Informatics

Blended Course

a combination of the traditional face-to-face classroom and online formats for learning

Data Warehouse

a comprehensive collection of clinical and demographic data on large populations

Clinical Decision Support System (CDSS)

a computer application that uses a complex system of rules to analyze data and presents information to support the decision-making process of the knowledge worker

firewall

a computer network system that blocks incoming and outgoing data using a set of rules

Contingency Plan

a computer plan for unexpected outcomes that is detailed and addresses risks of significant implementation problems

Web 2.0

a descriptor for what online companies/services that survived the dot.com bubble burst in 2000 had in common; includes the shift from only reading to reading, interacting, and writing on the Internet

genomics

a discipline of genetics related to the study of DNA

Healthcare Informatics

a discipline specializing in the management of healthcare information with computer technology

rich site summary (RSS)

a feed for websites such as news and blogs to notify a user when there

Consumer Informatics

a field of study related to healthcare information that is accessible to consumers in a useful, understandable manner

Boolean Logic

a form of algebra in which matches are either true or false, named after the 19th century mathematician George Boole; three concepts make up Boolean logic: "AND," "OR," and "NOT"

Chart

a graphical presentation of a set of numbers; provide a means to interpret the relationships of quantitative and categorical data in a table

Peer-reviewed article

a journal article that was blind reviewed by two or more nurse experts for a blind review to assure the validity, quality, and reliability of information

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

a law passed in 1996 that protects the privacy and security of health information and provides patients the right to see their own healthcare records

encryption

a method of protecting vulnerable data from cyber thieves; requires a password to decode and read the files

Healthcare Data Analytics

a movement to integrate financial data, patient data, and quality data to produce predictive and prescriptive analytics for decision makers; also known as business intelligence

Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR)

a multidisciplinary electronic record that communicates the complex process of medication use; provides a mechanism for efficient nurse time utilization as well as facilitates the delivery of safe care

National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI)

a national database to which hospitals submit nursing-sensitive data about structure, process, and outcomes of nursing care; the NDNQI aggregates the data quarterly and returns reports to participating hospitals

Informatics Nurse Specialist

a nurse with either a graduate education degree in nursing informatics or a field relating to informatics who has successfully passed an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) specialty certification exam

Data Mining

a process that extracts from data potentially useful information that was previously unknown

Quality Improvement

a process to improve outcomes by the introduction of change, repeat measurement, and comparison of outcomes over time

Systematic review

a research process designed to carefully review and analyze the results of multiple, similar research studies; reduces three types of bias inherent in individual research studies: selection, indexing, and publication

Listserv

an e-mail discussion list that has participants who discuss various aspects of a topic

Electronic Health Record

an electronic record of a patient's health history, established by President George W. Bush in 2004; one's health information is available from any location where there is Internet access and a health information exchange

electronic health record (EHR)

an electronic record of a patient's health history, established by President George W. Bush in 2004; one's health information is available from any location where there is Internet access and a health information exchange

Spreadsheet

an electronic version of a table consisting of a grid of rectangles (cells) arranged in columns and rows; can be uniquely formatted to display numbers, text data, and formulas

advanced encryption standard (AES)

an encryption standard found in Wi-Fi used to protect electronic data

IP address

an identifier of four sets of numbers separated by periods or dots, making it possible for each computer on the Internet to be electronically located

Personal identification number

an identifier used to gain computer access

Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN)

an initiative initially funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that is now hosted by Case Western Reserve University, which focuses on six competencies of nursing, including patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration, evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety, and informatics

Technology Informatics Guiding Educational Reform (TIGER)

an initiative whose objective is to make nursing informatics competencies part of every nurse's skillset for the 21st century so nurses can deliver safer, high-quality, evidence-based care

virtual private network (VPN)

an intranet with an extra layer of security that operates as an extranet, which allows an organization to communicate confidentially by transmitting a file using an encrypted tunnel blocking view of the file by others

blog

an online web log or discussion about thoughts or topics of interest

Workflow Analysis

analyzes and depicts how work is accomplished; a critical component of the computer system planning phase (1. initiating 2. planning 3. executing 4. controlling 5. closing)

universal resource locator (URL)

assigned to all web documents and contain descriptors, a domain name (a unique name that identifies a website), and may include a folder name, a file name, or both

Confidentiality

authorized care providers maintaining all personal health information as secret, except to other care providers who need access to that information and to others that the patient has consented to allow access

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level

calculates a U.S. school grade level with a formula that uses the average number of words per sentence and the average number of syllables per word; the recommended Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level for patient education resources is 6

Smart phone

cell phones with Internet connectivity

Synchronous Learning

class is held at set times and all participants are "present," either online or in the classroom

Best research evidence

clinically relevant research, which includes outcomes and effectiveness patient care

informatics

computer information systems science

Clinical Information Systems

computer systems designed for use in healthcare delivery

Interoperable

data can be shared electronically, such as in an electronic health record

De-identified Data

data stripped of subject identifiers

deidentified data

data stripped of subject identifiers

Clinical reasoning

decision making that uses critical thinking skills and considers all factors influencing patient preferences by nurse care provider; the nurse uses clinical reasoning to determine pertinent factors to assist the patient to maintain or attain health

Audit Trail

details information about when the record was accessed, the original point of access, what particular components were accessed, the date, and times

Nurse Licensure Compact (NLC)

endorsed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) as a framework for regulating the interstate practice of nursing for RNs and LPNs/VNs; under this concept, nurses holding a valid license in one state could practice (both physically in person and electronically by using the telephone or telemedicine connectivity to assess and provide care) in other states, according to the rules and regulations of the states

Data Analytics

examination of large amounts of raw and unorganized data to identify patterns or trends in order to make business decisions

Navigation bars

graphical bars across the top of a page that provide multiple choices and need alternative methods of access

Telehealth

health services delivered using electronic technology to patients at a distance; extends beyond the delivery of clinical services

Randomized Control Trials

highest priority or evidence is derived from meta-analysis of these trials and evidence-based clinical guidelines based on systematic reviews of them

Flipped Classroom

students complete learning activities (videos, interactive learning modules, etc.) in advance, allowing learners to spend class time using engaged learning activities that reinforce learning

Synchronization

technology that allows users to share files between devices through a cloud sharing application where changes are copied back and forth

Cell

the rectangles contained in a grid of a spreadsheet that are arranged in columns and rows; each cell can be formatted to display numbers, text data, and formulas

Patient portal

a secure website that provides patients access to their EHR data

TED Style

a slide presentation style that uses commanding images with or without a few words to convey meaning in a presentation; each slide conveys a message

Slide Sorter View

a slide presentation view that shows many slides on one screen and is used for viewing and rearranging all the slides

Database Management System

a software application that provides tools for creating a database, entering data, retrieving, manipulating, and reporting information contained within the data

Workbook

a spreadsheet file containing one or more spreadsheets; a user can change the order of the sheets, add, or delete sheets from a workbook

PICO

a standard used today to investigate evidence-based care in medicine and nursing; the abbreviation stands for patient, problem, or population; intervention; comparison; outcome; and in some cases represents time, type of question, and/or type of study (if added to the end of the abbreviation)

APA (American Psychological Association) Sixth Style

a style for authoring scholarly papers in many nursing education programs, journals, and textbooks

Dashboards

a user-friendly way to deliver business intelligence and data analytics; deliver real-time information on key performance indicators to drive decision making in healthcare

Virtual Reality

allows the participant to exist in another reality using allusions, where the participant experiences an event that appears real but does not physically exist; the objective is to create a scene in which the participant is free to concentrate on the tasks, problems, and ideas that he or she would face in the real situation

Simulations

imitates actual experiences and has many uses, such as part of an orientation or in-service program, a face-to-face classroom or clinical laboratory setting, or as part of a homework assignment; effective simulations match the learner's knowledge background, or are, at least, only slightly above it, and the point of view addresses the learning needs

Scholarly Writing

includes a variety of venues, including online discussion postings, master's theses, doctoral dissertations, and journal manuscripts

Healthcare Information System (HIS)

is a composite made up of all the information management systems that serve an organization's needs. The complexity of HIS is largely independent of the size of the organization because healthcare provides a common core of patient care services

