Benefits of an electronic clinical information system: an intensive care nursing perspective

Due to advancements in surgery, medicine and equipment, the modern intensive care unit (ICU) patient necessitates the recording of vast amounts of data. The management of these data is increasingly impinging on nursing time. A review of the literature describes the potential benefits of using a clinical information system (CIS) to record and save data electronically rather than transcribing it onto conventional charts. Commercial systems that can perform these tasks are available but have severe financial implications in terms of initial costs, maintenance and upgrading. Work is continuing at Killingbeck Hospital on a project developing and introducing a CIS into intensive care using standard hardware, software and programming tools thus minimizing these costs.