The Future of Informatics April 14, 2010

Informatics is an ever-growing, ever-changing field, much like nursing. There are always new inventions, websites and resources to use through technology and each of these are essential for the growing field of health care. Informatics is being integrated very well into hospitals and clinics around the United States, as well as the world, however I think that there is still a great deal of opportunity for nursing schools to bring informatics to the forefront of curriculum. The nursing school that I am currently attending has integrated several aspects of learning into the internet age. The bachelor’s degree program is mainly online courses, which allows for students around the area and even across state lines to be involved in the program.

One way that I feel that informatics could be further integrated into the nursing schools would be through Electronic Readers. I personally feel that this is eventually the way all textbooks will be bought and I would hope that nursing programs, which seem to often be on the cutting edge, will incorporate this. Also, I am currently in a primarily online pathophysiology course in which lectures are recorded to Windows Media Player, however I think that live chats through Elluminate Live could be an exceptional addition to the curriculum. Watching prerecorded lectures is a good way to obtain information, yet without the ability to interact and ask questions as the information is presented some good discussion is missed.

Good discussion is a great way to share ideas, especially in the nursing and health care professions. One fabulous way to share information is through Twitter. Last week during #RNChat the topic of accessibility to internet resources to staff and patients in the hospital setting. I think that it is important for the hospitals to limit some access to certain websites to prevent distraction of staff, however being too limited in the available access to websites can hinder some patient interaction and care. Many patients have specific questions about medications, conditions and treatments that are asked after doctors have arrived and the internet can be a good resource to give accurate and unbiased information. I currently use a program that is linked to our EHR called MicroMedex. I use this program on a daily basis for patient medicine questions as well as for things like IV fluid compatibility. I would like to see hospitals invest in more resource software like MicroMedex to make available to their staff.

Informatics is an important part of health care and I feel that it is only going to become a more integral part. I look forward to what lies ahead and hope the transition into new programs can go smoothly.

Informatics Webliography March 21, 2010

Pancreatitis is an inflammatory condition in which pancreatic enzymes are released before they should be from the endocrine organ. This condition can be an acute process, an exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis, or a relapsing process. There are several known causes of the condition, including over consumption of alcohol, medication induced, and related to high cholesterol.

When looking at information about pancreatitis there were several areas that I was interested in learning more about. I wanted to look specifically at causes unrelated to alcohol use, though it is a common cause there are those suffering from the condition who abstain from alcohol. Also, I would like to look into the treatments and prevention of the condition.

As a nurse on a general medical floor this is a condition that I am exposed to on a day-to-day basis. This condition is not one that is age specific, which makes it interesting in that you may have a patient that is 20 years of age with acute pancreatitis or an 80-year-old man suffering from chronic pancreatitis. Often times this condition can be prevented by healthier eating habits or abstinence from alcohol, therefore the information needs to be available for the public to prevent this inflammation from occurring.

I have looked through several articles, journals and websites online to find information that will be helpful for those interested in learning more about the condition. When deciding upon specific websites or journals, I wanted to find reliable information, therefore I looked for medical related articles, and tried to stray away from those that are just written by an individual without credentials.

Acute Pancreatitis: Value of CT in Establishing Prognosis : http://radiologyfacts.org/files/Acute_Pancreatitis_-_Value_of_CT_in_Establishing_Prognosis_1990_.pdf

This article comes from the journal Abdominal and Gastrointestinal Radiology. This published study looks at the use of bolus-contrast CT scans used to look for complicating factors in acute pancreatitis that can determine a worsened prognosis for patients. This article is aimed at health care professionals, mainly physicians, that can read the data and see the benefit of using the test to better serve their patients.

Pancreatitis and the Risk of Pancreatic Cancer: http://nejm.highwire.org/cgi/content/full/328/20/1433

This article comes from The New England Journal of Medicine and discusses the possibility of a link between pancreatitis and the development of pancreatic cancer. Those that studied in this article admit that a longer term study with more participants would benefit the relation, however, it was found that chronic pancreatitis may have a correlation to the development of that specific cancer, whether it be caused by alcohol or not. This information is helpful for patients and families of those that suffer with chronic pancreatitis as a way to make themselves aware of possible complications.

Pancreatitis: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/pancreatitis/DS00371

This information was put out by the Mayo Clinic. This is good general information about the condition that would be helpful for those studying the topic for papers or reasearch as well as patients themselves. The first page has a general definition but links are also available to look more specifically at symptoms, tests, and treatments.

