18 Computerised patient records — what can they offer?
Matter for discussion submitted by the Information in Nursing (IN) Group
That this meeting of RCN Congress discusses the potential of computerised patient records to show explicitly how nursing makes a difference to patient care, to provide evidence to support staffing and skill-mix decisions, and help to cost care
- Work led by the Nursing Development Committee
- Lead RCN Council member: Gerry Bolger
Back in November 2004 Council endorsed a strategy that identified e-Health as something that influences every aspect of professional care and a core nursing element. It argued that nurses, midwives and health visitors should integrate information and communications technologies (ICT) into their daily practice to improve outcomes and enhance people’s experience of health care, so that they reach for a computer mouse as readily as they reach for a pen.
The debate at Congress captured many of the issues that the strategy was set to promote, such as the development of nursing-specific content in electronic patient records, the need to revamp nurse education and concerns about safety and security of sensitive information.
With the help of the Information in Nursing Group, and supported by a new strategic staff lead, the e-Health agenda has become a priority issue for the organisation and considerable resources have been allocated UK-wide to progress much needed work. Most notably, an e-Health workshop took place in January 2008, providing an opportunity to affirm RCN policy on a range of e-Health issues and articulate the scope for the guidance and advice that members can expect to receive from the RCN.
The development of specific nursing content for electronic patient records was one of the core themes of the workshop, and follow-up work is being guided by the RCN e-Health programme board. It is envisaged that this work will continue to progress and evolve in such a way that it will be possible to get an agreed standard for specific electronic content that clearly demonstrates the value and impact of nursing to patient care. Policies on patient consent and governance for electronic patient records were also drafted at the workshop. Web-based learning opportunities are being developed to provide guidance for members regarding e-Health including on record-keeping.