Summary
Objectives:
This study aimed at gaining comprehensive information on the current status of patient
care and management applications used in German acute hospitals. Since the degree
of ICT coverage in hospitals depends on the attitude of the key decision makers we
also wanted to capture their plans and priorities and herewith try to predict future
use.
Methods:
We therefore conducted a nation-wide survey including all acute hospitals in Germany
in which two questionnaires were mailed to each hospital, one to the nursing managers,
the other to the hospital managers.
Results:
Six hundred hospitals participated in the survey which corresponds to an overall
response rate of 27.6%. Accounting (84%) was found to be the most prevalent management
module. Rostering was implemented in every second hospital. For clinical applications
laboratory systems ranked first (69%). Ordering systems were used in nearly every
second hospital. Nineteen percent of the hospitals reported employing an electronic
patient record, 7% a nursing documentation system. Ranked by their priorities ordering
systems hold the first position and care planning the last position. According to
their plans, hospital managers, not nursing managers, intend to introduce nursing
documentation. In contrast, nursing managers favor ordering and rostering for the
near future.
Conclusions:
There is still a preponderance of management-oriented systems in German hospitals,
yet clinical applications, in particular those supporting communications, will gain
ground. The future of documentation systems is unclear, unless they not only provide
statistical data for the management but support the clinical process properly.
Keywords
Hospital information system - patient care - computerized patient record - hospital
administration - data collection
