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By: FILAMAE JAYAHR CADAY, RN



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  !
 NI is a specialty that integrates nursing science,
computer science and information science to
manage and communicate data, information and
knowledge in nursing practice.
 NI facilitates the integration of data information
and knowledge to support patients, nurses and
other providers in their decision making in all roles
and settings.
 pp! 

 NI differentiates itself from other areas of nursing
practice but emphasizes its interaction with
informatics disciplines such as math, statistics,
linguistics, engineering, computer science and health
informatics.
 NI is a specific domain of informatics that falls
under a broader umbrella of health informatics
(others are medical informatics, dental informatics
and consumer informatics)
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 "
 the Division of Nursing (DN), Health and Human
Services Administration (HRSA)funded two Master·s
NI programs, University of Maryland and University
of Utah and one doctoral program in NI at
University of Maryland in 1988-1992.
 In 1992, the American Nurses Association (ANA)
officially established the role of the informatics
nurse specialist, shortly after which they began
offering the first credentialing exam in 1995.
 ! !  (
 "
 The ANA·s Scope and Standards of Nursing
Informatics Practice (2001) identifies three
progressive levels of NI competencies: the beginning
nurse, experienced nurse, and informatics nurse
specialist.
 As the specialty of NI has become more defined,
nurses have sought out more learning opportunities
and have benefited from the emergence of more
formal NI education programs.
 ! !  (
 "
 in 1997, NI specialty program opened in New York
University and in 1998 at Duquesne University in
Pittsburgh.
 The American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC)
began administering an informatics nurse certification
exam in November 1995. The exam topics cover areas
of basic IT, information and knowledge management,
system development, human factors and NI models,
theories, and professional practice.
 a final requirement for a specialty in representation by
at least one organization as NI has the support of both
nursing and multidisciplinary organizations.
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 In 2004, President G.W. Bush issued an executive order creating The
Decade of Health Information Technology with a goal of establishing an
electronic health record (EHR) for every American in the next 10 years. One
of the reasons for this order was the release of findings from the Institute of
Medicine (IOM) studies concluding that information technologies hold the
promise to transform health care practice and facilitate ! 
 One of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) most important
initiatives is to assist practitioners in making care more effective and less
costly, particularly by promoting adoption of health information technology
 the Technology Informatics Guiding Educational Reform (TIGER) Summit in
2006 collaborated with colleagues from key federal agencies and
healthcare organizations and articulated a vision for the future of nursing
that enables nurses to use informatics in practice and education to provide
safe, quality care.

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 The presidential initiative to provide an electronic health
record to all Americans by 2014.
 The Nationwide Health Information Network works to build
a secure, nationwide health information infrastructure to
connect health providers, consumers and others supporting
health and healthcare.
 The Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology (ONC) is at the forefront of the
administration·s health IT efforts and is a resource to the
entire health system to support the adoption of health
information technology and the promotion of nationwide
health information exchange to improve health care.

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 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA) provided for the creation of an
Health IT Policy Committee under the auspices of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the
committee is charged with making recommendations
to the National Coordinator for Health IT on a
policy framework for the development and
adoption of a nationwide health information
infrastructure, including standards for the exchange
of patient medical information.

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 ARRA 2009 also provided for the creation of an HIT
Standards Committee under the auspices of the FACA that is
charged with making recommendations to the National
Coordinator on standards, implementation specifications,
and certification criteria for the electronic exchange and use
of health information. Initially, the HIT Standards Committee
will focus on the policies developed by the Health IT Policy
Committee.
 The Federal Health Architecture Initiative (FHA) represents a
unique opportunity to build partnerships across communities
of interest throughout the nation's health care environment in
the development of a truly integrated and effective health
information exchange network.

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 The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics
(NCVHS) serves as the statutory [42 U.S.C. 242k(k)] public
advisory body to the Secretary of the Department of Health
and Human Services in the area of health data and
statistics. In that capacity, the Committee provides advice
and assistance to the Department and serves as a forum for
interaction with interested private sector groups on a variety
of key health data issues.
 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) - A
science partner, working with the public and private sectors
to build the knowledge base for what works³and does not
work³in health and health care and to translate this
knowledge into everyday practice and policymaking.

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 National Governors Association ² State Alliance for e-Health Work to
improve the nation's health care system and enable states to increase the
efficiency and effectiveness of health information technology (HIT), the
NGA Center formed a collaborative body known as the State Alliance for
e-Health (State Alliance) that provides a nationwide forum through which
stakeholders can work together to identify inter- and intrastate-based
health information technology policies and best practices and explore
solutions to programmatic and legal issues related to the exchange of
health information.
 PEHRC (Physicians· Electronic Health Record Coalition) will assist physicians,
particularly those in small- and medium-sized ambulatory care medical
practice, to acquire and use affordable, standards-based electronic health
records and other health information technology to improve quality,
enhance patient safety, and increase efficiency and taking practical steps
to educate physicians about the value and best use of electronic health
records (EHR), and to assist them in selection of systems, as well as to help
focus the market on high-quality and affordable products.

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 The eHealth Initiative and the Foundation for eHealth Initiative to
drive improvement in the quality, safety, and efficiency of
healthcare through information and information technology and that
consumers, health care providers, and those responsible for
population health will have ready access to timely, relevant, reliable
and secure information and services through an interconnected,
electronic health information infrastructure to support better health
and healthcare.
 Connecting for Health ²Markle is a public-private collaborative
designed to address the barriers to development of an
interconnected health information infrastructure. The ability to
deliver medical information where and when it is needed in a
private and secure manner will help to improve the quality of care,
reduce medical errors, lower costs and empower patients.

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 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is
exclusively focused on providing leadership for the optimal use of
healthcare information technology and management systems for the
betterment of human health, shapes and directs healthcare public
policy and industry practices through its advocacy, educational and
professional development initiatives, which are designed to promote
information and management systems' contributions to quality
patient care.
 HIMSS EHR Association (EHRA) offers unmatched experience and
expertise, and provides a forum and structure for EHR leaders to
work toward standards development, interoperability, the EHR
certification process, performance and quality measures, HIT
legislation, and other EHR issues. The EHR Association helps HIMSS
establish its strategic direction and official positions on issues related
to the electronic health record.

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 The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA)
is a community of professionals engaged in the field of health
information management. AHIMA provides support to members and
works to strengthen the industry and profession. Health information
management professionals serve the healthcare industry and the
public by managing, analyzing, and utilizing data vital for patient
care and working to make this information accessible to healthcare
providers when it is needed most.
 The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) is the leading
academic/scholarly organization in the United States dedicated to
the research, development, and application of medical informatics in
the support of patient care, teaching, research, and healthcare
administration. AMIA intends to be, for medical informatics, what the
ACP is for internal medicine.