Informatics at the Crossroads of Care Coordination

T he 2016 Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics (SINI), held July 20 to 22, marked the 26th year for this pioneering conference. Once again, hundreds of nurses and other informatics professionals convened on the campus of the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore or via live Web streaming to celebrate this event, attend educational sessions, and network with colleagues. A unique addition was the introduction of the “Mini-SINI,” which provided a new forum for registrants to meet as a group in their own healthcare organizations, viewWeb-cast lectures, and participate in discussion and activities. With support from sponsors such as Orion Health, Infor Healthcare, UMBC Health IT Graduate Program, and the University of Maryland Medical Center, SINI 2016 explored innovations in healthcare informatics across the spectrum of care; the impact of informatics on quality, safety, and outcomes; and health information exchange and interoperability. Two new preconference workshops were very popular this year. Eun-Shim Nahm, PhD, RN, FAAN, Kathleen Charters, PhD, RN, Kristin Seidl, PhD, RN, and Charles Gabrial, MS, facilitated a hands-on workshop on data analytics, providing a toolkit on how to use analytics in practice. A Nursing Informatics Certification Review course, a concurrent offering, was presented by Charlotte Seckman, PhD, RN, of the University of Maryland, andMarisa Wilson, DNSc, MHSc, CPHIMS, RN-BC, from the University of Alabama. National leaders in the field of informatics provided insight and direction through plenary sessions and distinguished lectures throughout the week. Mary Alice Annecharico, MS, RN, senior vice president and chief information officer at Henry Ford Health System, opened the conference with an exciting key note address on network integration of information technology. At the end of the day, Bonnie Westra, PhD, RN, associate professor,