APPROPRIATE CARE

AS HEALTH CARE COSTS HAVE TYPICALLY RISEN FASTER THAN THE GENERAL RATE OF INFLATION, THERE IS CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE FOR REDUCTION IN HEALTH CARE COSTS, YET IT IS ALWAYS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN AND/OR IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF HEALTH CARE. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT CAN HELP TO MEET BOTH GOALS. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO DEVELOP AN INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE PACKAGETHAT RELATES TREATMENT MODALITIES TO GIVEN PATIENTS IN THE MOST OPTIMUM MANNER. IT IS GEARED TOWARD HEALTH CARE DELIVERY IN THE NURSING HOME ENVIRONMENT SPECIFICALLY, AND PLANS TO MAKE USE OF THE RESOURCE UTILIZATION GROUPS (RUGS, ANALOGOUS TO THE DIAGNOSTIC RELATED GROUPS CURRENTLY USEN INHOSPITALS) NOW BEING DEVELOPED FOR RELATING TREATMENT MODALITIES TO RESOURCES AVAILABLE AND PATIENT NEEDS. A SOFTWARE COMPANY AND HEALTH CARE PROVIDER HAVE TEAMED TO GENERATE, IN THIS PHASE I PROJECT, THE SPECIFICATIONS FOR THIS SOFTWARE. IF SUCCESSFUL, A PHASE II IMPLEMENTATION WOULD PROVIDE A COMMERCIAL PACKAGE FOR USE THROUGHOUT THE NURSING HOME INDUSTRY.