Many Nursing, Human Resources Professionals Fail To Use IT Systems To Address Nation’s Nursing Shortage
Many nursing and human resources professionals fail to take advantage of information technology systems that could help address the nation's nursing shortage, according to a new survey sponsored by Minnesota-based Lawson Software, a developer of application integration software. IT systems that could increase the effectiveness of nurses and "minimize the impact of the nursing shortage are not being used," according to Charlotte Miller, a market director for Lawson's health care practice. The Lawson survey, conducted by KRC Research, found that only 18% of 250 human resources and nursing professionals with recruiting and management responsibilities considered Web-based schedule management for nurses "very valuable," and only 12% of respondents considered the ability for nurses to bid for schedules online very valuable (Lawson Software, release, 7/29). According to a report released by the California HealthCare Foundation last month, the implementation of information technology systems at hospitals can improve the productivity and effectiveness of nurses and help reduce the impact that the nursing shortage could have on patient care (California Healthline, 6/27). For more iHealth & Technology stories, visit iHealthBeat.org, a new Web publication sponsored by CHCF.
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