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Keeping health promotion in the pink. Documentation can show how programs contribute to hospital goals.

Health promotion encompasses a wide range of services, including health information, health education, wellness, and employee health programs--important efforts, but hardly life-or-death matters. So with increased pressure to put programs to an institutional "worth" test, few health promotion programs make the grade, not because they fail, but because their managers do not know how to document and demonstrate their contributions to hospital goals. The tools that can be used to track program impact range from simple hand-written record keeping on file cards to more complicated and computer-supported systems of data gathering and analysis. It is a mistake to assume that only computer-based systems can yield meaningful information. In the documentation process it may be necessary to start small, but it is necessary to start. Sound management decisions depend on practical evidence that a program is helping a hospital's operations. When one hospital implemented an employee assistance program, program managers set out to document how the program saved the hospital money, improved the work environment, and improved quality of care. At another hospital, the manager of the inpatient cardiac rehabilitation program enlisted the assistance of the medical records department to document to the hospital that patients not in the program had longer lengths of stay than program participants.

Catholicism↗

Documenting the provision of pharmaceutical care.

There is a growing importance and need for the documentation of the clinical work done by the pharmacist in providing pharmaceutical care. The data provided by documentation of care are critical to the effective and efficient transition from a product-based profession to a patient-care, service-based profession, especially during a period of great scrutiny of resource utilization in the hospital industry. Intervention documentation can serve both to document the provision of pharmaceutical care to individual patients and to provide critical information to managers to justify and expand the level of service provided.

Algorithms↗

Documentation of clinical interventions in nutritional support.

The implementation of this documentation system has been a success. The SPF pharmacists' participation has been excellent. All of the original objectives have been met. The results collected have been responsible for more than validating the clinical functions of the pharmacists. They have been used to create CQI indicators, improve the work flow in the IV room, and enhance the evaluation process. The pharmacists work as a team to ensure that all interventions are documented. The results obtained, including numbers and trends, are reported on a monthly basis to the NSCPS, the sterile product formulation manager, and the director of Pharmacy Services. Although the documentation is considered to be a requirement for the pharmacists, they are continually encouraged through constant feedback from the managers. This feedback included individual recognition for exceptional interventions and reports of the impact of the interventions on pharmacy service. The biggest problem with the present system was the time-consuming task of entering the data into the Paradox computer database. This will soon be resolved by the implementation of a bar code system to automate this process. The pharmacists will be able to document the information from the interventions with a hand-held bar code wand. At the end of each day, the information can be automatically downloaded into the Paradox computer database.

Clinical Pharmacy Information Systems↗

Concurrent process redesign and clinical documentation system implementation: a 6-month success story.

The need for accurate, timely, and complete clinical information has become critical as health care organizations compete on the basis of cost and quality. The automation of clinical documentation as part of the development of the computer-based patient record is a vital step in providing such information. As processes such as clinical documentation become automated, it is important that they are first redesigned both to maximize the capabilities of the new system and to increase their operational efficiencies. Riverside HealthCare in Kankakee, Illinois recognized this opportunity and successfully redesigned and automated its clinical documentation in 6 months. The article describes the necessary organizational commitment and project structure. Resource dedication, staff empowerment, physician involvement, and vendor partnership also are discussed. In addition, the documentation redesign, automation objectives, and lessons learned are reviewed.

Continuity of Patient Care↗

Sloppy documentation costs millions; pathways can save your bacon.

At Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, physicians' inadequate documentation and their resistance to clinical pathways have resulted in a flood of denied claims from third-party payers. Case managers at Sinai are addressing the problem by eliminating duplicate documentation and folding into the pathways information physicians must consult on a daily basis, such as vital signs and patient assessments. To avoid the consequences of poor documentation, case managers must be able to identify deficiencies and be available to coach physicians on what constitutes acceptable documentation in the medical record, experts say.

Baltimore↗

Quality variables for documentation in long-term care.

Documentation in long-term care clinical records continues to pose many challenges as the industry adjusts to a period of significant change. This article will look at some of the forces impacting documentation resulting from the first major federal rewrite in 15 years for long-term care facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid. A short synopsis of the federal regulatory environment that reshaped the core content of the long-term care clinical record will be presented, as well as a discussion of related medicolegal issues, information technology issues, and similar topics affecting long-term care will have a better understanding of the multifaceted forces impacting documentation in the clinical record and thus recognize the importance of documentation as a key quality improvement opportunity for long-term care facilities.

Aged↗

Evaluation of quality control methods for medical documentation.

A retrospective study about the impact of different quality control methods for medical documentation was performed at the Surgical Center II in Essen. The standardized medical documentation was legislative obliged since the first of 1996 and includes diagnoses and surgical procedures. The patient data were taken from the computer-based patient record of the Surgical Center II which is in routine use since 1989. Quality improvement was aimed at with lectures, training, a quality circle, and systematic approaches like feedback and reminder between 1995 and 1996. The results demonstrate that information and training of physicians is significantly less important for the quality of documentation than a departmental and central control. It is advisable to take this results into account introducing new documentation entities and procedures and to provide functionalities for a periodical control soon.

