Omaha System

"Consists of three relational, reliable, and valid components designed to be used together: Problem Classification Scheme (client assessment); Intervention Scheme (care plans and services); Problem Rating Scale for Outcomes (client change/evaluation). Is a research-based, comprehensive, standardized taxonomy or classification that exists in the public domain. It is designed to enhance practice, documentation, and information management. It is intended for use across the continuum of care for individuals, families, and communities who represent all ages, geographic locations, medical diagnoses, socio-economic ranges, spiritual beliefs, ethnicity, and cultural values. Has terms that are arranged in a hierarchy (i.e. from general to specific), and are intended to be easily understood by health care professionals and the general public. It provides a structure to document client needs and strengths, describe multidisciplinary practitioner interventions, and measure client outcomes in a simple and user-friendly, yet comprehensive, manner. Enables collection, aggregation, and analysis of clinical data. It supports quality improvement, critical thinking, and communication. It fosters research involving best practices/evidence-based practice. It links clinical data to demographic, financial, administrative, and staffing data. It is a middle range theory that supports other established health care theories. Examples include Donabedian’s structure, process, and outcome approach and the Neuman Systems Model. (...) Current users are nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, social workers/counselors, physicians, registered dieticians, recreational therapists, chaplains, pharmacists, community health workers, chiropractors, and other health care providers. Users also include nursing educators, researchers, and students enrolled in associate degree to doctoral programs, and educators and students from other health-related disciplines. Current users and their sites now include the continuum of care: home care, public health, and school health practice settings, nurse-managed center staff, hospital-based and managed care case managers, educators and students, occupational health nurses, faith community staff, acute care and rehabilitation hospital/long-term care staff, researchers, members of various disciplines, and computer software vendors. The majority of Omaha System users are located in the United States."