Nursing Information Flow in Long-Term Care Facilities.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Informatics
• Health Information Management
• Healthcare Systems Engineering

Background:

• Long-term care (LTC) facilities provide essential 24-hour nursing services within the healthcare system.
• Effective clinical information management is crucial for supporting Registered Nurses (RNs) in their care delivery.
• Current information systems in LTC may not fully meet the complex needs of RNs for collaboration and decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the critical clinical information required by RNs in long-term care settings.
• To map the necessary information flow to support RNs' care collaboration and clinical decision-making.
• To provide a foundation for improving health information technology (HIT) in long-term care.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive qualitative study design was employed.
• Data collection involved direct observations and semistructured interviews with RNs in LTC facilities.
• The constant comparative method (CCM) was utilized for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Nine RNs from six LTC facilities participated, highlighting two key information management aspects: resources and spaces.
• Ten common information resources were identified, including personal notes, facility forms, MARs, and RAI-MDS software.
• Four essential RN information management functions (collection, classification, storage, distribution) and six critical information sets (ADT, assessment, care plan, intervention, report, reference) were defined.
• A graphic information flow model was developed based on identified requirements.

Conclusions:

• The study established baseline components of the current LTC nursing information management system.
• The developed information flow model can guide HIT developers in designing integrated solutions for LTC.
• The model serves as a communication tool for refining HIT requirements and advancing LTC HIT research.