The Evolving Role of Nursing Technicians and Specialists in Integrating Health Informatics: A Review

Abstract

The rapid progression of health informatics has revolutionized the landscape of health care delivery thereby
requiring nurses to be full stakeholders in all levels of care settings. BackgroundThis review describes the changing
roles of nursing technicians and nursing specialists in incorporating health informatics into clinical practice. For
example, nursing technicians are now more involved in using electronic health records (EHRs), telehealth services,
and collecting data to improve monitoring from care providers. Within the nursing specialism, informatics is used at
a much more advanced level, for example in developing evidence based decision-making tools; and building digital
care pathways and contributing to multidisciplinary health information management projects. This review
postulates the way in which roles collaborate to increase patient safety, improve workflow efficiency and promote
patient centered care from 2010 until 2025. Key factors identified included a need for more formalised informatics
training, well defined role boundaries and policy that provides clear pathways for nursing roles to be enacted in the
digital health space. Interprofessional collaboration should be expanded, artificial intelligence tools should be
integrated, and nursing informatics competencies across all levels available at the point of care to address
burgeoning modern health-care needs.