What is the Future of Nursing informatics?

         As technology expands I really think that we're going to incorporate more of it into nursing. We've already started using robots in surgeries! I could really see doctors offices using websites such as Facebook and even blogging to incorporate health care. Even Skype could be helpful. If a patient has a non-life threatening question related to their health or prescriptions, they could easily hop onto Skype and chat with a nurse instead of having to drive all the way into the office.

        As we start using technology more, health care should improve. We can get information out to our patients without costing them an arm and a leg for a visit. Also if we could be easily accessed, patients may be less likely to use websites that aren't accredited and may possibly have false information. 

     What is the future of nursing informatics?  Like my Informatics teacher..... I am a big fan of dreaming big.  Who isn’t?  So, calling all inventors and investors out there!  Here out some wild suggestions.  In the near future, I would like to see myself being able to use advanced nursing gadgets like handheld medicine scanning system imbedded in a handheld computer, to walk around the floor taking care of my patients with blue-tooth-like (hands-free) equipment on my ear so I don’t have to answer the hand held phone while doing dressing changes.  How about being able to see my patient’s face ( and vice versa) on the computer screen when he/she pushes the call button?   It would be nice if there is an alert to my phone or the nurse’s assistant phone if my patient pushes the call button.  How about eye scanners instead of ID badge swipes?  I can imagine myself doing patient teaching in the patient’s room using multi-media, and for the doctors too.  Most of the time the doctors use the white board or scratch paper to explain surgical procedures done to patients.  It would be nice to get patient assignment summaries like electronic SBAR types that would give us complete, accurate and relevant data about our patient assignments, that is on top of verbal reports.

After all my dreaming, the authors of some NI books remind us that the work of nurses is centered on data, knowledge, information, and wisdom . They also mentioned that the essence of informatics is the manipulation of data, information, and knowledge in helping us make sound decisions.  The centerpiece is in improving technology to be able to deliver the right care at the right time to the right patients, and not to forget – at the lowest possible cost...