Ambient Nursing Documentation At Mayo Clinic For HIMSS26 Nurse Led
Mayo Clinic is at the forefront of transforming nursing documentation through an ambitious, nurse-led Ambient Nursing Documentation initiative that will be showcased at the HIMSS26 Global Health Conference & Exposition in Las Vegas, underscoring a pivotal shift in how patient care data is captured, integrated, and utilized in real-world clinical settings. At the core of this innovation is a conversational AI-powered documentation tool designed for nurses, by nurses—a philosophy that intentionally positions frontline nursing professionals as co-creators rather than passive end users of technology. This initiative leverages ambient artificial intelligence to passively capture natural nurse–patient conversations during MedSurg and progressive care unit interactions and automatically translate them into structured, discrete data within the electronic health record (EHR), dramatically reducing screen time and administrative burden while enhancing the quality and timeliness of documentation. Developed with deep nurse engagement from ideation through testing—including rigorous IRB-validated pilots across multiple inpatient units—the tool aligns with actual nursing workflows rather than forcing clinicians to adapt to predefined system processes, a long-standing pain point in digital health adoption. Mayo Clinic’s presentation at HIMSS26, led by nurse leaders such as Cheristi Cognetta-Rieke and Kathleen Helms, will emphasize not only the technical capabilities of ambient documentation but also the broader implications for sustainable digital transformation: empowering nurses as strategic system thinkers, streamlining change management, and reinforcing interoperable solutions that support a seamless continuum of care. Early evidence from internal deployment trends indicates strong adoption and notable reductions in documentation burden, illustrating how nurse-driven innovation can redefine workflow, improve clinician satisfaction, and enhance patient-centered care delivery at scale.