Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to describe big data initiatives, where nursing has the opportunity to be involved and describe and how to get involved in a national collaborative to enhance nursing knowledge and big data science. The ability of nurses to make optimal clinical decisions depends on having access to accurate, real-time information, regardless of the care setting. Big data has the potential to improve nursing practice and patient outcomes as well improving enterprise operating and financial performance. It can support decision making by offering a comprehensive and synthesized understanding of patients, nurses, and organizations. The results of big data analysis enhance confidence in conclusions and can be fed back into systems as clinical or managerial decision support. Big data can support a more robust, timely and valid research agenda. 

Speaker Bios

Connie W. Delaney, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI

Connie White Delaney is Professor and Dean, School of Nursing, University of Minnesota.  She is past Director of the Clinical Translational Science Institute's Biomedical Informatics and Institute for Health Informatics (IHI) in the Academic Health Center.  Dr. Delaney is the first Fellow in the College of Medical Informatics to serve as a Dean of Nursing and was an inaugural appointee to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, an advisory body established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act within the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).  Dr. Delaney has served on numerous boards, including the Board of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and is a distinguished Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and National Academies of Practice in Nursing.  She is an active researcher and writer in the areas of national standards development for essential nursing care and outcomes/safety data. Dr. Delaney holds a BSN with majors in nursing and mathematics, MA in Nursing - Adult Health, Ph.D. Educational Administration and Computer Applications, and completed postdoctoral study in nursing & medical informatics at the University of Utah.  

Bonnie L. Westra, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI

Dr. Westra is an Associate Professor at University of Minnesota (UMN) in the School of Nursing with a secondary appoint in the Institute of Health Informatics.  She is the Director for the Center for Nursing Informatics. She co-chairs the Clinical Translational and Science Award (CTSA) Informatics and Architecture Committee at the University of Minnesota, which is responsible for development of a clinal data warehouse and supporting researcher access to clinical data. Her research focuses on reuse of electronic health record data to investigate outcomes such improvement in oral medication management, wounds, incontinence, and ambulation for older adults receiving home care services.  Dr. Westra was a member of the AMIA Board of Directors and Chaired the AMIA 2014 Scientific Planning Committee for the annual symposium and Co-chaired the Alliance for Nursing Informatics. She was a member of  the Minnesota eHealth Advisory Board, and has co-chaired multiple interprofessional workgroups on EHR meaningful use.