NURSING INFORMATICS IN SOUTH AMERICA

Objectives:

 To present an overview of the development of Nursing Informatics in South America.

 To identify some initiatives in the field, including discussion on the current user of
terminologies.
 To identify imitative to disseminate nursing informatics resources in the region.

Introduction:

Nursing Informatics in 13 South America countries has been based more on ACTIVITIES
of INDIVIDUALS than on a policy established by governments or national efforts. Each country
has varied levels of development and deployment of technological resources.

Technology is visible tendency in:

1. Health
2. Nursing Education
3. Nursing Practice
4. Nursing research
5. Administration

The growth of information technology in Latin America and the Caribbean has been
consistently the world’s highest for 20 years. Most developed parts of the country have better
access and ability to implement services and applications in nursing.

Health institutes and universities are exploring ways to introduce news resources on
order to facilitate the process of the patient care and promote quality and safety.

BACKGROUND:

Historically nurses are used to facing challenges, adapting new tools in to the practice to
improve their performance, and creating new models to enhance patient care. Technology can
represent a unique instrument to help nurses to face further challenges and discover how to use its
resources to involve and maybe to design their way taking care of the people. Information is the
key element for decision- making process in the health care area. The more specific information
in place to support clinical decisions, the better care can be delivered to the patient.

Technology plays an important role in facilitating access to the information because for
the information to be useful and meaningful, it has to be timely. In this, there is a clear trend in
the direction of the computerization of health records. People are able to connect to the internet
that is a telecommunication resource with no parallel to fast exchange data and information. In
result we can expect to see better- informed healthcare providers and consumers.

Considering trends and tendency in healthcare informatics and to facilitate the process in
South American countries, the Pan American health organization (PAHO) has published
guidelines and protocols to orient the development and deployment of information and
communicating technology in Latin America and Caribbean (Pan America Association) World
Health Organization 1991, 2001 and 2003.)

Latin America and Caribbean region rank third in information technology expenditure.
A study performed by the PAN America health Organization/ World Health organization
information, computer and social infrastructure is evolving rapidly.

NURSING INFORMATICS INITIATIVES

In South American countries:

The initial motivation to develop computer systems in the healthcare area was driven by
financial and administrative concerns. The hospital sector can be considered the area better served
by information systems.

1. Brazil
2. Mexico
3. Argentina
4. Colombia
5. Paraguay
 These countries have clinical information systems in hospital or health institutes. In
general, patient data that are also used for nursing administration are integrated in the systems or
nurses have to collect and analyze nursing data separately. Hospitals have been working to design
their own systems in order to attend to specific needs and policies.

National and International software industry become more represented in South

America health care worker. They provide a broader range of solutions with systems that address
patient are documentation.

Most of the computer systems implemented is intended to control administration data.

Congress, conferences, workshops, education and training programs are being organized in the
countries to share experiences and information in nursing searching for solutions that could
enhance the delivery of patient care.

DISTANCE LEARNING AND THE EDUCATIONAL PERSPECTIVES IN

NURSING INFORMATICS

Technology is transferring not only nursing practice but also nursing training and
education models. Nurses became the PRIMARY USERS, responsible for data input. They
become “computer- Literate” in order to use computer technology in an efficient manner.

To meet education and training needs, nursing schools and hospitals initiated programs
to prepare nurses to use computers. Computer applications in nursing education are also changing
nursing education from a passive teaching to an active learning process.

The NUCLEO de Informatica em Enfermagen at Universidad de Federal de Sao

Paulo (NIEN/UNISEF) was the first center to offer the specialization degree (certificate) in South
America.
NIEN/UNISEF

Provides since 1989, the nursing informatics discipline in its graduate and undergraduate
nursing programs. The research “line” in nursing informatics is attended by professionals from
different regions of the country and has been responsible for the preparation of several master and
doctoral students in nursing informatics.

The student after graduation return to their own instates to implement education and
research programs and to participate in the development of patient care systems. The Latin
America countries are investing a significant effort to prepare professionals in health informatics.

NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND DOCUMENTATION

Sharing and communicating information is essential to make decisions and deliver care.
Exchange of information requires the communicating parties to agree on a communicating
channel, an exchange protocol and a common language. The language includes an alphabetic
words, phrases and symbols that express and assign meaning, understood by all users ( PAN
America Health Association/world health Organization,1997).

CLARK (1995)
Pointed out that “communicating among ourselves has always been important but
communicating with other people about nursing has acquired a new urgency since we are forced
to recognize that the value of nursing is no longer apparent to those who have the power to
influence our practice”.

Other issues to be considered:

- Reimbursement
- Policies
- Cost containment
- Technological development in recent years
· Nurses’ responsibility to decide not only what kind of data is important to describe the
continuous care but also to decide how these data could be described.
 SUMMARY

Nursing Informatics as an integrated part of health follows the progress that has been
made in the whole sector of health informatics. Because of the variety among countries and even
inside larger countries, the development of nursing informatics is conducted on a case-by-case
basis, taking into consideration the specific requirements of each region.
---The development and deployment of nursing informatics is dependent on national priorities and
human capabilities.
---The situation represents a great opportunity for nursing.