Computer Charting -- Do you like it or hate it?

Nurses General Nursing

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Just curious how the nurses onboard feel about computer charting? Does it make things easier for the nurses or more difficult? Do you get off work in time, or are you having to stay later to chart because it's all done by computer?

Thanks for your responses! :nurse:

Specializes in Critical Care/ICU.

It can be easily read. We can capture vital signs by the minute if one so inclined (our monitors and urinometers communicate with the computers). Running totals of I&O's for a shift, day, or length of stay is at our fingertips. It easily allows for exception comments. We can see the big picture of a patient with an easy "quick look" which is a screen with the most vital info on one full screen. We can view the flowsheet by q5 minutes, q10 minutes, q15 minutes, q 30minutes, qhour, q2, q4, q8, q12, or q24 hours. Trends are very easy to find and follow without going through a bunch of separate flowsheets.

We have one computer at every bedside on our unit and several on wheels throughout the unit and a few at the nurses sations. Our computers have gone down twice in the almost five years I've been there. Each one also has internet access.

Labs (show up on flowsheet too!), operative reports, some doc's progress notes, radiology reports, CT, MRI... name it and it's there (but in a separate application than the flowsheet-no biggie). I can order tests, labs, etc.

I'm not complaining except I wish the entire medical record were computerized so that I can read the docs notes.

I truely think that our computer charting gives us more time for patient care. We're not spending time thumbing through pages and pages of bad handwriting.

Just curious how the nurses onboard feel about computer charting? Does it make things easier for the nurses or more difficult? Do you get off work in time, or are you having to stay later to chart because it's all done by computer?

Thanks for your responses! :nurse:

I think it makes life a lot easier. I will say however when we first started computer charting we all hated it.

Specializes in Rehab, Step-down,Tele,Hospice.

Love it! I'm new so I never did paper charting anyway. I also like to to be able to see what last person charted and compare.

We have plenty of computers I've never been thrown off or had it lock up.

It depends on the charting program. Some are nurse-friendly and efficient. Some are time-consuming and just a waste of resources. When working with a good charting program, I much prefer computer charting. When working with a crappy charting program, I would much prefer paper charting.

I totally agree, the harder the program is to navigate the more time that is taken away from patient care. There is a big learning curve at first but once you feel comfortable with the system it is okay unless you are troubleshooting than you have to wait for the computer tech guys and one of your computers can be out for a substantial amount of time.

Lots of hospitals seem to be stuck in the middle, not fully dedicating to the transition due to planning, staffing, safety, legal, and financial constraints. Seeing a couple hospitals trying to switch over quickly I believe that if the process were done over several years integrating parts of the traditional nurses notes and patient chart piece by piece than the transition would not be as overwhelming and allow for better planning and problems could be fixed as they happen. I also would like to see a universal healthcare program that everyone uses, however debugging such a program maybe a nightmare for programmers.

It depends on the charting program. Some are nurse-friendly and efficient. Some are time-consuming and just a waste of resources. When working with a good charting program, I much prefer computer charting. When working with a crappy charting program, I would much prefer paper charting.

LOVE IT!

No more searching for the chart! It's nice b/c the MD, RN, and other personnel can look @ the chart at the same time...

I don't mind computer charting, but it depends on the system you use. The hospital I am at uses a crummy system. They make changes that are not user friendly and result in double charting for everyone. Or.......results in too much time charting. The servers or something are not powerful enough to handle the system, because it is sluggish, and kicks you out, and you frequently lose everything you just tried to chart. Or, you can't access the system at all for a couple hours at a time, and have to go back to paper.

It would be nice if staff, just once, would have input into these decisions, since we are the people who have to use it everyday.

Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

We use computers in the OR and at first we didn't like it at all. Now, we couldn't be without it. What use to take me 10 mnutes or more now I can do in less than 2 minutes, probably less. I only wished they had gone to a Windows base program instead of a "old" looking DOS style. It is 90% fill-in and very little text oriented. The rest of the hospital uses MediTech and I think it is worthless. Instead of going to a paperless system, we still have patient charts, for the Docs benefit, and still generate a ton of paper that has to be printed out and put into the chart. The only real advantage to this house-wide system is I can from the OR look at a patient's record ahead of time to see if there are any problems. Othere than that, the program is old and behind in time. Mike

Specializes in ER, PACU, OR.

EMR they call it here. We don't have it yet, and I have never had it. However, they are supposed to get EMR here within the next 18 months I hear.

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Specializes in LDRP.
EMR they call it here. We don't have it yet, and I have never had it. However, they are supposed to get EMR here within the next 18 months I hear.

do you mean EMAR? that is the barcode scanning of meds/patients. That I like, its computer charting I hate.

The rest of the hospital uses MediTech and I think it is worthless.

I agree - Meditech is a waste of the nurses' time and a facility's money, that could be directed toward a better system.

I agree - Meditech is a waste of the nurses' time and a facility's money, that could be directed toward a better system.

I have workerd with decent Meditech systems, but I went to an agency job last month that had the 'latest' update to meditech and it was awful, completely different.

Of course in ICU I totally prefer a 3 page cardboard nurses note/graphics combo personally. Like most ICU nurses (and docs) do. Everything right there, no hunting....

Our docs(when meditech was instituted) insisted the nurses 'print out' vitals rounding sheets for them everyday, they 'didn't have time' to hunt for them in the computer. A nurses' work is never done. :rolleyes:

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