eHealth Forum community

History and background to the forum

The eHealth Forum is the members' forum for all nurses who are working or interested in the use (collecting, recording, storing retrieving and sharing) of clinical data and information for the advancement of patient care and nursing.

The group is also concerned with the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT/e-Health) for the promotion of health, improvement of care and the development of the unique body of nursing knowledge.

The forum is set to act as a focal point at the RCN to support nurses and ensure that informatics/e-Health is seen as a core element of nursing care which impacts on every aspect of the care delivery process. Most importantly, the forum is providing a bedrock for expert advice in supporting the development of innovative RCN policy to support the future needs of nurses in the UK and beyond.

In January 2012 the name of the forum changed from 'Information in Nursing Forum'. It was felt that the name 'eHealth Forum' better reflects the work of the forum.

If you're not yet a member of the eHealth Forum, what are you waiting for? RCN members can join up to three forums free of charge, and benefits include regular e-newsletters from the forum keeping you up to date on topics such as good practice and forthcoming events. Each forum also has its own area on the RCN's Discussion Zone where you can network with others in your specialty. To join just call RCN Direct on 0345 772 6100 - option 1.

Objectives

The forum aims to promote, develop and integrate an awareness of eHealth and health informatics into every area of professional nursing practice, research and education. Currently we are focussing on the development of electronic records which support, capture and value nursing practice.