Articles Nursing documentation must make sense, must have meaning, and must communicate. If the previous assessment was properly documented, the answer would be yes.
Documentation does impact the quality of care given.
Documentation must be accurate, clear, concise, complete, and timely. Speed is of the essence when working in healthcare, but accuracy and completeness are imperative when documenting. Documentation must have meaning today, tomorrow, and in the unforeseen future. One of the difficulties with documentation is that we never know when what we document will be needed. You want to make sure the right information gets documented and that documentation is done correctly.