The Omaha System Top Ten
If you would like more informa on on the Omaha System and to see
who else uses it, visit the Minnesota Omaha System Users Group site
at h p://omahasystemmn.org/

INSIDE THIS PACKET: What is the Omaha System
 Top ten reasons to use theOmaha System

www.champso ware.com

What is the Omaha System?
The Omaha System is a research-based, standardized clinicaldocumentation language (taxonomy) designed to meet the needs ofcommunity health nurses and other community-based healthproviders.
It includes all three critical components of care(diagnoses, interventions and outcomes) and was specificallydesigned to facilitate the statistical analysis ofdata.

The Top Ten Reasons to Use the Omaha System
1. It’s Global:
The Omaha System is a dynamic and user-friendly
language used in countries throughout the world.

2. It’s Powerful:Use of the Omaha System is a powerful tool
within practice, education, and research settings.
Automated documentation systems based on
the Omaha System, such as Nightingale Notes,
provide persuasive and effective means for datacollection,
aggregation,andanalysis
byadministrators and clinicians.

3. Networking Opportunities Abound:
The Omaha System network of users is a dynamic and cooperative group, with many
opportunities to ask questions and share ideas and developments via the Omaha
System website, the Omaha System ListServ, and regional user groups.

4. Get Credit for What You Do:
The Omaha System accurately reflects community health nursing practice as well as
the practice of other community-based health providers (use of the Omaha Systemdoesn’t change WHAT you do, but to capture, get credit, and measure what you are
ALREADY doing). It provides any program with measurable outcomes anyone canunderstand (including revenue sources)! Being able to measure outcomes allows you
to benefit your clients, benefit your staff, and provide objective data to show others
what you do AND how well you do it.

5. History of Validity:
The Omaha System has been extensively tested for reliability and validity.

6. Useful at Any Level:
The Omaha System is not limited to the assessment, interventions, andmeasurement of outcomes at the individual or family level. It can also be
used at the community level to assess, plan, execute, and measurecommunity-based interventions, such as educational programs.

7. Efficient Charting:
The Omaha System provides a means by which various disciplines
in community health settings can document care in a flexible,comprehensive, and concise manner. The Omaha System sharply
reduces narrative notes.

8. Legal Situations:
Using the Omaha System can help you if your records are called into a legal setting!
Use of the Omaha System allows the clinician to chart in an accurate, concise,consistent, and structured manner—all definite advantages when records areinvolved in any legal action.

9. Recognition of Trends:
Use of the Omaha System enables recognition of data
trends and documentation of progress towards Healthy
People 2020 goals! The Omaha System allows
programs to recognize data trends in client
characteristics,
permitting
identification
andprioritization of community needs and allocation ofresources. The Omaha System has been used in manyagencies to accurately document progress towards
Healthy People 2010 goals.

10. Well Supported:
The Omaha System is an important part of major national health language systems
and standards! Recognized by the American Nurses Association since 1992, theOmaha System passed the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel(HITSP) Tier 2 selection criteria for a Use Case in 2007. It is integrated into theNational Library of Medicine’s Metathesaurus; CINAHL; ABC Codes; NIDSEC; LogicalObservation Identifiers, Names, and Codes (LOINC®); and SNOMED CT®. It isregistered (recognized) by Health Level Seven (HL7®), and is congruent with thereference terminology model for the International Organization for Standardization(ISO). It is being mapped to International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP®).
Omaha System documentation is congruent with the Joint Commission andCommunity Health Accreditation Program (CHAP) standards. (The preceding
information is from the Omaha System website www.omahasystem.org)