Understanding the “Over-Documentation Percentage” Metric

Practice Intel:

Understanding the "Over-Documentation Percentage" Metric

What is “Over-Documentation Percentage”?

The Over-Documentation Percentage measures the amount of text in a provider’s clinical note compared to a benchmark of concise, compliant, human-validated notes within the same therapy category. It helps to determine if a provider is potentially adding more information than necessary—commonly referred to as “over-documenting.”

Why Does This Metric Matter?

Excessive documentation is often correlated with increased “Time to Sign Off”, meaning providers may be spending additional time typing or editing their notes before completing them. This can lead to inefficiencies in daily workflows and delays in documentation finalization.

How to Interpret Over Documentation Percentage: 

1. For Providers Not Using Sidekick:

• A low Over-Documentation percentage is preferred; this will lead to faster sign-off times and reduced documentation fatigue.

• A high score may indicate the provider is manually entering excessive detail, which may increase the time it takes to complete notes.
  
  

2. For Providers Using Sidekick:

• Sidekick is designed to automatically capture more comprehensive information, which often results in a higher Over-Documentation percentage by default.

• This does not translate to more manual work for the provider. On the contrary, Sidekick helps reduce typing burden and improves note completeness without increasing the provider’s time spent documenting.

• A higher Over-Documentation percentage is not necessarily a concern when the provider is utilizing Sidekick appropriately. Indicators that Sidekick is being used effectively include:

  • “Time to Sign Off” remains low or continues to improve

  • Compliance and documentation quality remain strong or show improvement.