Use of electronic information systems in nursing homes: United States, 2004

This study sought to define the extent of utilization of 12 types of electronic information system (EIS) function in U.S. nursing homes (NH), to relate EIS utilization to selected facility characteristics and to contrast these findings to previous estimates of EIS use in NH.

This study used data from the National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS), a nationally representative, cross-sectional sample of U.S. NH.

Data on current use of EIS in 12 functional areas, including administrative and resident care activities, were collected. Information was also collected on facility characteristics including ownership, bed size, and whether the facility was a member of a chain.

Essentially all (99.6%) U.S. NH had >or=1 EIS, a figure that was driven by the nearly universal use of EIS for Minimum Data Set (MDS) reporting (96.4%) and for billing (95.4%). Nearly 43% of U.S. NH had EIS for medical records, including nurse's notes, physician notes, and MDS forms. EIS use ranged from a high of 79.6% for admission, transfer, and discharge to a low of 17.6% for daily care by certified nursing assistants (CNAs). Ownership, membership in a chain, and bed size were associated with use of selected EIS. Larger facilities and those that were part of a chain used more EIS than smaller standalone facilities.

In 2004, NH use of EIS for functions other than MDS and billing was highly variable, but considerably higher than previous estimates.