ICT in nursing in Dutch hospitals

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Informatics
• Nursing Informatics
• Health Information Management

Background:

• Nursing records are essential for patient care, with legal mandates for retention.
• Existing literature provides limited evidence supporting the positive impact of traditional nursing record-keeping on care quality.
• The study addresses the evolving landscape of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in hospital settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current status of ICT utilization in hospitals.
• To explore the contribution of nursing records to patient care.
• To identify promising approaches for electronic nursing record development.

Main Methods:

• A literature review was conducted on the role of nursing records in patient care.
• Two questionnaires were administered to ICT suppliers and hospitals to gauge ICT adoption.
• Hospital-submitted projects were reviewed to identify significant ICT applications in nursing.

Main Results:

• While traditional nursing records lack strong evidence of enhancing care, Clinical Pathways show potential for integrated electronic patient records.
• Several ICT suppliers offer Electronic Patient Record (EPR) systems, but often lack specialized nursing functionalities.
• Increasing numbers of nurses are using computers for general tasks like demographic data entry and scheduling.

Conclusions:

• Clinical Pathways offer a promising framework for developing electronic nursing records as part of integrated systems.
• There is a need for more specialized ICT solutions to support nursing workflows and enhance patient care.
• Further research is needed to validate the impact of specific ICT applications on nursing practice and patient outcomes.