Data Collection↗

The carrot and the stick: how to make sure your documentation's correct.

With federal fraud investigators labeling discharge planning a risk area in their model compliance plans, case managers are finding themselves on the front lines of the corporate compliance wars. Experts warn that how well you document your work could affect your hospital's accreditation and ability to participate in Medicare. When poor documentation exists in the discharge planning process, it's probably because case managers didn't receive adequate training in discharge planning, experts say. Poor documentation also can result from lax oversight on the part of supervisors. To prevent documentation errors in discharge planning, case managers can become compliance officers for their departments. After all, experts say, compliance is just another form of quality improvement.

Case Management↗

[Development of a standardized documentation system for outpatient non-hospital based psychiatric care].

An instrument documenting the care process in in-patient psychiatric services within the German mental health care system has been developed (BADO). This paper reports on the development of a documentation system for all non-hospital based mental health services (day centres, community mental health centres, supported accommodation, work rehabilitation services for general adult psychiatric patients and people with substance misuse). The development process and the instrument (PC and paper and pencil version) are described. The documentation system (BADO-K) could be an important prerequisite for quality assurance in non-hospital based mental health care, and its structure ensures compatibility with the corresponding hospital-based documentation system.

Adult↗

Structure and content in Norwegian nursing care documentation.

In 1994, the Norwegian Board of Health (NBH) published recommendations for nursing care documentation. The two-fold purpose of the present study was to see if 5 wards in 2 Norwegian hospitals fulfilled the proposed NBH recommendations and guidelines regarding documentation, and to evaluate them in terms of the proposed structure and key words of the VIPS model. Results showed that all nursing records (n = 55) had an admission assessment. A nursing care plan was present in 62% of the records. Nursing goals were lacking in the remaining 38%, diagnosis and planned interventions were absent in 18%, and 45% of the diagnoses lacked information concerning patient progress or outcome. The nursing care plans were updated in only 40% of the records and discharge notes were present in 35%, confirming that NBH recommendations were not met in this sample. The key words of the VIPS model covered all information present in the records, and high interrater reliability was obtained for the majority of key words categorized by two independent researchers. It is suggested that the VIPS model components and key words can contribute to a reliable and uniform model for nursing care documentation and enhance comprehensive and systematic documentation, which is presently lacking in Norwegian records.

Documentation↗

[Does modification of documentation result in a reduction of medication to involuntary patients?].

OBJECTIVE: The effects of modification of documentation on the administration of psychotropic medication to involuntary patients in hospital were investigated. METHODS: The charts of 414 inpatients on the acute-ward were reviewed two months before and two months after a new form for documentation of rationales for medication administration to involuntary patients was instituted. A follow-up was carried out for a two-month period a year later. RESULTS: The percentage of patients who received medication involuntarily, 70% of whom were schizophrenic, fell by over half, from 12% to 5%, after additional standardized documentation for the use of such medications was instituted. The number of medications administered to involuntary patients fell from 80 to 21, a reduction of 74%. The effects were stable over the course of one year. CONCLUSIONS: Modification of documentation seems to reduce the use of medication with involuntary patients.

Acute Disease↗

Family practice clerkship encounters documented with structured phrases on paper and hand-held computer logs.

Patient encounter logs allow faculty to monitor students' clinical experiences, especially in decentralized clerkships. However, there are generally tradeoffs involving the expressiveness of patient encounter forms, the effort required to complete the forms, and the utility of the forms for informing the clerkship director. The family practice clerkship at Washington University changed the school's standard free text, paper log to a controlled vocabulary paper log, borrowing 93 generic ICD-9 codes and the SNOMED concept of 'process at location' phrases for localized problems. Subsequently, this architecture was used in a Palm computer program. Students using the structured paper logs documented slightly more patient encounters than students using free text logs in the previous year, with similar numbers of problems per patient (1.3 to 1.4) and prevalence of common illnesses, but used the phrase structure and code vocabulary inconsistently. Students using computer logs documented many more patient encounters, but only documented 1.09 problems per patient. Students' documentation of psychosocial diagnoses declined significantly with the computer log. Although the computer program was flexible, the effort required to enter multiple problems exceeded the effort of finding similar codes on a short paper form. This problem confounds efforts to monitor exposure to complex patients and hidden medical problems. Another design for the hand-held computer log is being tested.

Clinical Clerkship↗

[Patient-oriented, treatment-accompanying documentation as a basis for evaluation with medical oncology as an example].

