Nursing Informatics

Nursing Informatics is the "science and practice (that) integrates nursing, its information and knowledge, with management of information and communication technologies to promote the health of people, families, and communities worldwide." (IMIA Special Interest Group on Nursing Informatics 2009). The application of nursing informatics knowledge is empowering for all healthcare practitioners in achieving patient centered care.

Nurse informaticians work as developers of communication and information technologies, educators, researchers, chief nursing officers, chief information officers, software engineers, implementation consultants, policy developers, and business owners, to advance healthcare. Core areas of work include:

• Concept representation and standards to support evidence-based practice, research, and education
• Data and communication standards to build an interoperable national data infrastructure
• Research methodologies to disseminate new knowledge into practice
• Information presentation and retrieval approaches to support safe patient centered care
• Information and communication technologies to address inter-professional work flow needs across all care venues
• Vision and management for the development, design, and implementation of communication and information technology
• Definition of healthcare policy to advance the public’s health

AMIA’s Nursing Informatics Working Group serves as the United States’ representative to the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) Nursing Informatics Special Interest Group.