by Sonny Aloner Dela Rosa, RN   

Nursing Informatics Coordinator

Hamad General Hospital

The current healthcare innovations in Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) are driving a technological leap that will provide better patient care and improve outcomes. The core economic benefit of healthcare innovations in any organization has its costs implication but the benefit in the long run outweigh the cost incurred.

The establishment of the different diverse specialties across the corporation had created huge changes and opportunities to improve its service and the quality of care being provided to each diverse client and population. The technological innovation started way back in 2006, when the Nursing Informatics Department (NID) was established and had taken the lead to implement technological innovation in nursing. This department is headed by Dr. Wasmiya Dalhem and with her dedication to this new field; it has made a significant contribution to the improvement in nursing services within HMC. The Nursing Informatics Department is the first nursing specialty in GCC focusing on promoting adaptation and use of information technology in nursing practice.

Figure 1 NID Nursing Informatics Model

This department had adapted its very own unique HMC structure to guide its staff on how to practice nursing informatics within HMC; through developing the mission, vision strategy and Nursing informatics model (see Figure 1) that serves as an umbrella in guiding the department to successfully provide advances in nursing practice and incorporating the HMC-Nursing Informatics Definition “Nursing Informatics is defined as the specialty that advances nursing practice by integrating computer and information Science, education , administration and research science within healthcare with the best use of information management to improve healthcare delivery” (NID, 2014)  . The recent successes of CIS roll out among HMC facilities has shone a light on nursing informatics involvement in CIS implementations where it trained and supported nurses prior, during, and post implementation. The NI team provided a comprehensive training program including skill lab training, job aids, brochures, and video tutorials. This program is one of the unique innovations that has been carried out by the department to support nurse’s adaptation to CIS implementation and was recently awarded by the Cerner Middle East Regional User Group in Dubai, UAE in 2015. In addition to leading the implementation of the staff Management System, “Cerner Clairvia “ was implemented, which is concerned with Nursing Department  Workforce. Management across the Hamad Medical Corporation.

The department has not only contributed innovation within HMC but also in a global prospective through the development of research for improvement of nursing informatics practice in HMC. In this respect, last year the department contributed to the 12^th International Congress on Nursing Informatics in Taiwan. The department contribution in this conference had led to the publication of its departmental research in the Canadian Journal of Nursing Informatics “The Impact of E-learning on Nurses Professional Knowledge and Practice in HMC”. Thus, nursing informatics is a milestone in HMC embracing technological innovation in healthcare to improve nurse adaptation through education, research and training.

AUTHOR INFORMATION

Sonny Aloner Dela Rosa, RN

Mr. Sonny dela Rosa works as a Nursing Informatics Coordinator in Hamad Medical Corporation. He earned his degree in Nursing from Southern Luzon State University in the Philippines in 1992. He has been working as a nurse assuming different positions in various hospitals in the Philippines. He previously worked in Saudi German Hospital Madinah as a Head Nurse. He also worked as a specialty nurse in King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital Jeddah KSA.  Prior to his post as Nursing Informatics Coordinator, he worked as a staff nurse in Heart Hospital and joined the CIS SME workgroup for CIS implementation. He joined the nursing informatics department in February, 2014 as an Informatics Nurse. He was assigned in Al khor Hospital and then in Cuban hospital. He assumed his new post as Informatics Coordinator in May, 2015 and is currently working on the CIS preparation for HGH.

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