Microcomputer Based Data Management System for Nursing Assessment of the Diabetic Patient

The use of computers in facilitating nursing practice has been greatly underutilized. A microcomputer system has been developed to assist the nurse in the capture, storage and retrieval of nursing assessment data for the patient with diabetes mellitus. Presently feedback on practice involves a time-consuming and expensive chart-auditing process. By using a computerized assessment, the nurse can efficiently be given feedback on performance and the quality of nursing data can be monitored and reinforced. The computerized format reduces time for recording the initial data so that greater thought and judgment can be given to identifying nursing diagnoses and planning appropriate nursing interventions. Another benefit is the opportunity to gather descriptive data on the functional abilities of diabetic patients for determining the important elements in self-care practices that need particular nursing attention.