Omaha System partnerships: Advancing practice, documentation, and information management

The Omaha System is a research-based, standardized, comprehensive terminology that exists in the public domain. It was designed for interdisciplinary use at the point-of-care to improve practice, documentation, and information management. It is included in SNOMED CT®, LOINC, and HL7, the US DHHS messaging standards, and in HITSP use cases, the national initiative to increase interoperability. Practice, education, and research sites that use the Omaha System and software developers who base their clinical information systems on the Omaha System recognize the mutual benefits of partnerships. Because the use of information technology is expanding rapidly in health departments and other provider sites, it is important to work together to describe, quantify, and communicate data about the quality and costs of clinical services. Therefore, Omaha System partnerships are increasing nationally and internationally. During 2008, publications summarized three examples of such partnerships; each involved the Omaha System, electronic documentation, and clinical data evaluation. Faculty members at The University of Arizona Colleges of Nursing and Pharmacy provided interdisciplinary case management services in the Arizona-Sonora, Mexico border region for Mexican American adults with type 2 diabetes and/or at risk for developing diabetes. The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing developed partnerships with nurses, researchers, and major insurers to improve care and data flow for 600 frail, older adults who had chronic illnesses. State of Maine public health nurses and administrators worked in partnership with a software developer to help the organization standardize clinical data and information. Together, they were able to demonstrate health improvement and the value of service. Three other speakers in this session will describe details about the diverse partnerships they are establishing within a public health department, between a local health department and a school of nursing, and between a state health department and a school of nursing.