Introducing and Evaluating the Patient Report Template for AI-Powered Nursing Handoffs

AbstractThis study evaluates the effectiveness of the Patient Report Template (PRT) in addressing inefficiencies in nursing workflows related to electronic health records (EHRs) and clinical decision support systems. The PRT aims to streamline patient handoffs, reduce charting time, enhance direct care hours, and improve patient safety. A survey was sent to 2,118 nurses at the University of Iowa Health Care System in order to gather feedback, with 106 participants electing to assess the perceived usefulness of the PRT components and their attitudes toward integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into clinical documentation. Participants rated sections of the PRT, including Patient Profile, Review of Systems, and Safety, on a five-point Likert scale, with most components receiving high ratings for usefulness. Comfort and trust in AI were notably low, though respondents acknowledged the potential utility of AI-generated reports. The findings highlight the PRT’s potential to reduce cognitive load, improve information consistency during handoffs, and address EHR-related challenges. Future work will involve implementing the PRT in real-world clinical settings to validate its utility & accuracy and to explore its adaptability across specialized nursing units.What is knownElectronic health records and clinical decision support systems carry burdens associated with data retrieval and entry, as well as introduce more friction to clinical workflow.Electronic health record data is vast; free text clinical notes are abundant and underused.While crucial for care continuity, handoffs often lack standardization and thus are prone to information loss and safety risks.What this paper addsCreation and feedback on a clinical decision support template which aims to reduce pain points associated with charting.Feedback from 106 University of Iowa Health Care nurses about what they would and would not find useful in a patient handoff report.Pathway to further usability and accuracy testing for reports which make use of items from the patient report template.