The impact of information technology on nursing practice and knowledge

Abstract

The impact of information technology on nursing has been a subject of discourse and dissertation for the latter half of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st. That this burgeoning technology has impacted the way nurses nurse can be without doubt. Whether this technology has and will have a negative or positive outcome on nursing practice is where the debate centres. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the debate that surrounds the issues of the impact of Information Technology (IT) on nursing practice as well as to briefly assess the types of Clinical Information Systems (CIS) that may be beneficial as opposed to detrimental to the practice of nursing in the 21st Century and beyond. © 2006 The authors and IOS Press. All rights reserved.