Pancreatitis : http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/pancreatitis/

This information is published by the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. This is another website that is helpful with general information for patients about the condition of pancreatitis. The website discusses the symptoms of acute as well as chronic pancreatitis, as well as the treatments of both.

Underestimation of acute pancreatitis: patients with only a small increase in amylase/lipase levels can also have or develop severe acute pancreatitis : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1727444/pdf/v044p00542.pdf

This article about pancreatitis is especially helpful to health care professionals such as practitioners and nurses. The information in this study discusses that patients with little to no elevation in their amylase and lipase levels may still be at risk for very severe pancreatitis.

BILIARY TRACT DISORDERS, GALLBLADDER DISORDERS AND GALLSTONE PANCREATITIS : http://www.gi.org/patients/gihealth/biliary.asp

This article not only discusses alternative causes of pancreatitis, but has good information about gallstones. The information here is helpful for patients who are prone to gallstones as a way of letting them know about potential complications.

I hope that those that are searching for information on pancreatitis can find their way to my blog in order to find a nice amount of information all in one place. The information I have found, at times, is more directed at studies aimed at educating healthcare workers, however there are some great resources for patients and their families too.

Nursing Informatics First Blog Assignment March 8, 2010

This week I started a new course in nursing school called Nursing Informatics. I honestly had been dreading this course for weeks because learning about computers is often very boring to me since I have grown up with technology all around me. From second grade on through the rest of my schooling I have had computer classes so when college level technology courses have come up I always feel that I am slightly above the curve when it comes to technology knowledge.

I have been pleasantly suprised in the first week of Nursing Informatics; I have learned so much! This course is truly on trend with where technology fits into our everyday lives personally and professionally. I started a Twitter account several months ago, however I never was really drawn to the social networking site since I am invested mainly in the use of Facebook. I saw the Twitter networking site to be redundant, however Nursing Informatics has changed my mind. With Facebook I just have friends that I went to grade school, high school and work with, whereas a whole new option in networking has been brought to Twitter. I was oblivious to the fact that via Twitter there were groups of nurses and other like-minded or interested people that could discuss ideas and new research!

During this first week of the course we have been talking about Clinical Information Systems, which was a term that I was totally unaware of until now. As definied by our book

A clinical information system (CIS) is a technology based system that is applied at the point of care and is designed to support to acquisition and processing of information as well as providing storage and processing capabilities

As an employee at a local Hospital I have become more familiar with CIS and the electronic health record. A questions that was posed by my instructor in Nursing Informatics was “Who does the electronic health record belong to?”, but she is not the only person who has brought this question to my attention. At our staff meeting a few months ago it was brought up that a patient that we were caring for felt that the electronic health record was infringing on her privacy.

So, I asked myself, “Who does the EHR REALLY belong to?”. I’ve always seen my health history and information as something that I own, for if it wasn’t for me there would not be that written history to possess. Yet, I have never viewed this information in it’s entirety as it is displayed electronically or by paper. As employees we cannot view any patient’s records without cause, nor can we view our own information. But why is it that we cannot view our own information, since it is indeed OUR health history and information?

The question of who owns the EHR may be more in the forefront now, however who owned the paper chart when that was our way of charting and organizing the information? The charts in the units I was a part of prior to the switch to EHR were always kept at the nurses station, therefore even then was the information truly that of the patient’s, or was it property of the hospital?

As much as I would like to think that one’s own health record was their own, it seems more as if the EHR is the property of the health system. As I’ve been writing this entry, I was reminded of a news report I saw on KY3 just a few days ago regarding health records. The article can be viewed at: http://www.ky3.com/news/local/86329142.html

The article discusses how CMH in Bolivar is giving access to patient’s heath records through GoogleHealth. This new advancement in technology allows patient’s to have a centralized location that they can access themselves which houses all of their health information from CMH, and with continued use of the service, may have the capability of other health care systems adding their information to the net. With this article in mind, it would again bring me to the conclusion that the patient does not own their information, it is that of the health system and they are just being allowed to view it.

I’m looking forward to sharing more of my ideas and information that I have come across throughout this course. I can only hope that all of you out there on the net are that excited to hear my ideas as well!

McGonigle, Dee, & Mastrian, Kathleen. (2008). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

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