A guide to choosing technology to support the measurement of patient outcomes

Nurse executives preparing to invest in data management systems for nurses within their department may wish to consider purchasing more than one type of system. A nursing department with several small patient outcomes projects directed by case managers may need the handheld computing device. A department in need of support for ongoing programs with large amounts of data may require either manual or automated scanning systems and additional personnel to manage the data. The systems selected should make the best use of the resources within the organization. This is a challenging time for nurse executives charged with improving patient care across the care continuum. Access to information to measure and manage patient outcomes is essential to the success of this mission.