Electronic versus paper-based nursing documentation systems: the caregivers weigh in

Information technology (IT) solutions have the potential to free carers in long-term care facilities from well-known problems with burdensome paper-documentation, allow them more direct care-time with clients and improve the quality of nursing records. However, to date, little scientific evidence is available to support this idea. Besides the concern about return on investment, a big barrier for the slow uptake of IT solutions in long-term care1 is scepticism by managers about the capacity and willingness of older carers, most of them women, to use computers and the uncertainty about the potential change associated with introducing a new system. To my knowledge, no detailed study of carers’ satisfaction with electronic documentation in nursing homes has been conducted. Research appears to be lacking on this important area that directly relates to the quality of life for an increasing number of elderly who will live in nursing homes.