Does use of advanced information technology in commercial minimum data set systems improve quality of nursing home care?

Abstract

Information technology (IT) has been recommended to improve the quality of health care. Nursing homes use very little IT, but they have been required by the federal government to electronically submit resident assessments (via commercial Minimum Data Set [MDS] software). This article examines whether use of the advanced IT features commonly found in commercial MDS software is associated with better quality of care. This study employed a national survey of US nursing home administrators (N = 2397) regarding the use of 12 advanced IT features in commercial MDS software. Overall, the effects of using advanced IT features in commercial MDS software on quality were highly significant (P < .01) when controlling for the prior years quality as well as facility characteristics. Although nursing homes have been slow to adopt IT, the use of the identified IT in MDS software packages appears to offer the promise to improve quality of care.