SURVEY OF NURSE PERCEPTIONS REGARDING THE UTILIZATION OF BEDSIDE COMPUTERS

In December 1993, Intermountain Health Care (IHC) placed a moratorium on the installation of bedside computers in the acute care setting unl ess information could be obtained to justify resumption of these insta llations. A survey was developed and administered to nurses at two IHC hospitals. The survey results indicate that acute care nurses value b edside computers and believe that IHC should install them at other fac ilities. In addition, the acute care nurses estimate that they are usi ng the bedside computers over 75% of the time during the day shift to document vital signs/measurements and intake/output quantities. Based on the results of this survey. IHC has decided to continue installing bedside computers in the acute care setting.