Implementation of NANDA nursing diagnoses online. North American Nursing Diagnosis Association

The authors describe the online implementation of the standardized nursing language of the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) nursing diagnoses at one 250-bed community hospital located in Chicago. A brief description of NANDA nursing diagnoses is provided along with a discussion of issues regarding implementation of these nursing diagnoses in a clinical information system. This system did not support online documentation of patient problems, therefore the challenge was to add documentation of patient problems to the system's software. This article focuses on the design and implementation of the nursing diagnoses computer screens, rather than focusing on the two problems we encountered during implementation--appropriate use of nursing diagnoses and the fit of nursing diagnoses with nursing interventions. Yet, the lessons learned in designing and implementing NANDA nursing diagnoses online may help others.