The 2008 Annual Nursing Informatics Conference held at the Gaylord National Resort on the Potomac on April 17th-19th is the most successful conference to date! This is ANIA's 15th year for organizing and hosting this Annual Conference. CARING partnered with ANIA in 2007 and formed the joint Conference Planning committee. In its 2nd year, the joint Conference Planning Committee composed of board members from ANIA and CARING exceeded their own expectations. First, there was record attendance of over 325 informatics nurses from the U.S., Canada, Finland, Spain, and Taiwan. Then, this year's line up of keynote speakers represented the luminaries in the healthcare informatics industry and 36 speakers delivered 'knock-out' and robust content for the participants. But wait, there's more!
The pre-conference workshops were held on Thursday April 17th featuring two highly sought after workshops entitled 'Writing for Publication Tutorial' and 'Project Management for Nurses.' Each workshop provided 6.5 contact hours. Project Management for Nurses packed in 52 attendees and it was considered 'extremely good, practical and relevant.' The workshop on Writing for Publication continues to be popular with over 30 attendees this year.
This year's conference theme was 'Monuments and Milestones to the Future' and offered something for everyone with concurrent sessions from 4 tracks including:
* Education and Career Development
* Nursing Practice
* Time and Workflow Management and,
* Cost Savings/ Service
Friday began with Kathleen A. McCormick PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, Scientific Director, Science Applications International Corporation, delivering the keynote address, 'Transforming to Translational- What Does It Mean for Nursing IT?' Much of Dr. McCormick's presentation generated so much food for thought for the future of nursing and the delivery of healthcare in all of its facets. One of the first topics was that the Electronic Healthcare Record (EHR) 'is not there yet.' Surveys conducted in 2007 showed the adoption rates of functional EHRs by US physicians and hospitals are still very low. One slide demonstrated a prediction of the very near future, in which a tipping point will occur for rapid and high rates of implemented Health Information Technology, with subsequent similar trends for EHR adoption, and a Transformational change in healthcare delivery and health.
Nurses will need to recognize that 'Clinicians will be unable to provide patient care without an EHR in the Genetic Future.' There will be many new roles for nursing as well as new opportunities for Nursing IT to participate in Translational Science Research with many Centers for Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) across the country.
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Saturday had a great start with the general session featuring Charles Friedman, PhD, Deputy National Coordinator, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). Dr. Friedman spoke about 'The National Health Information Technology (IT) Initiative: A Progress Update.' He described how the ONC is coordinating a nationwide effort to lay the foundation for a connected system of person-focused health care and population health. The Health IT Strategic Plan will be released this year and it will be a collaborative activity. The main focus of this nationwide effort is on Individual and Population and Health and Well-Being. It is imperative that Health Information Technology solutions support both of these perspectives.
Another activity observed on Saturday was Ed Stern and a cinematographer conducting 'on the street' style interviews with informatics nurses attending the conference. 'We are Nursing Informatics.' is a multimedia project, led by Ed Stern, with the aim to get the word out about the profession. 17 informatics nurses representing vendors, hospital organizations and independent consultants were interviewed about what they do, how they practice and what they feel about the industry. 'They all had very different roles and the one thing tying them all together was the focus of nursing practice integrated with the technology', says Stern. This is the first installation of interviews that will be integrated into the final multimedia program, which will be distributed in various venues to educate the public about Nursing Informatics.
Next, the luncheon symposium entitled: 'Views From the Inside: The Vendor Chief Nurse Officer (CNO) Perspective' featured five CNOs from leading industry vendors. Jim Finley moderated this first time ever gathering of CNOs in the same room. The CNOs delivered spirited discussion as attendees listened, laughed and enjoyed a light gourmet lunch prepared by the Gaylord staff. The Exhibit Hall had 25 vendors featuring a broad range of products. The Poster Presentation included 22 posters from ANIA and CARING members.
Judy Murphy, BSN, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, delivered the closing general session of the conference, 'Thinking Inside Another Box--Patient-Centric Care.' In her role as the Vice President of Information Services at Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she was able to share some of their system designs and approaches for providing more patient-centric care. Some examples shared: self-service web-based tools to register and schedule appointments or update demographic data; computer-generated health maintenance and disease management reminders; patient portals integrated with the EHR. Hospitalized patients receive daily itineraries and interactive TV devices for patient teaching, dietary menu ordering, and room maintenance requests. She also shared Aurora's plans for providing a patient centered access and billing process, plans to integrate retail into their care delivery, and offering extended clinic hours. It was a lively presentation with a lot of great ideas for Patient Centered Care.
The 3-day conference was also well thought out from the attendees' perspective. There was enough time between general sessions and concurrent sessions to go to the next session or interact with other attendees and not feel stressed. Also, there was ample opportunity to network with colleagues as well as some 'down-time' to roam about inside or outside the Gaylord National Resort. Each attendee received a CD containing the speakers' presentation and a tote bag. The joint Planning Committee is already resetting the compass for next years conference set for Las Vegas on April 24-25th, 2009. ANIA and CARING look forward to your continued support and participation in 2009!
The following CARING members had a poster presentation at the ANIA/CARING conference: Amany Abdrbo, Patricia A. Berkes, Martha P. Chatrou, Marie J. Gozdan, Sharon Hancharik, Donna H. Isler, Kristenia J. Jones, Ting-Ting Lee, Marilyn J. McCord, Tina M. Menna, Theresa A. Miller, Kathryn G. Sapnas, Darla S. Shehy, Susan G. Stanley, Michelle R. Troseth, and Vicki D. Vallejos.
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By Liberty Rovira, MN, RN-BC, CPHIMS and Debra Derickson, MSN, RN
