Nursing process redesign with the implementation of a computer based patient record in the ambulatory setting

Increasingly, health care organizations are considering moving to Computer Based Patient Records (CPR), a trend driven by managed care and capitated payments. Central to the change is recognition of the need for community based and clinically relevant information systems that span the care continuum. Thus, Aurora Health Care chose to start their CPR effort in the ambulatory setting as the focus of health care delivery in the evolving paradigm. This paper describes computerization of the ambulatory record in a 45 physician clinic and associated workflow redesign. Months were spent in the processes of: current state documentation and analysis, future state design, detail system design, and workflow reengineering. There was substantial impact on nursing care delivery with computer system interaction at the point of care in the exam room. Access to clinically relevant longitudinal data was found key to the implementation and evaluation of Care Management strategies.