Informatics Project Proposal
Informatics Project Proposal
The proposed nursing informatics project is blockchain which is effective in preventing data breaches. Blockchain technology provides immutability, transparency, and security of data. It enhances the sharing of data across peers with no doubt about its security (Mettler, 2016). The technology is essential in healthcare organizations since it will enhance the sharing of data without any fear it will be tampered with. For example, data shared across the blockchain platform cannot be deleted or altered with since it is append-only. Nursing informacists manage tones of data in a single organization. Therefore, blockchain will help them in the storage and sharing of the data across the health providers (Mettler, 2016). It will also be essential in preventing cases of hacking that can lower the confidence and satisfaction of patients. The project will be useful in sharing the information with various healthcare providers, top management or across healthcare organizations.
Stakeholders
The stakeholders who are impacted by the technology include patients and nurses. The reason is that the medical profiles of the patients will be shared securely across various platforms. The patients will have confidence in a health organization that has invested in blockchain technology since they know that their data is secure (Mettler, 2016). The patients’ data will not be tampered with therefore enhancing the quality of treatment and reducing medical errors. For example, if the data is tampered with, a patient may receive the wrong treatment of drug prescription. On the other hand, the project will involve the nurses who will freely share information with their peers with no fear of cybercrime (Angraal, Krumholz & Schulz, 2017). The nurses will also freely access the data without any need for third-party authentication. The top management is also major stakeholders in the project. The reason is that they will give approval for the project. They will also benefit since all the data shared across the blockchain platform is time stamped. Therefore, it is easy to track every activity thus protecting the data from unscrupulous activities.
Patient Outcomes
Blockchain is intended to enhance patient outcomes and patient care efficiencies. The ability of the technology to securely track patient health records helps medical providers to study the disease of a patient comprehensively (Angraal, Krumholz & Schulz, 2017). When patients are treated in a new hospital, their health records are rarely retrieved. However, with blockchains, the records will be readily available. Therefore, a healthcare provider will easily identify what the patient has been suffering from, the types of medications recommended and the allergies are any. Additionally, it will improve the efficiency of sharing data among peers without fear or losing it (Angraal, Krumholz & Schulz, 2017). In some cases, patients are delayed since the information is not available. Once the blockchain is implemented in the organization it will be easy to avoid delays that are related to unavailability of data.
The technology will be essential in reducing medical errors. The consensus protocols require a person to validate entry. Therefore, it will prevent wrong entry that leads to the wrong prescription of drugs or treatment on the wrong person. In this way, the technology will enhance patient satisfaction and improve the efficiency of operations (Till, Peters, Afshar & Meara, 2017). Implementing technology in the organization will save time and cost. The healthcare providers will not waste time verifying the information since the blockchain technology is trustworthy. It is unlike when hospitals have to verify information on their files or computers since it might have been tampered with. For example, one of the leading causes of medical errors is the submission of wrong information or inadequate information flow. In this case, blockchain technology will solve the problem completely. Additionally, the technology is reliable and trusted in enhancing the efficiency of operations in other sectors such as banks apart from healthcare (Till, Peters, Afshar & Meara, 2017). The reason is due to their capability to handle tons of data securely and transfer it efficiently.
Technologies
The process of implementing blockchain requires various technologies. One of the major ones is a programming language which will be used to design a custom blockchain for the healthcare organization. Some of the best-known programming languages include C++, Java, and Python among others. The implementation process will also require storage devices that will require to store the data and the backup files of the technology (Till, Peters, Afshar & Meara, 2017). Additionally, it is necessary to have computers that are interconnected for easy sharing of the information across the peers. The design of the blockchain will require admin and user interface platforms. The technologies will help in dissemination and sharing of data. The admin can also share more data with the users (Engelhardt, 2017). Another necessary technology is a security wall that will prevent hackers from interfering with the system before it is completely designed. If they hack it during the design stage, it would compromise the implementation.
Roles
The project will comprise of various individuals who will be allocated various roles to make it successful. One of the major roles is the programmer of the various blocks of data. The team of programmers will work together to design custom blocks for the health organization. It will also be essential to create the best platforms that will be solving the challenges the organization has been going through (Engelhardt, 2017). A team of nurses and top management officials will also be assigned the role of sharing the necessary information the programmers should put into blocks. The information should be filtered and cleaned to ensure it is accurate. Another team will comprise of nurses who will be involved in testing the blocks of data that are mad (Engelhardt, 2017)e. The final testing stages will of experts who will check the authenticity of the program. If there are areas that need to be corrected, they will be adjusted.
Nurse Informaticist
Nurse informaticists can be incorporated into the project since their major role is to manage and disseminate data, information, and knowledge. The process of managing and sharing the data should be secure to enhance patient outcomes. The informaticts will be the custodians of the blockchain technology once it is implemented in the organization (Mettler, 2016). They can also be involved to provide information on how they have been handling data in the past. Their experience and the challenges they have had will then be solved using the new technology of block chains. The informaticists will also be helpful in guiding the programmers on how they will customize the data for the future needs of the organization (Mettler, 2016). Therefore, it is important to involve them since they have knowledge of how the organization has been handling information and its future plans. Therefore, programmers will make custom systems or blocks of data that can be relied on.
References
Angraal, S., Krumholz, H. M., & Schulz, W. L. (2017). Blockchain technology: applications in health care. Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 10(9), e003800.
Engelhardt, M. A. (2017). Hitching healthcare to the chain: An introduction to blockchain technology in the healthcare sector. Technology Innovation Management Review, 7(10).
Mettler, M. (2016). Blockchain technology in healthcare: The revolution starts here. In 2016 IEEE 18th International Conference on e-Health Networking, Applications and Services (Healthcom) (pp. 1-3). IEEE.
Till, B. M., Peters, A. W., Afshar, S., & Meara, J. G. (2017). From blockchain technology to global health equity: can cryptocurrencies finance universal health coverage?. BMJ global health, 2(4), e000570.
