History of Informatics and Areas of Practice: Entity Ranking - Term Paper Example

History of Informatics and Areas of Practice - Entity Ranking John Jones Introduction The twenty-first century promises to be oneof enormous changes in information technology, particularly in the medical fields, especially since President Bush’s 2004 proclamation of ordering the nationwide adoption of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Thus informatics is now in the forefront. Although the science of informatics is a varied discipline and as we shall see now has its own specialty, as with anything else there can only be three that are most important if they are indeed to be ranked. In order of importance to me are the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and the American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA). I will proceed to describe each group and give required reasoning as to why each is important to me. Discussion 1. AMIA First to me is the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA). One of its missions is to provide information on the electronic health records, compliance and reimbursement. Rather recent in its development (1989) by the merger of three older groups, the organization concentrates on the holistic study of informatics, with specific concentration in five specific areas. Translational Bioinformatics is basically that which deals with analyzing and finding new ways of storing medical data. Clinical Research Informatics involves the management of trials and discoveries related to health maintenance and disease prevention. Clinical Informatics is concerned with the application of information technology in the treatment arena. Not solely for physicians, its disciplines could also apply to other healthcare professionals such as dentists and veterinarians. Consumer Health Informatics is the branch concerned with the public information and educations and also is responsible for EMR. Public Health Informatics is where the CDC would be involved, as it is mainly concerned with such things as infectious diseases and bioterrorism (AMIA). Therefore it can be seen that the AMIA is involved in all areas of informatics and as it states in its own bylaws “AMIA aims to lead the way in transforming health care through trusted science, education, and the practice of informatics”. The core of their beliefs is the science of informatics, which in a nutshell is enhancing the health of the patients, while providing the best in quality and safety of care through the use of information technology. As a nonprofit, most of its monies can therefore be dedicated to promoting informatics. The AMIA also has its own journal, appropriately named the JAMIA. It should come as little surprise that the American Medical Association (AMA) has coordinated with the AMIA to come up with a new specialty, Clinical Informatics (Dolan). Therefore with the arguments I have provided, I feel the AMIA should be recognize as first and foremost in importance of all informatics groups and the specific disciplines each represents. 2. HIMSS The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) like the AMIA is a not for profit organization “exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare” (HIMSS). It specializes in the betterment of such areas as Home Health, as it is found patients respond much better in a comfortable environment such as the home. Clinical Business Intelligence uses informatics in the modernization and development of the medical practice, utilizing available statistical data to ensure better patient care. HIMSS is also heavily involved in the Electronic Medical Record conversion process in order for doctors and clinics to comply with Federal law and simplify the healthcare professional’s job. Other areas of concern for HIMSS are pharmaceutical informatics, medical banking (the business part of the medical business) and billing and paying. HIMSS is also dedicated to the smooth implementation and flow of the President Obama imitated Affordable Health Care Act of 2010. The law was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in June 2012 (Condon) so it is important that HIMSS is taking the lead in educating the health care community on what is to be a fact of life for us. There are incentives as well as penalties involved for failure to comply with the act, as it is to be implemented in various stages. There is also a branch of HIMSS that deals specifically with nursing, believing that nurses provide a vital part of the total health care package. It is helpful for researching and obtaining grants for qualified Health Care Centers. The organization also provides information regarding professional certifications. I can consequently nominate the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society as my number two choice as the informatics group most essential to the continued growth of the discipline. 3. ANIA The American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA) is an organization much like the AMIA. However ANIA deals strictly with the nursing profession and the certifications required for nurses so that they can be proficient in informatics. Like the others the ANIA is a non profit group and works in close coordination with the American Nurses Credentialing Center to provide education and certification at various testing centers nationwide. The cost of $395 is not cheap but informatics certification means that the nurse who achieves that goal has reached APRN Consensus status. Besides, the initial cost will probably be justified many times over. As with all other health fields, due to the aging baby boomers nursing informatics career opportunities are expected to grow 22% over the next six years (Health). The ANIA also offers reduced certification rates for employees of certain companies such as CINAHL and Thompson, as well as discount subscriptions for members to various nursing professional journals such as The American Journal of Nursing. Requirements for certification include a nursing degree from an accredited university and hold a RN license, along with two years experience. Part of that experience must be in the informatics field, as much as 2,000 hours, although informatics education can be substituted in lieu of (ANCC). The organization devoted exclusively to the advancement of nursing informatics achieves my vote for third place. Conclusion Health Care Informatics is as varied as the different fields in the industry. From physician based to pharmaceutical to nursing, each field has its own unique criteria but it all boils down to one thing, the use of information technology to enhance the quality of medical care in this new century, as well as make life easier for the health care professional. One thing is certain, informatics is not going away and as seen by various references in this paper is only going to continue to grow. References AMIA, (10/04/12), “Mission and History”, Retrieved from: http://www.amia.org/about-amia/mission-and-history Dolan, Pamela (10/10/2011), “Clinical informatics now a subspecialty”, Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/m/2011/10/10/bsb1010.htm. HIMSS (10/09/2012), “Transforming Healthcare Through IT”, Retrieved from http://www.himss.org/ASP/index.asp. Condon, Stephanie (06/28/2012), “Supreme Court upholds health care mandate”, Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57462646/supreme-court-upholds-health-care-mandate/. Health Career Web (10/09/2012), “Nursing Informatics Jobs”, Retrieved from http://www.healthcareerweb.com/nursing/Nursing_informatics_jobs. ANCC (10/09/2012), “Informatics Nursing Certification Eligibility Criteria”, Retrieved from http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Certification/ExamResources/Eligibility/ECategory/InformaticsNurseEligibility.html. Read More