LACK OF TRAINING LIMITS RETURN ON IT INVESTMENT
While nurses appear ready to use healthcare information technology, have only a limited amount of ongoing training. A survey by CDW Healthcare of Vernon Hills, Ill. found that 86 percent of nurses said IT has the potential to improve the quality of patient care and help them access information more quickly and efficiently. IT sophistication also is positively affecting nurses' decisions on where to work. Some 64 percent said IT influences their decisions on where to work, and 26 percent said they would not consider working in a healthcare organization without IT. However, training is an issue - some 30 percent of nurses said they received no IT training in the last year, and 56 percent received from one to eight hours of training.
NLRB SETS RULES FOR SUPERVISORY NURSES
Earlier this month, the National Labor Relations Board established guidelines on whether a charge nurse could be considered a supervisor and thus be considered exempt from collective bargaining. The ruling suggested that permanent charge nurses use independent judgment in directing nurses and are supervisors. Many professional groups criticized the decision and suggested it may negatively affect nurses' union organizing efforts.
BUDGETING TOOL AIMED AT HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATIONS
Siemens Medical Solutions is offering a new web-based decision support budgeting tool to help healthcare organizations handle budgeting workflow and approval processes. The tool uses customizable model templates and spreadsheet programs. The budgeting tool offers access to financial reports and analyses, automatic e-mail notifications of budget status, support of team-based operations, and computerization of revision processes.
TENET HEALTHCARE TARGETS REVENUE CYCLE MANAGEMENT
Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare Corp. is implementing a new application to improve its revenue cycle management. Tenet has signed an agreement with MedAssets Net Revenue Systems of Atlanta to provide defensible price modeling services for its 43 hospitals. MedAssets also will conduct charge capture auditing services for 10 Tenet facilities to identify opportunities to improve capture processes and increase net revenue. MedAssets' charge capture tool will help improve net revenue by reviewing 100 percent of the itemized bills filed by Tenet hospitals.