Innovative Nursing Documentation Tool Designed by Nurses

Innovative Nursing Documentation Tool Designed by Nurses

Introduction

Cheristi Cognetta-Rieke, DNP, RN, vice chair for nursing at the Mayo Clinic, highlights a significant transformation in nursing documentation. At the upcoming 2026 HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exposition, she will co-present a session titled "Ambient Nursing Documentation Tool Designed for Nurses, by Nurses," alongside Kathleen Helms, senior administrator for clinical informatics and practice support at the Mayo Clinic.

The Ambient Nursing Documentation Initiative

The session focuses on the ambient nursing documentation initiative, a nurse-designed, national project that uses voice-based AI to reinvent inpatient documentation. The approach captures conversations between nurses and patients and transmits that data into the electronic health record (EHR) across medical-surgical and progressive care units.

For these tools to succeed, nurses must sit at the center of the process. "Nurses are no longer just end users of technology, they are designing the future of care," Cognetta-Rieke says. "By showing what it looks like when nurses help define healthcare transformation, and not merely implement it, this session moves the phrase 'For nurses, by nurses' from theory into action."

Why Nurse Involvement Matters

Cognetta-Rieke stresses that this distinction is critical as healthcare organizations continue to struggle with burnout, documentation burden, and a proliferation of digital tools that are often disconnected from the realities of nursing practice.

The work of nurses differs fundamentally from that of physicians, yet many digital tools were designed around physician documentation models and later adapted for nurses. That approach created friction rather than relief.

Co-Creating With Nurses

"The session highlights why nurses must be involved as co-creators from the start, shaping the workflows, the measures of success, and the design decisions, so that technology supports conversation-based, patient- and family-centered care rather than task-heavy documentation systems," she explains. This shift, she adds, does not pile more work onto nurses but repositions them as systems thinkers and innovators who can take on different kinds of work.

Rethinking Care Systems

Cognetta-Rieke calls the HIMSS26 conversation timely because it challenges legacy systems and asks leaders to rethink how decisions are made, how workflows are designed, and how technology is integrated at the point of care. "Solutions must avoid creating new silos and instead support an interoperable, seamless continuum of care where the patient experience stays consistent, no matter which member of the care team they interact with," she says.

A Model for Transformation

This is not about implementing a single new tool, she notes, but about modeling a nurse-led future for healthcare delivery at a moment when the industry urgently needs it. A central example is the ambient nursing documentation technology, intentionally designed and built for nurses, by nurses.

Natural Nurse-Patient Conversations

"Unlike traditional ambient tools developed for physicians, this system captures the natural conversations between nurses and patients and uses AI to classify that conversational data into structured documentation for nurse review and authentication," Cognetta-Rieke says. "The guiding question, from ideation to impact, was not 'What can artificial intelligence do,' but rather 'What do nurses need to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care?'"

She adds that this ensures the technology aligns with the actual workflows of nurses, rather than forcing nurses to adapt to the tool. Nurses were embedded throughout ideation, development, testing, and implementation, not as testers at the end, but as co-designers and validators from the beginning.

Sustainable Digital Transformation

A key takeaway for HIMSS26 attendees is that sustainable digital transformation requires treating nurses as inventors and co-creators, not merely operators of systems. "When nurses are positioned to shape decisions, challenge outdated workflows, and help define success, technology adoption becomes more credible, more effective, and more aligned with patient needs," she concludes.

Attendees will leave the session with a clear, actionable idea: rather than layering technology onto inefficient processes, organizations must be prepared to redesign or retire what no longer serves patients or care teams.

Conclusion

This is not a simple checklist or a one-time initiative, but a redefinition of healthcare leadership and partnership. Cheristi Cognetta-Rieke's session, "Ambient Nursing Documentation Tool Designed for Nurses, by Nurses," is scheduled for Tuesday, March 10, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Palazzo N/Level 5 during HIMSS26 in Las Vegas.

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Source: Nursing and IT Building an ambient nursing documentation tool, 'for nurses, by nurses' By Bill Siwicki | January 07, 2026 - HealthcareITNews