The University of Maryland School of Nursing's 23rd Annual Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics (SINI), held July 17 to 19, 2013, focused on emerging trends and technological innovations and offered an opportunity to explore the possibility of using informatics solutions to support the improvements of care and outcomes. The co-chairs of the SINI Program Planning Committee were Judy Ozbolt, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, FAIMBE, and me, Marisa L. Wilson, DNSc, MHSc, RN-BC. The chairs led the work of a Planning Committee consisting of 13 experts in the field of informatics over 12 months to conceptualize and bring to life a wonderful learning and collaborative experience that routinely results in moving the fields of nursing informatics and healthcare reform forward.
SINI 2013 offered four tracks-two for informaticists at all levels and two for informaticists at an expert level. Track A, suitable for informaticists at all levels, offered valuable information on lessons learned focused on implementing and evaluating electronic health records. Track B, also suitable for all levels, explored how nurse informaticists are supporting innovative meaningful use of technology through evolving roles. Tracks C and D were developed as deep dives and offered expert informaticists an opportunity to learn through participatory think tanks facilitated by national leaders. Track C focused on interoperability, specifically on policy, standards, and biomedical data integration. Track D facilitators explored clinical data, learning healthcare organizations, and data analytics. The topics presented in tracks C and D were designed to follow a logical progression that took the participant through a journey of discovery with the intention that best practices presented will be implemented in other sites.
The interactions of the facilitators and the participants of the deep dive think tanks, tracks C and D, were filmed and recorded over the course of 3 days. Graduate-level nurse informaticists will review these recordings in order to extract the recurrent themes. These data will be preserved and disseminated in order to move the field forward.
SINI 2013 also was host to the announcement of the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Mobile App Challenge winner announcement and demonstrations. Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FAAN, Deputy National Coordinator for Policy and Programs, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, revealed the three mHealth apps that will help nurses to assess the risk of pressure ulcers that affect more than 2.5 million people each year. These apps should reduce the severity of pressure ulcers through the use of technology that encourages the incorporation of usable tools at the point of care and that promotes information exchange through standards. Moreover, the apps encourage the integration of nursing content into SNOMED-CT. The top three app developers were awarded cash prizes of $60 000, $15 000, and $5000, respectively. The applications were judged by a panel that included representatives from the Office of the National Coordinator, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Kaiser Permanente, and Aurora Health Care. The apps were judged on criteria that included design and usability, adherence to the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel guidelines, and use of the HL7 Pressure Ulcer Prevention Domain Analysis Model. The winning app was WoundMAP Pump, an iOS application developed by MobileHealthWare. This app includes image capture and wound measurement systems. Healthcare providers can document wound progression through such information as dimension, skin color, temperature, and moisture. The second-place winner was Ulcercare app developed by Dermtap, and the third-place winner was the Wound Mender app developed by IOSTREAM, which allows both nurses and patients to view and share information on pressure risk assessment.
SINI 2013 was sponsored by VoiceFirst Solutions, HIMSS, Meditech, and ESD Consulting as well as 16 very important exhibitors. These sponsors and exhibitors enable the team to produce an exemplary program at a reasonable cost for our participants. Moreover, speakers, planning committee members, University of Maryland School of Nursing faculty and staff, and student volunteers all provide immense energy to make the 3-day event welcoming and successful.
Lastly, more than 40 keynote, distinguished, and invited lecturers along with the award winning podium presenters graciously shared their visions, experiences, and lessons learned with approximately 300 in-person and 50 virtual attendees. Thirty-two poster presenters shared their work with the attendees at focused sessions during which the People's Choice poster presentation was selected. Kevin Fickenscher, MD, CPE, FACP, FAAP, President and CEO of AMIA; Linda Fischetti, MS, RN, Vice President, Care Delivery of AETNA; Joan S. Ash, PhD, MLS, MBA, FACMI, Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Medical Informatics at the Oregon Health and Sciences University School of Medicine; Dana Alexander, MSN, MBA, RN, FAAN, FHIMSS, Vice President for Integrated Care Delivery of Caradigm; and Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, FAAN, Office of the National Coordinator, all led the charge for nurse informaticists to see beyond Meaningful Use and Stage 7. However, it is the work of the attendees at all of the points of healthcare that will move vision to reality. We are pleased then to bring the CIN readers the award-winning abstracts from SINI 2013.
SINI 2014 program planning is underway. The team continues to strive to bring relevant, cutting-edge, and thought-provoking sessions to novice-to-expert informaticists who will move the domain forward. Information on SINI 2014 will be available over the year through the University of Maryland School of Nursing Web site, so stay tuned as we bring to you 20 more years of even better information and action.