The documentation of patient characteristics, procedures of care and follow-up of the disease plays an important role in monitoring quality of care and support of clinical research. In order to evaluate the use of Clinical Practice Guidelines and their positive implications towards quality of care (especially patient's outcome), some closer reflections are needed to meet the special requirements. Our intention is to optimise content and extent of the collected information to characterise the different dimensions of the quality of medical care best possible. During the past two decades a comprehensive infrastructure concerning tumour documentation has evolved in Germany. To ensure the possibility to compare and evaluate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in different medical institutions or health care systems, the systematic, patient-oriented treatment accompanying tumour documentation is a compelling requirement. It is a difficult task to describe pattern of care and measure both performance and outcome objectively. The paradigm of a patient-oriented treatment accompanying documentation includes the collection of clinical relevant process and outcome data in order to reflect the intention and way of thinking of the treating physicians and to get an impression of the "real world effectiveness" of the applied interventions.

Delivery of Health Care↗

Structured clinical documentation for the assessment of medical care.

The developing infrastructure for tumour documentation in Germany offers the unique opportunity to provide the physicians with useful clinical information, to evaluate standards of care, and get an impression about the "real-world-effectiveness" of cancer care. In order to compare and evaluate diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in different medical institutions or health care systems, the systematic, patient-oriented, treatment accompanying tumour documentation is a compelling requirement. Our intention is to optimise content and extent of the collected information to characterise the different dimensions of the quality of medical care the best possible. We found that most of the problems are deriving from the contextually and timely correct documentation of medical procedures which includes diagnostic as well as therapeutic interventions. The content of the documentation together with standards of care, such as Clinical Practice Guidelines, should be parallel developed in interdisciplinary co-operation. This way, the fundamental domains of performance, such as appropriateness, availability, continuity, safety, effectiveness, and timeliness of medical care can described and evaluated objectively.

Documentation↗

Do preformatted charts improve doctors' documentation in a rural hospital emergency department? A prospective trial.

AIM: To determine if the introduction of preformatted patient record charts improved documentation by doctors in a rural emergency department. METHODS: All medical records of patients who were discharged from the emergency department were collected and analysed for a period of two weeks (control). The preformatted patient charts were then introduced for a further two weeks, and analysed for the presence or absence of key content items RESULTS: After exclusions, 137 control charts and 96 preformatted charts were collected and analysed. It was found that, overall, there was a significant improvement in the number of the key items documented (p<0.005). There was a trend towards improvement in four parameters, but for three other key content items, there was a nonsignificant decline in documentation standards. CONCLUSION: A structured proforma does improve documentation. However, the improvement is small and further studies are required before use of preformatted patient records for the undifferentiated emergency department patients can be recommended.

Documentation↗

Cognitive analyses of a paper medical record and electronic medical record on the documentation of two nursing tasks: patient education and adherence assessment of insulin administration.

The incorporation of electronic medical records into busy physician clinics has been a major development in the healthcare industry over the past decade. Documentation of key nursing activities, especially when interacting with patients who have chronic diseases, is often lacking or missing from the paper medical record. A case study of a patient with diabetes mellitus was created. Well established methods for the assessment of usability in the areas of human-computer interaction and computer supported cooperative work were employed to compare the nursing documentation of two tasks in a commercially available electronic medical record (eRecord) and in a paper medical record. Overall, the eRecord was found to improve the timeliness and quality of nursing documentation. With certain tasks, the number of steps to accomplish the same task was higher, which may result in the perception by the end user that the tool is more complex and therefore difficult to use. Recommendations for the eRecord were made to expand the documentation of patient teaching and adherence assessment and to incorporate web technology for patient access to medical records and healthcare information.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗

Using point of service clinical documentation to reduce variability in charge capture.

Data collected at bedside to document patient care can also be used to generate an itemized summary of charges including activity-based clinician charges. This approach becomes advantageous when the charge capture operation is transparent to the clinician who would otherwise have to review the care documentation, recall the appropriate charging rules, and exercise discretion in capturing charges. Documented procedures and supplies convert directly into patient charge rules. Documented patient care is more difficult to translate into activity-based charges because nursing care can vary in intensity and duration depending on the patient's needs. The problem can be overcome by embedding time or data-driven logic into the charging rules. Using this approach in the labor and delivery units of 7 IHC hospitals (114 beds), we generated consistent charge summaries. We improved the accuracy of patient charges from 65% to over 98% of our charge summaries having no missed charges.

Algorithms↗

A unitary patient record improves admission documentation in a medical assessment unit in a major teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the impact of the introduction of a unitary patient record (UPR) on clerking documentation of emergency medical admissions. DESIGN: Retrospective casenote audit. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Random sample of 100 unselected admissions to the medical assessment unit of a major teaching hospital, comprising two groups pre- and post-introduction of the UPR. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvements in the documentation of several items were achieved; function before episode, ethnic origin, chest pain, breathlessness, ankle oedema, cough, bowel habit and locomotor symptoms and recording of blood pressure and peripheral pulses. There were trends towards improvement in other areas and there were no areas in which the UPR performed less well than standard documentation. CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of the UPR represents the successful application of multidisciplinary principles to over 10,000 acute general medical admissions. It has improved some, but not all, aspects of documentation. Revision of the design of the UPR should lead to further progress, as part of an ongoing process of development and re-audit.

Acute Disease↗