This article is the second in a series of four on the role of information and its management across health and social care. It describes the role of data in delivering nursing care and the importance of structured nursing content in electronic records to support modern services. The article gives examples of information systems that enable nurses to access data for clinical decision making, looks at the knowledge needs of future service users, and reflects on the support and training nurses need to operate in integrated health and care services.

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If the growing population of older people are to be effectively supported in their own homes, new ways of delivering care must be found. In addition, individual users of health and social services need greater empowerment and autonomy. These imperatives provide opportunities for the creative use of information and communication technology. One telecare approach that can be used to maintain or improve the quality of life for older people is the provision of health and social care information in electronic form.This paper identifies and discusses issues that contribute to the information agenda for older people. It describes the background to the present UK health strategy, most significantly the shift from institutional based care towards care at home, with the associated change of priorities within health and social care agencies. It suggests that different methods of information delivery are needed to meet the requirements of older people, and directs information providers towards the use of paper-based media and digital TV, as well as Web-based resources. It highlights the importance of user interface design and argues for an approach whereby interface design is changed when necessary, according to the results of user evaluation. Information content needs to be appropriate and managed; verification and validity of content are ensured by a continuous iterative review system.

The importance of good high quality electronic healthcare records has been set forth along with the need for a practical user-considered and collaborative approach to its improvement.

This article is the third in a series of four, looking at the impact on the nursing profession of the increasing demand to demonstrate the nursing contribution to patient care in terms of quality and performance. Information management processes and indicators for the measurement of care are described. The necessary improvements that need to be made to patient records to support integrated care in the future and examples of nursing classifications are also provided. The article examines the roles and responsibilities of nurses as data collectors and concludes that strong nursing leadership in the field of informatics is needed to influence and shape the data collected and ensure that nurses' professional contribution to patient care is captured.