title: Information technology: soul of a new organization.
abstract: If the total quality organization is the structure of the 1990s, then the structure of the new millennium is the world class organization--and information technology (IT) is the foundation upon which it will be built. This article explores how clinical information systems and IT are evolving to support several unique characteristics of the world class organization, including (1) how patient-centered care and the advent of the interdisciplinary care team has led to the development of a new breed of clinical information systems; (2) how accountability has empowered nursing and led, in turn, to a need for systems and languages to measure and document nursing care and its outcomes; and (3) how care across the continuum and rapid, constant change demands open systems that are scalable and interoperable.
authors.affiliation: Nursing Affairs, HBO & Company, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D005544:Forecasting; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*