Welcome to the Omaha System Web site!

The Omaha System is a research-based, comprehensive practice and documentation standardized taxonomy or classification designed to document client care from admission to discharge. The hierarchy and terms of the Omaha System are summarized in the Overview, and include an assessment component (Problem Classification Scheme), an intervention component (Intervention Scheme), and an outcomes component (Problem Rating Scale for Outcomes).

Users: Current users represent the continuum of care; their location, size, organization, type of services, and type of employees are increasingly diverse. Approximately 9000 multidisciplinary practitioners, educators, and researchers use Omaha System point-of-care software in the United States and other countries. About 2000 more practitioners use paper-and-pen records.  The number and type of computer software vendors who offer automated Omaha System clinical information systems continue to grow rapidly.

Book and Case Studies: The Omaha System is described in detail in The Omaha System: A Key to Practice, Documentation, and Information Management (2nd ed), published by Elsevier in 2005 (international orders here). Included in the book are descriptions of use in practice, education, and research settings; a User’s Guide; references; research; and 18 case studies. This Web site summarizes the Omaha System and includes 8 additional case studies. Case studies are an invaluable tool when learning to use the Omaha System, for refreshing skills, and for evaluating interrater reliability among users.

Copyright: The Omaha System terms, definitions, and codes have existed in the public domain since 1975. Therefore the terms, definitions, and codes are not held under copyright. They are available for use without permission from Elsevier or the developers, and without a licensing fee. However, the terms and structure must be used as published and accompanied by a reliable source (2005 book or Web site). Other sections of the book are held under copyright by Elsevier. For more information, refer to the book, or contact Elsevier or Martin Associates.

Integration/Electronic Health Records: The American Nurses Association has recognized the Omaha System as a standardized terminology to support nursing practice since 1992. It is listed in the US Department of Health and Human Services interoperability standards for electronic health records after successfully passing the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP) Tier 2 selection criteria for Use Cases in 2007. Additionally, it is integrated into the National Library of Medicine’s Metathesaurus; CINAHL; ABC Codes; NIDSEC; Logical Observation Identifiers, Names, and Codes (LOINC®); and SNOMED CT®. It is registered (recognized) by Health Level Seven (HL7®), and is congruent with the reference terminology model for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is being mapped to the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP®).

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