Information Management in the Daily Care Coordination in the Intensive Care Unit

Information needs in day-to-day operations management in hospital units: A cross-sectional national survey

“…This emphasizes the need for user‐tailored flexibility when improving information management practices. Variations in information needs may be explained by differences in responsibilities of professionals (Lundgrén‐Laine et al, ; Peltonen et al, ; Surakka, ), organisation of care at different times (Peltonen et al, ) and different function of units.…”

“…The biggest differences between nurses and physicians were related to staffing and material resources. This may be explained by differences in managerial responsibilities, as nurses’ decisions are often related to the allocation of resources whereas physicians’ decisions, to a greater extent, are focused on patient care (Lundgrén‐Laine et al, ; Peltonen et al, ). The reason for nurses rating their information needs higher regarding material resources and staffing issues might be the same.…”

“…The decisions made by hospital unit shift leaders concern patient care‐related issues, and staffing and material resources (Lundgrén‐Laine et al, ; Peltonen, Lundgrén‐Laine, & Salanterä, ; Siirala, Peltonen, Lundgrén‐Laine, Salanterä, & Junttila, ). An information need is defined as the recognition of inadequate knowledge to satisfy a goal at a specific time point (Ormandy, ).…”

“…Shift leaders need accurate and easily accessible information, as their decisions need to be made here and now—ad hoc. Research on shift leaders’ information needs has been done in the emergency setting (Norri‐Sederholm, Paakkonen, Kurola, & Saranto, ), intensive care units (Lundgrén‐Laine et al, ; Peltonen et al, ), the hospitalized cardiac patients’ care process (Kontio, Lundgrén‐Laine, Kontio, Korvenranta, & Salanterä, ) and throughout the care continuum in a medical centre (Patterson et al, ). However, research beyond these settings is scarce.…”

“…Timely and accurate information supports shift leaders’ managerial activities and a shared situational awareness and, further, has the potential to improve decision making for an optimal use of resources in the pursuit of safe and efficient care. Shift leaders may use much effort to collect and update necessary information from different sources (Gurses, Xiao, & Hu, ; Lundgrén‐Laine et al, ; Peltonen et al, ). Determining the most important information needed by shift leaders enables tailored information management that enhances access to important information while reducing information overload.…”