With data driving decisions at every level of a health system, healthcare organizations must have data experts who can understand and communicate the technological processes and the reasons behind them to clinical staff. Nurse informaticists bridge the gap between data and nursing practice by combining clinical experience and data expertise. They fulfill three pivotal responsibilities:
Understand and communicate the “why” behind new processes.
Implement new processes.
Validate data quality.
With a nurse informaticist guiding data-driven processes, educating nurses, and validating data quality, health systems advance data beyond the data platform so it reaches the nursing workforce to inform decisions at the frontlines of healthcare delivery.