Development of a nursing automated documentation system

As hospital length of stay has decreased and patient acuity has increased, the nurse is confronted daily with the challenge of managing time between patient care and documentation. Documentation of care has consistently been a time-consuming and frustrating part of nursing practice. The nursing shortage has only compounded this problem. St. Joseph's Hospital has creatively begun to facilitate documentation by developing a Nursing Automated Documentation System (NADS) in collaboration with CliniCom, Inc. of Boulder, Colorado. This article documents the development and implementation of the system.