Report Highlights Urgent Need to Reduce Nursing Documentation Burden
KLAS Arch Collaborative findings show widespread strain as 40% of nurses consider leaving the profession by 2029
A new report from the KLAS Arch Collaborative underscores a growing concern across U.S. healthcare systems: nurses are facing an unsustainable documentation burden that is contributing to burnout and accelerating workforce shortages. According to the report, nurses consistently describe documentation requirements as excessive, duplicative, and misaligned with clinical priorities—a trend that has intensified as regulatory expectations have expanded.
The issue is not merely administrative. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) 2024 National Nursing Workforce study found that 40% of nurses intend to leave the profession by 2029, a projection that experts warn could destabilize care delivery if underlying stressors are not addressed.
Nurses Describe Documentation as a Major Barrier to Patient Care
Feedback from more than 80,000 acute care nurses surveyed between 2022 and 2025 reveals that 79% report losing significant time to unproductive charting, including redundant flowsheets, inconsistent workflows, and excessive required fields. Many nurses say these tasks pull them away from the bedside and contribute to feelings of being overwhelmed or overlooked within their organizations.
Nurses surveyed described challenges such as:
- Double charting across multiple EHR locations
- Lack of standardization in workflows
- Documentation requirements that do not meaningfully support clinical care
These pain points, the report notes, have remained consistent for three years and are strongly associated with burnout and turnover risk.
Organizations Demonstrate That Improvement Is Possible
Despite the scale of the problem, the report highlights several health systems that have successfully reduced documentation burden and improved nurse satisfaction with electronic health records (EHRs). These organizations—ranging from community hospitals to large multi-state systems—implemented targeted optimization initiatives that included workflow redesign, frontline nurse engagement, and governance structures to guide change.
Examples of documented improvements include:
- Eliminating redundant documentation fields
- Streamlining flowsheets and care plans
- Increasing use of efficiency tools such as macros and documentation-by-exception
- Providing targeted training and consistent communication
Some organizations reported saving tens of thousands of nursing hours annually and achieving significant gains in EHR satisfaction scores.
A Call for Industry-Wide Action
The report emphasizes that reducing documentation burden is both achievable and essential. While workforce shortages, patient acuity, and workplace violence remain major challenges, documentation optimization represents a scalable, evidence-based intervention that can improve nurse well-being and retention.
KLAS researchers conclude that meaningful progress requires:
- Executive sponsorship
- Multidisciplinary governance
- Direct involvement of frontline nurses
- Data-driven workflow assessment
- Ongoing evaluation and refinement
As healthcare systems continue to face mounting staffing pressures, the report positions documentation reform as a critical strategy to support the largest clinical profession and protect the stability of patient care.
