Smarter Week

How to automate it

How to automate “chart assessments, meds and care in the EHR”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today.

120 min
typically, every day
30%
of the time can be automated
Some setup
to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Software featureBest fix

Use ambient or voice nursing documentation where your hospital offers it

Newer ambient and voice tools for nurses turn spoken assessments and conversations into flowsheet entries and notes for you to confirm. Ask whether your hospital is piloting one.

Typically saves about 20% of the time1 h to set up
  1. 1Ask your nurse manager or nursing informatics whether ambient or voice nursing documentation is available or being piloted (for example Microsoft Dragon Copilot for nurses, or Abridge or Epic nursing ambient tools).
  2. 2Volunteer for the pilot if one is running.
  3. 3Speak your assessments as you do them, then review and accept the entries.
  4. 4Report errors so the tool improves.
  5. 5Only use tools your organization has approved and covered by a HIPAA business associate agreement (BAA) for anything with patient information.

Tools: Microsoft Dragon Copilot for nursing · Abridge nursing tools · Epic Rover voice

Fix 2 of 2

Process fix

Push to remove duplicate charting and chart by exception

A lot of nursing documentation repeats what is already elsewhere in the chart. Unit councils and informatics can remove duplicate flowsheet rows and allow charting by exception where policy permits.

Typically saves about 15% of the time1 h to set up
  1. 1For one week, note every item you chart in two places.
  2. 2Bring the list to your unit practice council or nursing informatics team.
  3. 3Ask which items can be removed, auto-filled from devices, or charted by exception.
  4. 4Ask for EHR quick-picks or macros for common entries.

Tools: Your EHR (Epic, Oracle Health, athenahealth, eClinicalWorks, NextGen or similar)

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

Nurse

HourLeak · the 8-minute work audit

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Other common tasks for Nurses