LESSON 7: POLICIES, GUIDELINES, AND LAWS IN NURSING 4.

To trust the data for patient care and

INFORMATICS decision making

“INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5. To prevent unintended consequences

8293” detrimental to health research and public
health practice.

6. To ensure availability of accurate health

information when needed by the patient.

7. To help maintain a professional attitude in

health care setting.

8. To prevent legal suits.

RIGHTS OF DATA SUBJECTS

LEGISLATIVE ASPECTS OF NURSING

INFORMATICS

HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and

Accountability Act of 1996

 enacted in 1996 to improve the

efficiency and effectiveness of the
healthcare system.
 to protect patients' sensitive health
DATA PRIVACY ACT information while ensuring that
healthcare data is securely shared
across various entities involved in
patient care.

PURPOSE:

Protection of Health Information:

 designed to safeguard sensitive patient

information, ensuring that it remains
confidential and secure.

Portability:

 allows workers to transfer and continue

IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING ANONYMITY, health insurance coverage when
CONFIDENTIALITY, AND PRIVACY OF HEALTH changing jobs or moving between
INFORMATION health plans, reducing the risk of losing
coverage due to job transitions.
1. To ensure safe and compassionate nursing
practice (ethico-moral and legal boundaries). Administrative Simplification:
2. To ensure protection of patients from  standardized formats for healthcare
identity theft, and other improper use of transactions, such as claims, payment
information. 3. To maintain patient’s trust. requests, and other administrative
functions
 encrypted communications, secure
access protocols, and firewalls.
KEY COMPONENTS:  Record Keeping: Healthcare
providers must establish processes for
Privacy Rule:
securely storing, transmitting, and
 Protects the privacy of patient health disposing of medical records.
information (PHI), which includes any  Data Sharing: HIPAA allows for the
information that identifies a patient sharing of patient information among
and relates to their health status, care, healthcare providers for treatment, but
or payment only under strict guidelines to ensure
for healthcare services. confidentiality.
 Who It Applies To: The Privacy Rule
applies to healthcare providers, health
plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and LESSON 1: USE OF COMPUTER TO SPEED UP NURSING
business associates who handle PHI. PROCESS
 Patients have the right to access,
correct, and control their health 1. Assessment + Nursing Informatics
records.
 where the nurse collects and
Security Rule: analyzes information about the
patient's health status. Includes
 Sets standards to protect electronic PHI subjective data (what the patient
(ePHI) from threats, ensuring it is tells you) and objective data (what
accessible, secure, and confidential. you observe and measure).
PATIENT RIGHTS UNDER HIPAA ROLE OF NURSING INFORMATICS:
 Right to Access: Patients have the Electronic Health Records (EHRs):
right to obtain a copy of their health
records and request corrections to  helps streamline data collection by
them. integrating all patient information
 Right to Privacy: Patients can into one digital platform.
request that their health information be  Nurses can quickly access and
shared only with specific people or update patient data, including
organizations and must provide medical history, allergies, and vital
consent for disclosures. signs.
 Right to Confidential
Communications: Patients can Data Accuracy & Timeliness:
request to be contacted at alternative
locations or through different  ensures that assessment data is
communication methods to protect accurate and up-to-date, reducing
their privacy. the risk of errors.
 Real-time data entry into electronic
PENALTIES FOR HIPAA VIOLATIONS systems means information is
instantly available for review and
 Civil Penalties: Ranging from $100 to decision-making.
$50,000 per violation, depending on
whether the violation was due to willful
neglect or an unintentional mistake.
 Criminal Penalties: Individuals found
guilty of knowingly violating HIPAA can
face criminal charges, including fines of
up to $250,000 and imprisonment for
up to 10 years in cases of deliberate or
malicious intent.

HOW HIPAA AFFECTS HEALTHCARE

ORGANIZATIONS

 Technology Use: Healthcare

organizations must implement secure
technologies to safeguard PHI, such as
  assist nurses in formulating a precise
diagnosis by analyzing large amounts
of clinical data and providing evidence-
based recommendations.
 This speeds up the process of
identifying patient conditions.

Pattern Recognition:

 Using data analytics and artificial

intelligence (AI), nursing informatics
can assist in recognizing patterns in
patient information such as lab results

Collaborative Platforms:

 Informatics enables better

communication and collaboration
between nurses and other healthcare
professionals, which helps in
confirming or refining the diagnosis.
 Integrated systems allow for immediate
sharing of patient information across
different departments.

