Computerised databases in infection control.

THIS ARTICLE sets out to examine the potential uses of computer software in infection control, and also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using computers to enhance infection control in hospitals. The role of the infection control nurse is broadly categorised into one of advisory, education, research and surveillance (Law 1993, Worsley 1988). These categories are explored in relation to the opportunities for the use of software in collecting and analysing data. Kelsey (1991) said that we should no longer ask: ‘What can a computer do?’ but ‘what do we want it to do?’ Information technology (IT), although used throughout the healthcare environment for some records, is not used to the full and handwritten records are common. The view that IT is not used to its maximum potential in health care is reiterated by Hays et al (1994): ‘In the healthcare system, inefficiencies in managing and processing information have been identified as a major problem and a significant component of inflated costs. Although nurses are the largest group of professionals that generate healthcare information, until recently they have contributed only minimally to system design and have had little access to the information generated by their practice.’