Continuity of care. Development and implementation of a shared patient data base.

Although the inpatient Oncology Unit, the Medical Oncology Clinic, and Radiation Oncology provided care for many of the same patients, there was no mechanism for sharing nursing information, and little colleague input from one area to another. In order to meet this need, a nurse from each of the clinic areas was added to the inpatient unit's Patient Care Evaluation Committee. Working through this committee, these nurses developed an Inpatient/Outpatient Data Flow Sheet, which could be initiated in any oncology area to implement information flow when a patient was to be seen in a different setting. It proved to be an effective tool. The flow sheet, along with our rationale, was then presented for consideration as a computerized program to be used between the three areas. After careful investigation, it was approved. This provided the oncology areas with the first data storage capability for nursing in the hospital. It offered oncology nurses in distinct and separate areas access to obtain and update information on shared patients. This manuscript will focus on the computer program and the data base designed for the oncology department and its impact on nurses and patients.