2 answers
Mikaela
Student
Ithaca, New York
1
Question
Asked
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How does the role of Health informatics evolve in a world of AI and flourishing technology Is it helpful or harmful in the long run? Dehumanizing?
I have just started my Masters of Health Informatics and Information Management after a career as a Registered Nurse, I'm curious about the future!
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2 answers
Seth Cohen, Pharm.D
I am an informatics pharmacist specializing in hospital information systems
12
Answers
Cherry Hill, New Jersey
Updated
Seth’s Answer
Generative AI is in its infancy. There will still be a need for informaticists because the tools will never be 100% successful at whatever they try. I'm working informatics now; the scripting process to port information from the old HIS to the new HIS saves a lot of labor, but it doesn't warn you when something hasn't worked...because it's not self aware and doesn't know that something didn't work. QA process needs to be humans comparing the initial data to the data produced for the new system and determining if time is best spent working on redoing the scripting so it carries over more information OR if it's simpler and faster to have humans fill in the gaps where the scripting has either deletions, duplications, or other incorrect data. Even then, since machine learning error rates are usually lower than human error rates, it may make sense to have multiple rounds of QA of different types.
There's also legacy data that the scripting will *never* be able to resolve on its own. On the surgical preference cards I'm seeing, I've found a single drug misspelled (by humans) three separate ways in comments. Applying AI to that won't necessarily correct that error; it could in fact compound it by changing it from the drug we know it's supposed to be to a drug that is a Sound-Alike product, leading to inconsistencies in the documentation. The system doesn't know that betaxolol and bisoprolol are different. It only knows they're spelled differently, and even then it could fail in being correct later on. If you review the queries about asking AI how many letter "r"s are there in strawberry, you'll see where the problems lie.
There's also legacy data that the scripting will *never* be able to resolve on its own. On the surgical preference cards I'm seeing, I've found a single drug misspelled (by humans) three separate ways in comments. Applying AI to that won't necessarily correct that error; it could in fact compound it by changing it from the drug we know it's supposed to be to a drug that is a Sound-Alike product, leading to inconsistencies in the documentation. The system doesn't know that betaxolol and bisoprolol are different. It only knows they're spelled differently, and even then it could fail in being correct later on. If you review the queries about asking AI how many letter "r"s are there in strawberry, you'll see where the problems lie.
Thank you so much!
Mikaela
Vivek Singh Maurya
Manager Operations
6
Answers
Gurugram, Haryana, India
Updated
Vivek Singh’s Answer
Health Informatics & AI: The Real Trajectory
Short answer: Health informatics becomes more important—not less—in an AI‑driven healthcare system.
How the role evolves
From managing records → governing decisions
From IT support → clinical–technical bridge
From system implementation → AI oversight, ethics, and workflow design
Health informaticists increasingly ensure AI tools are clinically valid, unbiased, safe, and usable.
Helpful or Harmful Long‑Term?
Helpful—if governed well. Harmful—if not.
Benefits
Earlier risk detection
Reduced documentation burden
Better population health insights
More time for patient care
Risks
Algorithmic bias
Over‑reliance on AI (“automation bias”)
Privacy breaches
Metric‑driven care replacing human judgment
Key point: These harms result from poor design and governance, not from AI itself.
Is It Dehumanizing?
It can be—but doesn’t have to be.
Dehumanization happens when:
Efficiency is prioritized over presence
Clinicians are excluded from system design
Patients feel reduced to data
When implemented with nursing input, AI:
Reduces low‑value tasks
Creates more space for empathy and connection
AI cannot replace judgment, compassion, or moral reasoning.
Why Your RN Background Matters
You bring:
Clinical context AI lacks
Workflow realism
Patient‑centered ethics
Trust with frontline staff
Nurse‑informaticists are increasingly seen as ethical stewards and safety guards of AI in healthcare.
Bottom Line
AI will shape care.
Health informatics decides how.
Nurses ensure it stays human.
You are not leaving nursing—you are protecting its values at the system level.
If you want, I can next summarize:
Future job roles for nurse‑informaticists
Skills that future‑proof your career
How to stay grounded in nursing identity while leading tech
Short answer: Health informatics becomes more important—not less—in an AI‑driven healthcare system.
How the role evolves
From managing records → governing decisions
From IT support → clinical–technical bridge
From system implementation → AI oversight, ethics, and workflow design
Health informaticists increasingly ensure AI tools are clinically valid, unbiased, safe, and usable.
Helpful or Harmful Long‑Term?
Helpful—if governed well. Harmful—if not.
Benefits
Earlier risk detection
Reduced documentation burden
Better population health insights
More time for patient care
Risks
Algorithmic bias
Over‑reliance on AI (“automation bias”)
Privacy breaches
Metric‑driven care replacing human judgment
Key point: These harms result from poor design and governance, not from AI itself.
Is It Dehumanizing?
It can be—but doesn’t have to be.
Dehumanization happens when:
Efficiency is prioritized over presence
Clinicians are excluded from system design
Patients feel reduced to data
When implemented with nursing input, AI:
Reduces low‑value tasks
Creates more space for empathy and connection
AI cannot replace judgment, compassion, or moral reasoning.
Why Your RN Background Matters
You bring:
Clinical context AI lacks
Workflow realism
Patient‑centered ethics
Trust with frontline staff
Nurse‑informaticists are increasingly seen as ethical stewards and safety guards of AI in healthcare.
Bottom Line
AI will shape care.
Health informatics decides how.
Nurses ensure it stays human.
You are not leaving nursing—you are protecting its values at the system level.
If you want, I can next summarize:
Future job roles for nurse‑informaticists
Skills that future‑proof your career
How to stay grounded in nursing identity while leading tech