Case study: development of and stakeholder responses to a nursing home consumer information system.
California Nursing Home Search (www.calnhs.org), launched in October 2002, provides information about nursing home quality to a broad range of stakeholders. This case study discusses the process of developing a consumer-oriented nursing home Web site and presents an analysis of postlaunch responses from a number of sources (i.e., media, outreach, Web site use, correspondence, meetings, interviews) to determine the impact of the site and how it can be improved and used as an example. Consumers found the Web site valuable, but some needed clarification on navigation. Providers had complaints about the use of quality ratings and concerns about public availability of the data. Most discharge planners and care managers do not use Internet resources to find facilities. Feedback, modifications, updates, and outreach are needed on a continuous basis to ensure the site is a helpful tool for all stakeholders.
O'Meara
Janis
J
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco 94118, USA. jomeara@itsa.ucsf.edu
Kitchener
Martin
M
Collier
Eric
E
Lyons
Margaret
M
de Billwiller-Kiss
Ana
A
Simon
Lisa Payne
LP
Harrington
Charlene
C
D002140:California; D003258:Consumer Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007256:Information Systems / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020407:Internet; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000592:standards*; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D014584:User-Computer Interface