Nursing Informatics D790: Foundations in Nursing Informatics Units 1-3

D790: Foundations in Nursing Informatics Units 1-3 Health informatics incorporates processes, procedures, theories, and concepts from computer and information sciences, the health sciences (e.g., nursing and medical science), and the social sciences (e.g., cognitive psychology and organizational science). Health informatics professionals use information technology (IT) tools to collect, store, process, and communicate health data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. IT and related hardware, as well as software, are viewed as tools to be used by consumers, patients, and clients; healthcare providers; and administrators to achieve the goals of health informatics. The goals of health informatics include both supporting healthcare delivery and improving the health status of all people. Hierarchical Model 2 The hierarchical model is demonstrated in Fig. 2.3. Each individual computer is part of a local area network (LAN). The LANs join together to form a wide area network (WAN) that is connected to the mainframe computers. Three terms are used to indicate the level of reference. These are subsystem, target system, and supersystem. A subsystem is any system within the target system. For example, if the target system is a LAN, each computer is a subsystem. The supersystem is the overall structure in which the target system exists. If the target system is a LAN, then Fig. 2.3 represents a supersystem. The boundary of a system forms the demarcation between the target system and the environment of the system. Input flows into the system by moving across the boundary and output flows into the environment across this boundary. Entropy is the tendency of all systems to break down into their simplest parts. As it breaks down, the system becomes increasingly disorganized or random. Negentropy is the opposite of entropy. This is the tendency of living systems to grow and become more complex. Change within any part of the system will be reflected across the total system. This is referred to as reverberation