Get linked-in: Auto populating Nursing Sensitive data elements across quality scorecards

Purpose:
The purpose of this poster presentation is to describe how new technology was harnessed to facilitate a seamless approach to communicating nursing quality metrics.

Significance:
The ability to act on nursing sensitive measures in inherently tied to the timeliness and accuracy of data communicated across stakeholder groups. A clear need exists to improve data accessibility, reliability and relevance.

Strategy and Implementation:
A nursing intranet page was created to serve as a centralized data repository for outcome measures. On the newly created page numerous data elements are directly linked form the original data source to individual scorecards, thus eliminating redundancies and improving the accuracy and timeliness of data. These links eliminate the need for manual entry of data elements on individual unit scorecards. Nurse Managers and leaders are now ensured timely access to outcomes data for purposes of examining the effectiveness of nursing care in improving client outcomes. The end result of this initiative has been instrumental in facilitating the development of a forum for presenting nursing related outcomes data that drives ongoing quality improvement initiatives.

Evaluation:
Following the implementation of linked scorecards and the development of an intranet page, nursing sensitive measures are collected and reported monthly without delay across all inpatient units.

Implications for Practice:
Given the timeliness and accuracy of data reported, nursing leaders can act swiftly and confidently in developing and revising strategies related to patient outcomes and staff retention.