AN EFFICIENT EFFECTIVE AUTOMATED CARE PLAN TOOL

THE PREMISE OF NURSING PRACTICE IS THE DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF THE PATIENT'S RESPONSE TO ILLNESS. HOWEVER, NURSING CARE PLANS ARE FREQUENTLY BASED ON THE PATIENT'S MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. THEREFORE, THE CRITERIA USED IN THE EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THOSE NURSING INTERVENTIONS ARE BY DEFINITION DESCRIPTIVE OF THE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS AND NOT SPECIFIC TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OR QUALITY OF THE DELIVERED NURSING CARE. TWO MAJOR LIMITATIONS IN THE ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING OF THE QUALITY AND LEVEL OF DELIVERED NURSING CARE ARE: (1) A LACK OF MEASURABLE, OBJECTIVE CRITERIA SPECIFIC TO THE PATIENT'S RESPONSES TO ILLNESS; AND (2) A LACK OF RAPID RETRIEVAL OF NURSING CARE DATA. A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY EXISTS TO DEVELOP A TOOL THAT OVERCOMES THESE LIMITATIONS. HEALTHLINK SYSTEMS, INC., WILL DEVELOP A MICROCOMPUTER SOFTWARE MODEL THAT GENERATES A NURSING PLAN OF CARE DIRECTLY FROM THE OPERATIVE VARIABLE, THE PATIENT'S RESPONSES TO ILLNESS. THEREFORE, THE ENTRY OF SUBSEQUENT NURSING ASSESSMENTS FOR THE PATIENT WILL EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF NURSING INTERVENTIONS IN THE TREATMENT OF THE PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED RESPONSES. THIS WILL RESULT IN IMPROVED QUALITY OF CARE, ENHANCED UTILIZATION OF NURSING PERSONNEL, IMPROVED RECORD-KEEPING, AND SUBSTANTIAL INSTITUTIONAL COST-SAVINGS.