The long term objective of this effort is to increase the effectiveness of conventional management information technologies through the integration of such technologies as parallel processors, knowledge-based systems, image processing and analysis, object-oriented programming, and hypertext. While Sun's Scalable Processor Architecture (SPARC) technology has gained popularity, a significant base for software applications still has not be established. There are still plenty of research opportunities to explore the most economical configuration of parallel processors for software systems utilizing expert systems, image processing, and object-oriented programming. In order to protect investments into software systems, these systems must be developed with software interoperability in mind. Moreover, if a system is the enjoy any change of commercial success, it must meet the application needs of the healthcare professional and the system must be easy to use. The development of an intuitive graph user interface using hypertext is an important aspect of this effort.
The specific aims of the phase I effort are to analyze the organizational structure that is within the jurisdiction of a nursing administrator, to analyze the flow of information through the administrator's organization, to build a nursing resource allocation and utilization system, and to evaluate the system's effectiveness.
