Experts Available to Discuss Technology Helps Nurses Give Better Care
The effort to create a Nursing Minimum Data Set, the first attempt to standardize the collection of essential nursing data across care settings, will transform nursing. That's the contention of nursing informatics expert Roy L. Simpson, RN, C, FNAP, FAAN.
He is the Vice President of Cerner Group (a healthcare IT group) who spoke at a March 5 nursing technology conference at the Medical College of Georgia, as reported upon by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Mr. Simpson believes that this effort along with the national push for hospitals to move toward electronic medical records by 2013 will change the definition of nursing.
Stated Mr. Simpson, "The only way to have evidence-based practice is through data," he said. "Without computers, all we have are individual paper notes of nursing care. Informatics can produce large data sets at the point of care so that we know, for instance, that putting the bed at a 30-degree angle for certain patients prevents pneumonia. Those data give us important information that increases knowledge."
In addition to pointing out nurses' key role in coordinating care, Mr. Simpson noted that "[t]echnology is a tool that helps nurses optimize patient care. It doesn't replace anything. It enables us to have data for research and with research, to change practice."
EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:
Bonnie Briggs, Medsphere Systems Corporation
Bonnie brings more than 20 years of medical and health IT experience to Medsphere, as well as broad clinical expertise and impeccable management skills. Most recently she was a senior project manager at Picis—a global provider of health IT solutions for acute care areas of the hospital-before moving to a clinical, project and product expert role on their sales team. Prior to Picis, Bonnie was vice president for professional services at Vertetrak, Inc., a startup developing forensic case management applications. She has also held account and project management positions with Canopy Systems, HealthMatics and Misys. Prior to health IT, she spent more than 15 years in cardiac nursing for such institutions as Florida Hospital Orlando, the Duke University Health System and UNC Health Care. A Six Sigma green belt, Bonnie is a member of the Project Management Institute and American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants.
Keith Figlioli, Premier healthcare alliance
Keith Figlioli is senior vice president for Premier Healthcare Informatics. Most recently, Figlioli was with Eclipsys as senior vice president of Enterprise Solutions, where he was responsible for all go-to-market activities, market planning and solution strategic direction. Over the course of six years with Eclipsys, Figlioli served in several roles. He was vice president and general manager of revenue cycle/departmental solutions, where he managed the growth of the Eclipsys revenue cycle and departmental solution portfolio, including business growth and market planning, and coordination of functional leadership to drive solution outcomes and customer satisfaction. He was vice president of operations, during which time he built the company's first international operation. And he served as vice president of corporate development where he owned the annual strategic planning process, mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnership development, and spearheaded new business initiatives focusing on the clinical trials and clinical content markets. Earlier in his career, Figlioli was the senior business development executive at a management consulting and systems integration company focusing on Fortune 1000 companies. Clients included General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Continental Airlines. Figlioli earned his Master of Business Administration from Boston University with concentration in Finance and Healthcare and his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wheaton College. He has served on the Board of Directors for Good Sports, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the participation of low-income, urban youth in sports, fitness and recreational programs, and MassBike, a nonprofit organization focused on Massachusetts bicycle advocacy.
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