3. Current literature / guidelines
Why is good documentation
important?
• Support safe and
effective patient care
• Medical-legal
4. Current literature / guidelines
Documentation in
wardrounds
• Crucial part in continuity of
patient’s care.
• Written communication to
colleagues
5. Current literature / guidelines
“You must keep
clear, accurate and
legible records”
- GMC Good Medical Practice 2013
6. Current literature / guidelines
Current Standards / guidelines
- Health informatics Unit, Royal College of
Physicans, April 2008
“The standards should be
used for all hospital
patient records”
7. Current literature / guidelines
But it’s not always
that simple ...
• Time pressure
• Accessibility of notes
• Number of staff on the round
• Staff experience
• Who is leading the round
9. Aims:
1. Assess our current standards of wardround documentations
2. Compare current practise with best practice guidelines
3. Explore and suggest ways to improve current practice
4. Define an agreed action plan and implement improvement changes
10. Methods:
• Concurrent observational study
• 8 weeks – 23rd June to 17th Aug
• Exclusions: paediatric, orthogeri
• Random selection of wardround entries
Variables
1. Wardround details
2. Clinical details
3. Management and
Investigations
4. Clinical assessment
5. Management plan
6. Documenting doctor
11. 86%
11.60%
12.70%
42.30%
92%
62.80%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Wardround details
Clinical details
Management and investigations
Clinical assessment
Management plan
Documenting doctor
On average
27. What is in the literature?
checklists / proforma Electronic wardrounds
28. Proformas
4) Using a proforma to improve standards of documentation of
an orthopaedic post-take ward round
- BMJ Qual Improv Report. 2013
2) Do post-take ward round proformas improve communication
and influence quality of patient care?
- Postgrad Med J. Nov 2004
3) A Considerative Checklist to ensure safe daily patient review
- The Clinical Teacher. August 2013
1) Why patients need leaders: introducing a ward safety checklist
- J R Soc Med. September 2012
29. Proformas
BSUH Surgical department – wardround proforma
Initial resistance from consultants and some registrars,
but highly favoured by junior doctors and nursing staff
6 week reaudit showed improved documentation
Proforma to be made more user friendly
limiting factors to complete documentation
- Time pressure
- Variability between juniors
30.
31. Proformas
Pros Cons
Improve standard of documentation
Better written communication
Promote patient safety
Educational value for students
More sheets of paper
?longer wardrounds
We don’t know unless we try
33. Electronic wardrounds
Birmingham Women’s Hospital’s neonatal unit, 2013
• Wardround with portable laptop
• Self-programmed wardround spreadsheets,
prepopulated lists, can be wirelessly printed
• Reduction of WR time from 5 hours to 4 hours
• Improved documentation (100% legible) and
handover standards
34. Electronic wardrounds
“There were a lot of staff who
were sceptical and the NHS is
set in its ways. I believe the
system we developed could be
of benefit to everywhere that
does an in-patient ward round.”
- Dr Sarah Steadman
37. Pragmatic solutions:
1. Education
2. Improve ease of patient note access and navigation
3. MDT wardrounds
4. Wardround “checkers”
5. Be conscientious of the limits of juniors (a human being)
6. Proformas
7. Electronic wardround
39. • Wardround documentations are substandard
• Causes of poor documentation is multifactorial, but can
be improved
• We should aim for EMR, but we need to take small steps
by step improvements to reach this using a MDT
approach
Conclusion:
41. References
• Why patients need leaders: introducing a ward safety checklist - J R Soc Med. September 2012
• Do post-take ward round proformas improve communication and influence quality of patient
care? - Postgrad Med J. Nov 2004
• A Considerative Checklist to ensure safe daily patient review - The Clinical Teacher. August 2013
• Using a proforma to improve standards of documentation of an orthopaedic post-take ward
round - BMJ Qual Improv Report. 2013
• Electronic Ward Rounds and #HandoverProject – improving quality while increasing efficiency -
Arch Dis Child 2014
Background Aims /Method Results Discussion Conclusion
Editor's Notes
The main reason for maintaining good medical records is to ensure safe and effective patient care
They may also be required for legal purposes defending a complaint
http://www.medicalprotection.org/uk/england-factsheets/medical-records
Good documentation during wardround is especially crucial as a form of written communication to colleagues. They should therefore be comprehensive enough to allow a colleague to carry on where you left off.
Patients report varying and inconsistent plans as one of the most frustrating aspects of care
The GMC’s Good Medical Practice dictates that the documents you make, including clinical findings, to formally record your work must be clear, accurate and legible. You should make records at the same time as the events you are recording or as soon as possible afterwards.
"There are no national guidelines or templates on how to run a ward round, there is still considerable variation across hospitals.
The Health Information Unit at the Royal College of Physicans have developed record keeping standards in 2008 that should be applied to ALL clinical note keeping.
In particular, section 3 “ handover documents” are most relevant to routine wardrounds.
Despite having these standards and guidelines, it is not always that easy to comply due to a number of reasons.