NHS (Department of Health (DH) 2012a) expects nurse managers to be at the forefront of managing patient information in the clinical, community and tertiary settings. The Health and Social Care Act 2012, meanwhile, sets out a partnership approach to the commissioning, delivery and evaluation of health care, and aims to put patients at the centre of care. The Power of Information (DH 2012b), which is guided by the act, outlines a number of strategic aims, including:
* The need for a change in culture and mindset, which requires health and social care professionals, organisations and systems to recognise that information entered into care records is fundamentally about the patient, so that it becomes the norm for patients to access their own records easily.
* A requirement that patient information is recorded just once, at first contact with professional staff, and shared securely between those providing care. This must be supported by consistent use of information standards that enable data to flow between systems while keeping patients' confidential information secure.
* A drive to use patients' electronic care records increasingly as the source for core information to improve care and services,...