Developing Structured Omaha System Goals for Use in an Electronic Health Record

Use of standardized terminology has been essential for clear, concise, and accurate documentation of client assessments, care plans, and outcomes. The purpose of this study was to create standardized language goals for a case management system that used the Omaha System. A group of nursing informaticists analyzed, refined, and developed revised goals evaluated using medical vocabulary properties. A set of unique goals aligned with the Omaha System was developed with specifically designed characteristics and functionality that allowed individualization and evaluation of goal attainment. Goal statements and ratings were standardized and written to reflect goals a client could attain. The Omaha System goals served as a template for nurse case managers to use in telephonic support with clients and future development of new goals and allowed the organization the ability to generate quality metrics.