Select one piece of data, or type of information, such as patient name, health condition, lab results, etc., and assess how this information flows in your current organization.

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Application 2: Visual Map of Information Flow
The health care industry moves at a rapid pace and, as such, requires that information flows quickly and seamlessly. Visual maps are used to plot factors that may inhibit the speed at which information is shared from point A to point B, for example, from the emergency department to the floor. As a nurse engaged in advanced practice, it is important for you to analyze how information flows within your organization. For this week’s Application Assignment, you create a visual map, which will allow you to gain experience with assessing a flow of information.
To prepare:
Review the Alexander article listed in the Learning Resources, focusing on Figure 1: Data Flow Diagram of Nursing Home Clinical Information System with Decision Support.
Closely examine additional examples of visual maps that demonstrate the flow of information in an organization, including those listed in the Learning Resources. Conduct additional research as necessary using credible websites and the Walden Library.
Select one piece of data, or type of information, such as patient name, health condition, lab results, etc., and assess how this information flows in your current organization.
To complete:
Create a visual map that illustrates the flow of information in your organization. Your map must track the flow of one piece of data/information from its point of origin to its final destination. Follow the examples presented in the Learning Resources.
You may save your file as a .doc, .pdf, .rtf, .xls, or .ppt.
Readings
Course Text:Nursing Informatics: Where Technology and Caring Meet
Chapter 15, “Evidence-Based Clinical Decision Support”
In this chapter, the authors discuss the challenges that arise as HIT systems are employed to support evidence-based practices. The authors also provide examples of tools, features, and systems that promote evidence-based practices.
Course Text: American Nurses Association (2015). Nursing informatics: Scope and standards of practice (2nd ed.). Silver Spring, MD: Author.
“Metastructures, Concepts, and Tools of Nursing Informatics” (pp. 2-18)
“Functional Areas for Nursing Informatics” (pp. 19-36)
These excerpts differentiate the metastructures (overarching concepts used in theory and science) of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom and examine how they are utilized in nursing informatics.
Article: Alexander, G. L. (2008). A descriptive analysis of a nursing home clinical information system with decision support. Perspectives in Health Information Management, 5(12), 1–22.
Retrieved from the Walden Library ProQuest Central database.
This research study examines how data flows through a nursing home’s information system and includes a diagram to illustrate that flow.