Use of the nursing minimum data set.

The purpose of this study was to obtain information about usage of the Nursing Minimum Data Set (NMDS). Forty-six individuals (44%) who requested the NMDS Data Collection Manual responded to a mailed questionnaire. Most respondents reported actually using the Manual to educate other nurses or to structure nursing documentation. More than one third of the respondents used all of the elements within the NMDS, but the majority used, or intended to use, the elements in the Nursing Care category. The majority of NMDS elements that were being used, or intended to be used, were available from handwritten patient records. The NMDS elements had been recorded on an ongoing basis by 86% of the respondents, but only 31% could retrieve readily all of the elements. Implications for access to comparable, minimum nursing care and resources data are discussed.