Point of care documentation impact on the nurse-patient interaction.

Electronic medical record (EMR) point-of-care (POC) documentation in patients' rooms is a recent shift in technology use in hospitals. POC documentation reduces inefficiencies, decreases the probability of errors, promotes information transfer, and encourages the nurse to be at the bedside. However, EMR POC documentation has the potential to distract the nurse's attention away from the patient and compromise the nurse-patient interaction.