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Tool Kit for Bioinformatics
Every sector in the healthcare industry has expanded dramatically with the use of high-level technology. One of the most developing fields, which is considered one of the most sophisticated fields, is bioinformatics. Bioinformatics can be defined as the science that deals with the application of information technology to study living organisms. This remains a burgeoning area of specialization being applied in healthcare organizations to boost the quality of care, advance patient and clinical facilities, and more efficiently manage resources (National Human Genome Research Institute, 2022). Both these sources can be used for bioinformatics in healthcare; an example of bioinformatics in healthcare is the analysis of genomic data for cancer treatment. NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 molecular level, the whole-genome study of cancers can reveal the underlying genes that cause cancer and the best possible spots to target to treat it (Zhao et al., 2019).
Evidence-Based Policy, Guidelines, and Practical Recommendations
Subsequently, bioinformatics has attracted much interest in the health sector as it promises to improve patient care and resource utilization efficiency. In a recent study by Hynst et al. (2021), the role of bioinformatics in clinical practice for the management of cancer, diagnosis, and patient treatment has been described. However, for the implementation of bioinformatics in healthcare systems, there is a need for evidence-based policies, guidelines, and recommendations.
NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 Healthcare policies bring out a context on how bioinformatics can be implemented in any healthcare facility. The NIH has identified that to implement bioinformatics effectively, it is essential to set policies related to data sharing and the privacy and security of a patient’s data. The NIH also proposes the creation of codes for the application of the tools as well as the software to assist the various health professions to have adequate training in the application of these tools (Mulder et al., 2018).
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Since guidelines intend to implement bioinformatics in healthcare professions, they are characterized by operational recommendations. Concerning this, ASCO also issues direction to clinical bioinformatics, including interpretation of genomic biomarkers and use of modeling for possible drug targets (Chakravarty et al., 2022).
Examples of the practical recommendations include giving clear, dirigible instructions on how to apply the genomic analysis in the clinician’s daily practice or clinician-patient interactions, using bioinformatics support, or what kind of education and training can be effective with clinicians and patients. An example of a recommendation with a correspondent application is the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), which proposed to create new methods of prevention and treatment, including genetically determined prevention, environment, and lifestyle (Gameiro et al., 2019).
Example of Implementation
Bioinformatics can be pretty helpful in cancer treatment since patients can be assigned treatment procedures depending on the results of sequencing to detect mutations in tumors that targeted treatment can work on. NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 concept is called precision medicine, and it is gradually being applied to enhance the results of cancer therapy. A recent study by Luo et al. (2021) used patients with newly diagnosed advanced cancer, and the authors sequenced the patients’ tumors to assess whether each patient harbored potentially druggable genomic alterations. Patients who had undergone targeted therapy, according to the data obtained from the analysis of their genomic profile, had higher levels of partial or complete response compared to the levels in patients treated with non-targeted therapy. Thus, genomic data enables healthcare professionals to have a piece of more specific and less generalized information about a patient’s cancer, increases the likelihood of the treatment to focus on particular mutations, and increases the efficiency of the treatment and, consequently, the patient’s survival rate (Krzyszczyk et al., 2019).
NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 Legal and Ethical Ramification
Due to the novelty of bioinformatics and the relatively recent integration of the approach in practice, specific legal and ethical concerns emerge in view of the patient’s safety, privacy, and autonomy. Some of the critical legal and moral ramifications of using bioinformatics in practice are: Some of the critical legal and ethical ramifications of using bioinformatics in practice are:
Privacy and Security
It conveys the premise that the management of health informatics involves the procurement, storage, and examination of secured patient health information (Overkleeft et al., 2020). Several legalities must be adhered to within healthcare organizations, including HIPAA, which aims to provide security and confidentiality to patients. Bioinformatics must also be followed by some comprehensive measures for data security so that unauthorized persons cannot access those data-
Informed Consent
Bioinformatics could entail the gathering of information regarding the patient’s genome, which may contain substantial consequences for his or her well-being. NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 Healthcare organizations’ use of patients’ genomic data in research and clinical care requires informed consent from patients. Patients must be aware of the preparatory arrangements for utilizing bioinformatics and decide whether or not to accept it based on the information given to them where they would be allowed to decline the service (Takashima et al., 2019).
Equity and Access
The application of bioinformatics also risks further widening the existing gaps in health inequality between different populations. Such implementation techniques should be sensitive to patients’ race, ethnicity, economic status, or any other factor to ensure that all stakeholders within the healthcare industry are (Biancheri et al ., 2023)and benefit from this type of bioinformatics equally.
Responsible and Accountable Use of Data
When it comes to the utilization of bioinformatics in the improvement of health care, responsible and accountable usage of the data is very vital. NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 Several areas of responsibility must be identified to ensure responsible and accountable use of data with bioinformatics: Several areas of responsibility must be identified to ensure responsible and accountable use of data with bioinformatics:
Data Collection
This implies that healthcare organizations are supposed to provide corresponding and credible data about patients to enable the analysis and interpretation of biological data. This entails making sure that patient information is gathered in a legal and ethically right way; for example, consent will be given by the patient, and the patient’s rights to privacy and confidentiality will be observed (Dash et al., 2019).
Data Storage
Patients’ records include sensitive information, and healthcare organizations have the mandate to ensure that such information is safely stored and cannot be accessed by unauthorized persons. This applies to choosing suitable security protocols to safeguard patients’ data from unauthorized access as well as ensuring that only the relevant personnel have access to the information (Abouelmehdi et al., 2018).
NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 Data Analysis
Based on Held’s analysis of the responsibilities that are placed on healthcare organizations, these organizations are charged with the responsibility of assessing data involving patients in a responsible, accountable manner. This encompasses the act of making sure that data collected from patients is analyzed according to set protocols and guidelines and that data is analyzed and explained following the principles of evidence-based medicine (Razzak et al., 2019).
Data Sharing
This ranges from guaranteeing the patient’s information is disclosed only to qualified personnel, and the patient comes to know in one way or another how his or her data would be used.
Data Governance
NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 entails promoting the admissibility of using patient data and ensuring that practitioners explain and follow legal standards when using patient data in bioinformatics (Bernier et al., 2022).
It is suggested that healthcare organizations using bioinformatics formulate a set of policies and procedures for the responsible and accountable use of data, whereby policies and procedures form an area of responsibility, as mentioned above.
Conclusion
NURS FPX 6414 Assessment 3 Bioinformatics is a relatively new interdisciplinary field that deals with bio information, which uses computers to collect, store, analyze, and understand logical details. Hence, it has a vast application in medicine, particularly in patient-tailored cancer therapy, diagnostics, and handling diseases. However, the practice of bioinformatics in healthcare organizations involves best practices where policies, guidelines, and other recommendations that are applied should be backed by research. There are also legal and ethical considerations that include privacy and security, informed consent, data ownership and data sharing, equity and access, and responsible and accountable use of data to protect patient safety, privacy, and patient self-determination. Therefore, bioinformatics benefits healthcare organizations by improving patients’ outcomes, delivering clinical decisions, and optimization of resources.
References
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