Self-Plagiarism

it occurs when authors take work they previously published and present it as new

Asynchronous Learning

learners use the distance learning resources at a time and place that is convenient for them

E-learning

learning using computer technology; the term places the emphasis on student learning and pedagogy

Financial Management

management of money for decision making; often accomplished using specialized software programs

Core Measures

national scientifically based standards used to compare quality of healthcare

Statistical Analysis

nurse researchers can collect data, manage them in databases, and analyze them with specialized programs; with attention to the principles of data analysis, other nurses can benefit from the use of statistical analysis to improve decision making and outcomes

Evidence-based nursing

nursing care based upon scientifically proven nursing research

urban legends

stories thought to be factual by those who pass them on that are often sensationalist, distorted, or exaggerated; often sent through e-mail

Workflow Redesign

one of the many difficult issues that healthcare providers face when planning and designing the application of electronic systems; this includes the lack of experience or lack of knowledge about other ways to accomplish work, resistance to change, the tedious processes involved in identifying how work changes with a technology solution, which involves creating process flow diagrams that paint "before" and "after" pictures of workflow and the nuts-and-bolts questions about the presence of computers

Worksheet

one spreadsheet in a workbook file; it is best to use a separate worksheet for each table in a workbook

Informatics Nurse

one who enters the nursing informatics field because of an interest or experience

Academic Papers

papers written for an instructor or professor in an educational setting

Prezi

presentation software that uses zooming to navigate to images on a single canvas

Augmented Reality

provides a representation of real life with digital images

External Reference

references (links) a cell or a cell range in a spreadsheet located in another workbook; values changed in a linked cell change the referenced cell in another workbook

Disaster Recovery

referred to as a business continuity plan in information technology (IT) referring to the recovery of services after a disaster

Meta-analysis

research on previous research—systematic reviews

Invisible/deep Web

sites not reachable by traditional search tools; TOR is website

Code of Ethics for Nurses

statements of the professionals' values and beliefs, which are based on ethical principles

Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP)

terminology for telephony products, which allow one to make a telephone call anywhere in the world with voice and video by using the Internet, thereby bypassing the phone company

Health numeracy

the ability of a consumer to interpret and act on numerical information to make effective health decisions

Information literacy

the ability to know when one needs information and how to locate, evaluate, and effectively use it

Health literacy

the ability to obtain and understand health information for decision making; it includes the capacity to understand instructions on prescription drug bottles, appointment slips, medical education brochures, doctor's directions, consent forms, and the ability to negotiate complex healthcare systems

Clinical Expertise

the ability to use clinical skills and past experience to rapidly identify each patient's unique health state and diagnosis, individual risks and benefits of potential interventions, and personal values and expectations

Process Improvement

the application of actions taken to identify, analyze, and improve existing processes within an organization to meet requirements for quality, customer satisfaction, and financial goals

Telemedicine

the electronic exchange of health information between two sites using telecommunication tools

Active Cell

the location where you enter data in a spreadsheet; analogous to the insertion point in other programs

operating system

the most important program on a computer; coordinates input from the keyboard with output on the screen, responds to mouse and touchpad clicks, heeds commands to save a file, retrieves files, transmits commands to printers and other peripheral devices, and provides access to applications

graphical user interface

the point and click interface used on computers today

Restricted License

the result of a framework for regulating interstate practice developed by the Federation of State Medical Boards in 1996; allowed for the ability to practice telemedicine across state lines, though the decision to adopt the license was left to the individual state boards

Query

the search function for a relational database; one of the characteristics that make databases powerful

Content Layer

the slide presentation layer use to enter text or other objects, such as images, tables, and charts

Meaningful Use

the use of aggregated data from electronic health records for decision making to improve healthcare delivery

Learning Style

the way a person perceives, remembers, expresses, and solves problems

Plagiarism

using another's work as your own; two common types include copying the exact text written by others without citing the source and reordering the words of a source text without citing the source

applications

various types of software, such as office software and web browsers

4 V's of big data

volume, variety, velocity, and veracity

Scholarly nursing journals

written by only qualified nurses with expertise in the subject area; articles are rigorously peer reviewed prior to publication