Home Nurse Technology Challenges

[Greg1680]

What would you say, from a home health nurse's perspective, are the greatest challenges in home nursing that could be aided by technology?

Charting visits?

Delivery of charts to agencies?

Keeping patients' families updated?

Access to patient information?

Access to medical information (drug interactions, etc.)?

Any thoughts are welcome.

[caliotter3]

Keeping nurses updated on new equipment seen in the home. Inservices, even videos shown at the office, would be nice before encountering new devices in the home.

[Greg1680]

Great idea. So something where the agency could post information relating to a visit for the nurse to review prior to the visit? Maybe upload videos or other documents, or even just supply links if that information resides elsewhere? And in-service information more or less in the same fashion.

[Blackheartednurse]

I would say access to pt information. When you have a new admit you sorta go to their home totally green and not knowing anything about them.

[Greg1680]

Please bear with me, as I'm not an expert on this. But do you think a 485 and/or OASIS assessment document would be helpful for this? Or would this be in the form of notes from the agency?

[TwilightRNurse]

I have done HH and the agency I worked for gave us a complete H&P, plus family info and the hospital chart before we went into the home so we felt well prepared. We charted on paper. I think computer charting that can be done in the home would be a major assest to HH nurses.

[Greg1680]

Thanks TwilightRNurse. Do you think it would be beneficial to have the "computer charting" as close as possible to the paper forms they're used to - so they don't really have to learn a new system? And if those charts were online, then they could be delivered to the agency over a secure internet connection rather than driven to the office when the nurse gets time. Does that sound advantageous?

Thanks again for all of your thoughts.

[BackfromRetirement]

automated recerts?