Computerized documentation systems: blessings or curse?

Abstract

This article considers the possibility that computerized documentation systems will negatively impact knowledge development in nursing. Ideas from three vantage points is presented. First, systems are being developed from theoretical frameworks that are not necessarily grounded in nursing, and these systems, in turn, influence the nurses's ability to process and conceptualize information. Second, computer systems may support the retrieval of empirical data to the elimination of other types of data necessary to the development of nursing knowledge. Third, computers may decrease opportunities for collegial dialogue. These factors together create an atmosphere of "technologic determinism" (Robinson & Robinson, 1990), which can inhibit the development of new ideas in nursing.