Healthcare / Hospital
Mercy: Writing nursing notes
- Company
- Mercy
- Country
- United States
- Adoption stage
- Limited operation
- Source published
- In use from
- Date basis
- The date the source was published. It can differ from the date adoption started.
- How the source was checked
- Read the full source text
The work problem
About 15,000 nurses work at Mercy. As documentation demands in the electronic health record grew, nurses spent a large part of their shift on records and moving between systems. Some stayed after the shift ended to finish charting. This burden led to overtime and cognitive fatigue.
Technology and data
Mercy chose Microsoft Dragon Copilot, an AI clinical assistant tool that integrates into the electronic health record. It uses natural language voice and ambient listening to record in real time at the point of care. Nurses switch Dragon Copilot on as they enter the patient's room. Instead of piling up notes to write later, documentation now happens while they are with the patient. Mercy started on one innovation unit in August 2025, gathered experience and then widened to other units. Training was given in advance through practice simulation, and a skilled user was placed on every shift. Feedback was collected daily and worked through with Microsoft. Epic nursing efficiency data and internal HR data were used to measure results.
Results
In the first 12 weeks after deployment, flowsheet documentation time per shift fell by 22 percent and documentation delay fell by 11.7 percent. Overtime fell by 29 to 56 percent. Documentation completeness rose by 17 percent for pain assessment, 11 percent for mobility records and 13 percent for skin checks. The nursing communication score in the patient experience survey rose by 20 percent. In a survey of 85 nurses, respondents reported a 65 percent reduction in cognitive burden. The documentation time metrics are from the Fort Smith unit with 46 nurses, and the overtime and documentation completeness metrics from the Springfield unit with 55 nurses.
Limits and open questions
This is a before-and-after comparison at department level. It is not a randomised controlled trial, nor is it whole-hospital performance. The measurement point and period differ by metric.
Sources
Compiled from public sources. These are not results from ATF Works customers.