A nursing care plan can be informal or formal. An informal nursing care plan is an action in the nurse's mind. A formal plan is a written blueprint for patient care. It is further divided into two types. Standardized care plans specify the nursing care for patients with routine needs, while individualized care plans are focused on the unique needs of patients. The nursing care plans are formulated based on the basic human needs, nursing diagnosis, and medical or interdisciplinary plans of care. Five formats of the nursing care plan are: Computerized care plans, an electronic medical record that helps reduce paperwork and enhances record keeping. Change of shift reports communicate information during nursing handover. Critical pathway provides information about the standardized multidisciplinary plan of care to express predicted patient outcomes within the timeframe. Concept mapping graphically organizes patient data, analyzes relationships in the data, and gives a holistic view of the patient's health. Finally, a student care plan helps apply knowledge gained from nursing literature. It is more elaborate than the actual care plan used in hospital settings.