Decision Support Systems (DSS):

3. Planning + Nursing Informatics
 Advanced software systems can
provide prompts and alerts to nurses,  Planning involves setting goals and
suggesting possible diagnoses based designing a care plan to address the
on the entered data, which helps patient’s
nurses make informed assessments needs. This stage outlines the nursing
more quickly interventions and expected outcomes.

ROLE OF NURSING INFORMATICS

Care Plan Templates:

 Informatics offers standardized care

plan templates in EHR systems that
can be customized to individual
patients, speeding up the planning
process.
 This ensures consistency and quality in
Telehealth & Remote Monitoring: care planning.

 to assess patients from a distance, Predictive Analytics:

allowing for quicker evaluations of
patients, especially in rural or  Advanced algorithms can predict
underserved areas. patient outcomes based on historical
 Wearable devices and sensors can data, helping nurses anticipate what
provide real-time data to help in the interventions are most likely to work
assessment. for specific conditions.
 This allows for more personalized and
2. Diagnosis + Nursing Informatics: efficient planning.

 involves identifying the patient's health Integration of Interdisciplinary Care:

problems based on the assessment
data. Nurses make clinical judgments  Nursing informatics integrates data
about the patient’s condition. from various health professionals
(doctors, therapists, etc.) into one
ROLE OF NURSING INFORMATICS system, helping nurses create a more
comprehensive and coordinated care
Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS): plan.
Tracking Progress:  Nursing informatics includes software
tools that can automatically collect
 Digital systems track patient progress data on patient outcomes
in real-time, so the nurse can adjust  which helps nurses quickly assess the
the care plan quickly if there are effectiveness of interventions.
changes in the patient’s condition.
Continuous Data Collection:
4. Intervention + Nursing Informatics
 With the integration of devices and
 This stage involves the implementation sensors, real-time data on the patient’s
of the nursing care plan, including progress is readily available.
performing treatments, administering  Nurses can evaluate trends and
medications, and providing patient identify if interventions need to be
education. modified.
ROLE OF NURSING INFORMATICS Analytics & Reporting:
Medication Administration Records (MAR):  This helps with the rapid identification
of successful interventions or areas
 track medication administration and requiring improvement.
alert nurses to potential drug
interactions, allergies, or dosing errors, Feedback Loops:
improving patient safety
 Nurses can use this data to quickly
make changes to care plans, improving
overall patient care efficiency.

Mobile Devices & Point-of-Care Tools:

 Nurses can access patient data and

care plans at the bedside using mobile APPLICATIONS OF NURSING INFORMATICS: HOSPITAL
devices and point-of-care tools
Electronic Health Records (EHRs):
Real-Time Monitoring:
 digital versions of patients' paper
 Remote monitoring technologies charts, which allow for the collection,
enable continuous surveillance of storage, and retrieval of health
patient vitals information electronically.
 Allowing interventions to be initiated
immediately if there is any deviation
from expected parameters.

Clinical Pathways:

 Supports evidence-based clinical

pathways that guide nurses through
standardized, efficient intervention
procedures.
 These pathways help reduce variability
in care delivery, thus improving
outcomes.

5. Evaluation + Nursing Informatics

 This stage includes reassessing the Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS)
patient's status and adjusting the care
plan if needed.  provide nurses and other healthcare
professionals with evidence-based
ROLE OF NURSING INFORMATICS guidelines, alerts, and reminders to
assist in clinical decision-making.
Outcome Measurement Tools:
Telemedicine and Telehealth
  allows for remote patient consultations
via video, phone, or messaging,
enabling healthcare providers to offer
care at a distance.

Barcode Medication Administration

(BCMA)

 a system that uses barcodes on

medication and patient wristbands to
ensure accurate
 medication administration.

Health Information Exchange (HIE)

 allows for the sharing of patient data

across different healthcare
organizations, providing a
comprehensive view of the patient’s
medical history.
Patient Portals
Patient Monitoring Systems
 are secure online platforms where
patients can access their health  These systems continuously monitor a
information, communicate with patient's vital signs (e.g., heart rate,
healthcare providers, request blood pressure, oxygen levels) and
prescriptions, and schedule alert nurses to any critical changes.
appointments.

Simulation and Training Tools

 includes the use of simulation-based

training tools to educate and train
nurses in clinical skills and emergency
scenarios

Data Analytics for Quality Improvement

 help hospitals collect and analyze

Nursing Informatics and Staffing Systems patient data to identify trends,
measure outcomes, and improve
 These systems track nurse schedules, healthcare practices.
patient loads, and staffing needs.
Mobile Health Apps (mHealth)

 allow patients to track their health

status, medications, and symptoms,
and communicate with healthcare
providers.

Electronic Prescribing (e-Prescribing)

 allows healthcare providers to send

prescriptions directly to pharmacies
electronically.