ABSTRACT
In the US and worldwide, nurses constitute the largest segment of the healthcare workforce, with central roles in leading change and advancing health (Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2010a, 2010b). Likewise, nursing documentation and assessments generated during patient encounters in clinics, general and specialized hospital units, workplaces and schools, homes, the streets – wherever people receive care – constitute a massive data source with critical information about patient/consumer health status, nursing care and interventions, outcomes, safety, patient experiences, access to care, utilization of health services, and costs. This vast assemblage of data becomes a treasure trove when used in the process of knowledge discovery to ensure innovation, quality, safety, and value in health care (IOM, 2011).
