COMPUTER-ASSISTED NURSING MANAGEMENT FOR LONG-TERM CARE

COMMERCIAL COMPUTER PROGRAMS FOR NURSING HOMES CONCENTRATE ON FINANCIAL ASPECTS AND HAVE ONLY RUDIMENTARY FUNCTIONS THAT MIGHT ASSIST IN THE AREAS OF NURSING MANAGEMENT AND QUALITY ASSURANCE. UTILIZING A RELATIONAL DATABASE (DBMAN),P & NP COMPUTER SERVICES, INC., HAS SUCCESSFULLY COMPUTERIZED THE RESOURCE UTILIZATION GROUPS (RUGS) UTILIZEDIN NEW YORK STATE AS A CASE MIX REIMBURSEMENT SYSTEM FOR NURSING HOMES. THE RUGS CAPTURE SIGNIFICANT CLINICAL INFORMATION THROUGH A STANDARDIZED PATIENT REVIEW INSTRUMENT (PRI). BECAUSE THE RUGS WERE DEVELOPED FOR REIMBURSEMENT PURPOSES, THE PRI LACKS CLINICAL INFORMATION THAT WOULD AID NURSING MANAGEMENT. IN PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT, THE SPECIFIC AIMS ARE TO: (1) EXPAND THE RUG-II DATA BY THE ADDITION OF KEY FIELDS TO ENHANCE ITS CAPABILITIES TO CAPTURE RELEVANT PATIENT-ORIENTED DATA, (2) FOCUS ON CHANGES IN PATIENT MOBILITY AND THE USE OF RESTRAINTS (PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL) AS TWO DISTINCT MODELS TO EXPLORE COMPUTER-ASSISTED QUALITY ASSURANCE, AND (3) ESTABLISH THE RELEVANCE OF COMPUTER-ASSISTED QUALITY ASSURANCE IN NURSING HOMES.