Title: Information systems in hospitals: a review article from a nursing management perspective

Authors: Laura-Maria Murtola; Heljä Lundgrén-Laine; Sanna Salanterä

Addresses: Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, 20014-University of Turku, Finland; Hospital District of Southwest Finland, 20500 Turku, Finland ' Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, 20014-University of Turku, Finland; Hospital District of Southwest Finland, 20500 Turku, Finland ' Department of Nursing Science, University of Turku, 20014-University of Turku, Finland; Hospital District of Southwest Finland, 20500 Turku, Finland

Abstract: Information management in hospitals is challenging due to vast amounts of information and a great number of people participating in the organisational functions. Information management plays an important role in the provision of care and it can be improved by information and communication technology. The purpose of this literature review is to describe what information and communication systems are available for nurse managers in hospitals to support their decision-making. Managerial decision-making occurs on strategic, tactical and operational levels. The main findings are that several different information and communication systems have been developed to support nurse managers' information management, however, these systems mostly focus on strategic and tactical decision-making levels without real-time information support, and furthermore, operational decision-making is weakly supported. Also, research evaluating how the existing systems support nurse managers' decision-making is lacking.

Keywords: nursing management; decision making; health information systems; hospitals; information management; ICT; e-health; electronic healthcare.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNVO.2013.058441

International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, 2013 Vol.13 No.1, pp.81 - 100

Received: 03 Jul 2013
Accepted: 28 Sep 2013

Published online: 19 Jul 2014 *

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