From the time of Florence Nightingale, nurses have combined the caring, hands-on aspects of our profession with rigorous examination of data that inform practice. Technology allows us to gather more information and to mine that data not only to satisfy our payers but also to improve patient outcomes. When quality technology is used wisely, visiting nurse associations find that their business and clinical sides are equally well served.

The Norwell Visiting Nurse Association in Massachusetts adopted an information management system to automate its financials and other operational functions. As a member of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA), Norwell was able to purchase the technology from HealthWyse at a special rate. Furthermore, the system offered handheld devices. Industry research shows that patients often feel laptops distract their nurses. But patients respond positively to handhelds, which allow clinicians to record data and still make eye contact.

Within months, reimbursement time was reduced, as were errors in OASIS reporting. On the clinical side, the benefits were dramatic as well. Nurses had more time to spend with patients because data collection was streamlined.

In Lawrence, Massachusetts, Home Health VNA used HealthWyse to cut the return time for physician orders. The VNAA-member agency then convinced the vendor to incorporate into its software questions about risk factors for falls. Home Health VNA secured a federal grant to reduce patient falls, which are now well below the national average.

Home Health VNA's success sprang from gathering and accessing data efficiently to inform practice. Nurse managers in Curricula for Homecare Advances in Management and Practice (CHAMP) have a similar experience. The VNAA's CHAMP includes an online learning program that helps nurse managers employ evidence-based practice to improve geriatric care. The benefits of e-learning for scheduling and reducing travel costs are clear.

But the format offers far more than convenience. When nurse managers enter data on specific outcome and process measures, they will be able to evaluate their progress and compare results with their team, region, and other CHAMP participants from coast to coast. Nurse managers can immediately see how well they are implementing what they have learned.

Visiting nurses are also using the power of technology to reach underserved areas. The Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of Vermont has received federal funding to provide telehealth services to rural patients. The VNAA has a purchasing arrangement with a telehealth provider (Honeywell HomeMed) that is similar to other deals that offer VNAA members software, vaccines, and other essentials at lowered cost. The technology being used in Rutland lets patients check their own pulse, blood pressure, and other signs 24 hours a day and share the information with nurses in real time. Although face-to-face visits are reduced, opportunities for teaching and health promotion skyrocket.

From Vermont to California, the VNAA is helping VNAs prove to their patients how technology can live up to its promise: providing care in keeping with the agency's mission, securing a new funding source, and giving nurses more opportunities for quality interaction with their patients.