BackgroundNurses have long been known for their attentiveness to patient care. The reason many nurses entered this profession is their desire to care for people. The overwhelming responsibilities of documentation, reviewing records, verifying prescriptions and medications, monitoring laboratory results, among others, places direct patient care in the hands of another staff member, possibly unqualified. Bolton, Gassert, and Cipriano (2008) estimate that only 23% to 30% of a nurse's day is spent providing care to a patient. That leaves most of a 12-hour shift doing some sort of paperwork. In fact, the inability to provide more patient care has been cited as a reason why many nurses leave their jobs, and even the profession as a whole (Bolton et al., 2008). The task of documentation is essential to nursing practice. However, this documentation is often repeated in different areas of a patient's record. DiPietro et al. (2008) reported that 40% of written documentation completed by nurses was on personal paper at the bedside. This had to be copied later into the patient's formal file, resulting in double documentation. The reason nurses are forced to use this method of documentation instead of transcribing assessments directly into the chart is that this vital record containing patient information is often not easily accessible. Since multiple disciplines on the healthcare team need the record throughout the day, there is no guarantee as to when the nurse will actually be able to access it. Additionally, in almost all hospitals that use paper charts, they must accompany the patient when they leave the floor for tests or procedures. This creates another obstacle for all health care tea members...... middle of paper...... ledge. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. (2002, August). Health care at a crossroads: Strategies to address the evolving nursing crisis. (White Paper). Washington, D.C. Ketchum, B. (2008). Does IT Mean Better Patient Care? Nursing Management, 39, 21.doi:10.1097/01.NUMA.0000320634.89059.9aOffice for Civil Rights (May 2003). HIPAA Privacy Rule Summary: HIPAA Compliance Assistance. [Confidentiality Memorandum]. Retrieved from Department of Health and Human Services website: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/summary/privacysummary.pdfThede, LQ & Sewell, JP (2010). The computer science discipline. In LQ Thede and JP Sewell (eds.). Informatics and nursing: skills and applications (3rd ed., pp. 313-316). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Wolters-Kluwer/Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.