Nursing informatics integrates nursing science, computer science, and information science to manage and communicate data, information, and knowledge in nursing practice. Initially, an informatics nurse manager became interested in how technology could affect nursing practice and patient care, becoming the first manager of the nursing informatics department. With the advent of an automated order entry and results reporting system, the role and staff of the department quickly expanded. Nursing informatics focuses on computer-based data collection, storage, and retrieval, and is becoming more critical in healthcare.