Evaluating the Use of Flowsheets in Pediatric Intensive Care to Inform Design

Abstract

Flowsheets are central artifacts of information collection and exchange to support the monitoring and diagnosis of patient status in the pediatric intensive care unit. This study used field observations to examine the design and use of flowsheets. Strengths of the current paper document include portability, bundling of related data, and allowing for notes and annotations. However, the static nature of the paper document requires that users manually calculate and carry over important trends and relationships. Spatial constraints of the paper document make it necessary to squeeze data into a small space with data sometimes being difficult to read. Electronic flowsheets have the potential to overcome these limitations and introduce new features, but depending on their design, may eliminate the strengths of the original system. Studying actual practices in the work environment yielded insight into the use of the document to inform the design of an electronic flowsheet system.