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Nurse executives must support decisions with quality data. Scanning technology can help support administration, performance improvement, education, and research. Using any type of information technology requires consideration of how data are to be acquired, stored, transformed, and presented. The costs of scanner systems vary widely depending on the options selected. The hardware needed includes a scanner, personal computer, and a printer. The cost of software to create scanner forms ranges from $600 to $4,000. Vendors can also produce customized scanable forms instead of purchasing software to develop forms internally. The most significant cost savings associated with a scanner system is eliminating the need for data entry personnel. Quality data can help guide nurse executives' decisions and provide greater control over patient outcomes., Nurse executives are increasingly being called upon to support decisions with outcomes data. Optical mark scanning technology allows for immediate access to large data sets that have been collected using. [...]

* Nurse executives have the ability to set the standard for data competence in their organizations; and, by providing the nurse leaders in their department with access to patient data and education in data analysis, they can improve the quality and effectiveness of patient care. * The author argues that "data competence is a core competence of nurse leaders in the information age." * The question examined in this article centered on the presumptive ability of nurses to access, analyze, and present patient data to manage the health care of patient populations and maintain nursing's influence on health care delivery. * The Pew Commission has noted "the increasing availability of computerized patient information and stressed the need for health professionals to learn to manage large volumes of patient data to deliver quality care.", THE INFLUENCE of nursing in health care has long been rooted in our knowledge of the patient, and as health care has changed over the years, we have adjusted our [...]