The Association Between Nursing Home Information Technology Maturity and Urinary Tract Infection Among Long-Term Residents

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common infections among nursing home (NH) residents. Antibiotics are often misused when a UTI is suspected. Using sophisticated information technology (IT) could help in appropriate UTI prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. This repeated cross-sectional study explored relationships between IT maturity and UTI prevalence among long-stay NH residents. Data were from (1) four annual surveys 2013-2017 measuring IT maturity in a random sample of Medicare-certified NHs, (2) Minimum Data Set assessments for resident characteristics, and (3) Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reporting data for facility characteristics. In multivariate regressions using NH fixed effects, controlling for resident and NH characteristics, Administrative IT maturity in NHs was associated with decreased odds of UTI (AOR: 0.906, 95% CI: 0.843, 0.973). These results were robust in all sensitivity analyses. Using IT to relieve administrative burden may decrease UTIs.

Automated summary

This study explored the relationship between IT maturity and UTI prevalence among nursing home residents. The results showed that higher administrative IT maturity in nursing homes was associated with a decreased likelihood of UTI. Using IT to relieve administrative burden may decrease the occurrence of UTIs.