title: Changes in intensive care unit nurse task activity after installation of a third-generation intensive care unit information system.
abstract: OBJECTIVE To determine the percentage of time that intensive care unit (ICU) nurses spend on documentation and other nursing activities before and after installation of a third-generation ICU information system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective data collection using real-time time-motion analysis, before and after installation of the ICU information system.
  
  
  METHODS
  A ten-bed surgical ICU at a Veterans Affairs medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  ICU nurses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Installation of a third-generation ICU information system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten ICU nurses were studied before and after installation of the ICU information system. Each ICU nurse's activities and tasks, during 4-hr observation periods, were categorized in real-time by a nurse observer and recorded in a laptop computer. Each recorded task was automatically time-stamped and logged into a data file. The percentage of time spent on documentation decreased from 35.1 +/- 8.3% to 24.2 +/- 7.6% (p =.025) after the ICU information system was installed. The percentage of time providing direct patient care increased from 31.3 +/- 9.2% to 40.1 +/- 11.7% (p =.085). The percentage of time doing patient assessment, a direct patient care task, increased from 4.0 +/- 4.7% to 9.4 +/- 4.4% (p =.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Installation of a third-generation ICU information system decreased the percentage of time ICU nurses spent on documentation by >30%. Almost half of the time saved on documentation was spent on patient assessment, a direct patient care task.
authors.affiliation: Anesthesiology Service, Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System, and Department of Anesthesiology, University of California at Irvine, USA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gallegos
authors.forename: Matthew B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Weinger
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clack
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Slagle
authors.forename: Cynthia T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D007256:Information Systems; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors