Page 46 - KNJIGA SAŽETAKA

INOVACIJE I IZAZOVI U OBRAZOVANJU I SESTRINSKOJ SKRBI - KNJIGA SAŽETAKA

Application of Information Technology in Healthcare

In today's world, few people do not use the internet and its benefits for various purposes in their
daily lives. The application of the internet has brought about significant changes, especially in
the field of healthcare. For the implementation and delivery of quality healthcare, one of the
key elements of best practice is research and the introduction of informatics in nursing. The use
of information technology in healthcare facilities in our country has been ongoing for several
decades, while in developed countries it began in the 1950s. Modern taxonomy from 1988
categorized medical informatics into general medical informatics and specialized branches.
Medical informatics disciplines include health informatics, medical informatics, clinical
informatics, nursing informatics, user health system informatics, public health informatics,
bioinformatics, and healthcare management informatics. According to the ANA definition from
1994, Nursing Information Systems deal with "Identifying, collecting, searching, processing,
managing data and information (displaying and communicating timely information), to support
nursing practice, documentation, education, research, and dissemination of nursing
knowledge."The aim of this study is to answer the question of to what extent the introduction
of informatics has contributed to the development of nursing and healthcare, improved patient
care outcomes, enhanced communication among healthcare participants, improved
documentation management, and enhanced quality of healthcare. Additionally, it aims to
demonstrate healthcare workers' readiness to adopt new technologies in their work.

The study presents results from domestic and international research and expert opinions on the
application of IT in healthcare and the importance of information literacy for the application of
best nursing practices. The basis for the preparation of the study is research and publications by
domestic and foreign authors published in international journals and publications. The used
published literature contains results, opinions, and views regarding the application of IT in the
healthcare system.

Information literacy and the introduction of informatics in nursing should serve the purpose for
which they were created and designed—to assist in the management and processing of data,
information, and knowledge obtained in the healthcare process. Based on all the
aforementioned, improvements in nursing practice, healthcare worker education, research
implementation, and healthcare administration have been achieved. Research has shown that
this approach has significantly improved the quality of care and work culture of healthcare
workers, enhanced communication, and eliminated healthcare worker downtime. The first step
in using IT is registering patients in a database. Once a patient is registered in the computer
system, all their data is permanently accessible to authorized personnel in the database.
Laboratory test results reach hospital departments faster, levels of care are recorded, and
changes in health status are continuously documented. Patient data is collected upon admission,
during interventions, hospitalizations, etc., and used to formulate nursing diagnoses and define
healthcare goals. There has been a significant acceleration in the evaluation of the healthcare
process and greatly facilitated rapid searches. All data collected remains permanently stored
and ready for use at any time. The connection between medical and nursing documentation
allows staff to more easily keep track of planned and applied therapies, harmonize nursing
interventions, and ultimately facilitate the formulation of both medical and nursing discharge
summaries, which greatly facilitates the work of primary healthcare (District Nursing Service,
Home Care and Treatment Service). Today, nursing work ranges from increasing obligations
to actual possibilities. Norms for the number of necessary nurses per department relative to the

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