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Interview
by Megan Flaherty
Q: What are the advantages of electronic health records? A: The paper chart is frequently unavailable because it can only be in one spot at a time. An electronic health record can be simultaneously available to everyone who needs to use it. Another advantage is that having electronic records necessitates the collection of structured data. You’re able to systematically collect data that can be transformed into information for decision making and can also be used to examine what practices, treatments, and procedures are associated with the best outcomes. Q: What are the disadvantages? A: The electronic health record itself isn’t the problem. It’s that we do not yet understand the best way to implement these tools in clinical environments so that they fit naturally into the clinician’s workflow. The place at which you get widescale buy-in by point-of-care clinicians is when they see a benefit in the system that outweighs the burden of changing their documenting methods. It’s important that whatever system is implemented is carefully integrated into an institution’s workflow processes. Q: How integrated are electronic health records into hospitals and other healthcare settings? A: It all depends on what you call an electronic health record. What’s in place in most settings are only components of an electronic health record. There are computerized lab and radiology systems and systems that may provide discharge summaries or care planning. But I still believe there is not a single institution that includes all components of the computer-based patient record as envisioned in the Institute of Medicine’s 1991 report. Some are coming very close, including the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City. In California, the new UCLA Medical Center will be a paperless hospital. Kaiser Permanente’s ambulatory care clinics are all moving toward the electronic health record. Q: How secure is electronic health information? A: The technology exists to provide 100 percent security of health information. What doesn’t exist is the public’s confidence that this is true. I believe this is because the United States doesn’t have federal-level privacy legislation yet. Protocols within institutions are necessary. Every employee should receive training and understand issues about privacy and confidential information. It’s an issue of behavior as well as technology. Q: Why do nurses enter informatics programs and what kinds of careers do they pursue? A: The nurses who typically enter the program [at UCSF] are interested in harnessing technology to make a difference in nursing practice. A number of our graduates work in industry. They may work with companies that build electronic health records. Within the company, they’re involved in areas like system development, project management, and user training. We also have people who end up in a clinical setting as a systems analyst or as a liaison between the department of nursing and the information systems department. Others work in consumer health informatics. They’re involved in designing content for consumer education. There are lots of jobs and wonderful opportunities. Q: What is the salary range for a nurse with an advanced degree in informatics? A: Salaries begin at around $60,000 and can range up to $200,000 or more for some consultants. |
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Previous Stories Don't
drop the ball
Page Rage Wash
Out
Crossing
the Line
Alternative
Therapy Genetic
Testing |
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A
love of nursing rather than a love of technology prompted
Suzanne Bakken Henry, DNSc, RN, to become an expert in informatics.