The perioperative arena must accept, own, and accelerate the paradigm shift to drive advances in information handling technologies. Managers need to fully understand the implications of information technology in the perioperative domain, and perioperative personnel must step forward to either partner with or become informatics experts. Cathy Wassem, RN, PhD, asked the question 'On the information superhighway, will nurses be hitchhikers, builders, or road-kill?'(26) It is believed that perioperative nurses have the initiative, desire, and intelligence to become the builders and to avoid the shoulder of the information highway. It is only by heating the perioperative voice that systems will be developed and procured to meet the needs of those they are designed to serve--the perioperative team.
NOTES
(1.) J P Turley, 'A framework for the transition from nursing records to a nursing information system,' Nursing Outlook 40 (July/August 1992) 177-181.
(2.) Ibid.
(3.) J R Graves, S Corcoran, 'The study of nursing informatics,' Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship 21 (Winter 1989) 227-231.
(4.) American Nurses Association, Scope of Practice for Nursing Informatics: 1994 (Washington, DC: American Nursing Publishing, 1994) 6.
(5.) C D Parker, C Gassert, 'JCAHO's management of information standards. The role of the informatics nurse specialist,' Journal of Nursing Administration 26 (June 1996) 13-15.
(6.) P Abbott, 'The nurse manager's role in successful system implementation,' in Information Management in Nursing and Health Care, M E Mills, C A Romano, B R Heller, eds (Springhouse, Pa: Springhouse Corp, 1996) 116-127.
(7.) S Woodhead, 'Bringing nurses on-line: Implementing nursing informatics,' Military Medicine 162 (April 1997) 229-232.
(8.) M Meeker, J Rothrock, eds, Alexander's Care of the Patient in Surgery, 11th ed (St Louis: Mosby, 1999) 3-18.
(9.) F W Lee, 'Evolution of computer-based information systems and networks to support integrated health care delivery systems,' Topics in Health Information Management 17 (May 1997) 1-10.
(10.) 'Building the capacity to improve quality.' Available from http://www.hcqualitycommission.gov /final/chap14.html. Accessed 22 August 2000.
(11.) Ibid.
(12.) The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, HCIA, Inc, The HIS Desk Reference: ACIO Survey (Ann Arbor, Mich: The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, HCIA, Inc, 1997).
(13.) AORN, Inc, Standards, Recommended Practices, and Guidelines (Denver: AORN, Inc, 2000) 229-231.
(14.) D G Kanich, J R Byrd, 'How to increase efficiency in the operating room,' Surgical Clinics of North America 76 (February 1996) 161 - 173.
(15.) 'Getting an info system that will work,' OR Manager 14 (July 1998) 14-17.
(16.) S M Meikle, 'The computer-oriented paperless operating room,' Today's OR Nurse (January/February 1994) 25-32.
(17.) P Maddox, 'Automated systems for staffing, scheduling and resource management,' in Information Management in Nursing and Health Care, M E Mills, C A Romano, B R Heller, eds (Springhouse, Pa: Springhouse Corp, 1996) 245-255.
(18.) M Douglas, 'Butterflies, bonsai, and buonarroti: Images for the nurse analyst,' in Nursing Informatics: Where Caring and Technology Meet, second ed, M J Ball et al, eds (New York: Springer-Verlag, 1995) 84-94.
(19.) S V Kleinbeck, K R Eells, 'Monitoring postdischarge ambulatory surgical recovery cost and outcomes,' Surgical Services Management 3 (June 1997) 33-35.
(20.) J Micheli, 'Changing OR environments and perioperative roles through technology,' Surgical Services Management 5 (December 1999) 30-33.
(21.) B Hersher, 'New roles for nurses in healthcare information systems,' in Nursing Informatics: Where Caring and Technology Meet, third ed, M J Ball et al, eds (New York: Springer, 2000) 87-80.
(22.) 'A robust future for health pros: The field will grow twice as fast as the overall economy.' Available from http://www.usnews .com/usnews/edu/careers/grad/ccmed out.htm. Accessed 16 August 2000.
(23.) P Abbott, 'The nurse manager's role in successful system implementation,' 116-127.
(24.) Woodhead, 'Bringing nurses on-line: Implementing nursing informatics,' 229-232.
(25.) American Nurses Association, Scope of Practice for Nursing Informatics.
(26.) C Wassem, personal communication with the author, Morristown, NJ, April 1997.
Joel L. Parker, RN, MS, MSHRPM, CNOR, LCDR, US Navy Nurse Corps, is a clinical information nurse specialist at the Naval Air Station Hospital, Jacksonville, Fla.
Patricia A. Abbott, RN, PhD, C, is an assistant professor and coordinator of the Graduate Program in Nursing Informatics at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, the Department of Defense, or the US Government.
