Leadership strategies for improved nursing synergy between informatics and telehealth

The goal of best practice, best possible health care worldwide is shared by nurses and all involved with eHealth today. The purpose of this paper is to characterize the similarities and differences between informatics and telehealth from a nursing perspective, and to advocate for leadership strategies that would bring the strengths of each group to a more synergistic, collaborative professional model for the benefit of both groups. After comparing telehealth and informatics nursing and looking for commonalities, suggestions are made for bridging the gap between the two groups. Potential strategies include identifying leaders, using conflict avoidance techniques, and pursuing coaching and mentoring opportunities across the gap to enhance the professional standing and contributions of both groups. An added consideration would be to have joint conferences wherein the strengths, challenges and knowledge repositories of informatics and telehealth could be mutually appreciated.