On behalf of the INS board of directors, I would like to welcome everyone to Minneapolis and INS 2017. It truly has been a pleasure for me to serve as your 2016-2017 INS president. After my election, I talked with past presidents for some words of wisdom. I was so appreciative of the time and encouragement I received. We are a family that genuinely desires to help one another be the best we can be. In my presidential address from Fort Lauderdale, I expressed both of my passions: infusion nursing and professional development. My theme during the past year, "Transferring Knowledge Into Practice," revealed some of the day-to-day challenges clinicians face when integrating what they learn into their practices.
As infusion clinicians, how do we implement new evidenced-based information, such as the Infusion Therapy Standards of Practice (the Standards)? We receive it, read it, and may even update an organizational policy and procedure. But this doesn't always result in an actual change in practice. How effective is the education provided, and how do we ensure our colleagues are able to apply the new information in their daily patient care? Where do our responsibilities begin and end to support the best infusion practices? In health care today, patient outcomes are the single, most important measure to ensure our practices are effective. It's simply not enough to teach the Standards. We need to monitor and measure patient outcomes to improve the overall health and well-being of our patients, while reducing facility readmissions and the overall cost of health care.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM), recently renamed the Health and Medicine Division (HMD) of the National Academies, has had a significant impact on health care and has helped chart a direction for continued quality and the delivery of safer health care. The IOM, now HMD, was founded in 1970 as an independent organization with a mission to provide unbiased, authoritative information and advice related to health and science for policy, policy makers, and professionals.
Over the past several years, there have been significant changes in health care based on research and recommendations initiated by HMD. A group of reports, such as Crossing the Quality Chasm,1To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System,2 and The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health,3 are just a few of the recommendations made by the then IOM, based on its scientific research. These recommendations are just a few components of a much larger picture in reaching our overall goals in health care, which includes reducing health care costs.
Government programs, such as value-based contracting and bundled payments, are still in their infancy, and telemedicine is on the horizon. Population management presents an array of questions such as: What best practices should I apply with a specific population? How well are we following best practices in patient populations? And how can we create better outcomes for them? If they haven't already, these initiatives potentially will have an impact on infusion services and practice. As infusion nurses, we need to use our collective knowledge to validate infusion practices and measure patient outcomes.
Today, we need to know what patients, families, and caregivers believe their return on investment has been after receiving health care services. Were their health care goals and expectations met? How do our individual practices affect each patient's outcome? As clinicians, we have the ability to affect overall outcomes in health care, one patient at a time.
We are very fortunate to have INS working diligently to keep up with the ever-changing landscape of health care. INS provides a consistent framework for the infusion profession and wholly supports professional education.
There have been many significant changes at INS during the past year. Several have targeted professional development. In addition to all the updates required based on the changes resulting from the revised Standards, INS has revamped the entire process for obtaining continuing education credits. INS recognized the increasing difficulty you have obtaining time away from your busy professional and personal lives. To meet those challenges, the time frame of the annual meeting has been consolidated, without forgoing any continuing education credits. In addition, there is now an opportunity for members and nonmembers to attend virtual education sessions, which also provide continuing education credits. Under the direction of INS Chief Executive Officer Mary Alexander and dozens of volunteer committee members, the entire INS team has given us a greater reach-allowing INS to expand as never before.
INS also experienced membership growth of more than 8%. We continue to explore new membership models and innovative approaches to ensure the programs and products we develop for you provide value. In addition, INS' 3 publications that address policies and procedures for infusion therapy were revised to align with the updated Standards. We have also translated the Standards into Chinese, Portuguese, and Spanish, which are now available as e-versions for our international colleagues.
INS values our partnerships with other organizations. With researchers from the Regenstrief Center for Healthcare Engineering at Purdue University, we're conducting a survey to gather data on infusion practices and outcomes and the providers of this care. Many of you may have participated in the first survey. A second, follow-up survey will be launched in the upcoming months. This research will be helpful as we evaluate the environment of infusion care and create meaningful resources to support clinicians. In partnership with the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), INS is 1 of 20 nursing organizations to develop the Nursing Infection Control Education Network (NICE Network). The goal is to provide education programs for US nurses on infection control and prevention. A webinar and education sessions at INS 2018 are among the work products assigned by the ANA and the CDC. These are just a couple of examples of our collaborative efforts.
The future of health care will almost certainly continue to experience an influx of changes. We need to be ready and confident about our knowledge and professional skills. We need to ensure the Standards leads the way for infusion practice and guides us in meeting new challenges and responsibilities as we grow our profession and specialty practices.
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