Computers conquer hospital wards in Germany

As a result of the Health Reform Act (1993) German hospitals have to prepare for fundamental changes in their accountability to the health insurance companies. For example, the introduction of diagnosis-related groups and competitive elements into the health care sector necessitate thorough recording of patient-related costs by each individual hospital. Consequently, the work done by nurses is to be measured in a more refined manner in order to obtain a correct picture of the overall costs for a particular treatment. Computer technology is seen as a suitable tool to meet the challenges of this new development. The Agnes Karll Institute of Nursing Research (German Nurses' Association) conducted a study in the hospitals of Hesse, Germany, in order to investigate the present state of nursing informatics and related questions. Some results will be outlined in this paper.