NEEDS DETERMINATION FOR A COMMUNITY APPROACH TO HEALTH-CARE-DELIVERY

Computer technology has been effectively used by care-givers in the delivery of health-care services to persons living with AIDS and care-givers of those with Alzheimer's Disease. Recently, in an exploratory study, the concept of using computer technology to provide home-care support to a group of caregivers and paediatric patients at a specialty hospital in Northeast Ohio has been proposed. Unlike previous computer-based health-care delivery systems that have focused on one type of user, the proposed technology will assist three user groups: care-givers, children and hospital professionals. A second unique aspect is the integration of the technology into the hospital routine. Major decision-makers, who are also hospital professionals, have been identified and interviewed to determine their needs. A structured analysis using critical success factors/future state was used to review and determine the existing hospital processes. Findings indicate that the facility has a unique need for out-of-hospital patient management, and a community approach is needed for care delivery. Myriad post-discharge planning and external community activities must be supported by the proposed technology. Based on pre-implementation findings from the critical success factors/future state, specifications were developed for a decision-support system that includes a variety of tools designed to meet the needs of the diverse user base. Decision-support systems will aid in semi-structured decision-making and allow users to access data to make such decisions.