Evaluation of documentation before and after implementation of a nursing information system in an acute care hospital.

Economic pressures on healthcare systems have intensified the necessity of demonstrating the unique contribution of nursing care to patient outcomes. The use of nursing information systems (NIS) has increased completeness of some nursing documentation elements. This study's purpose was to evaluate differences in documentation completeness of nurse assessments of patient outcomes (NASSESS), achievement of patient outcomes (NGOAL), nursing interventions done (NQUAL), and routine assessments before and after implementation of an NIS in a 100-bed urban university hospital in west Tennessee and before and after retraining in NIS use and care planning.