A pre-post interventional study to reduce time spent on clinical documentation by nurses and midwives

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Practice
• Clinical Documentation Improvement

Background:

• Clinical documentation is a core task for nurses and midwives.
• Streamlining documentation is crucial to minimize burden and maximize direct patient care time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of a co-designed intervention aimed at reducing clinical documentation time.
• To evaluate the intervention's effect on increasing time available for direct patient care.

Main Methods:

• A pre- and post-test interventional study design was employed.
• Data collection included time and motion studies and the Burden of Documentation for Nurses and Midwives (BurDoNsaM) survey.
• Documentation audits were used to evaluate intervention fidelity.

Main Results:

• Despite pandemic-related staffing reductions, the intervention increased completed task episodes.
• Post-intervention, documentation time per episode decreased, and time for direct patient care saw a small increase.
• Survey results indicated participants perceived a reduction in documentation time.

Conclusions:

• The co-designed intervention effectively reduced time spent on clinical documentation.
• The study demonstrated an increase in time available for direct patient care.
• Findings suggest the intervention's potential for replication in other healthcare settings.