This document outlines principles and guidelines for effective medical documentation. It discusses that documentation should be comprehensive, of high quality, and track patient outcomes while reflecting current standards. Notes should identify the patient on every page and include date, time, name/initials of the author. The record provides a permanent legal account of care and is used for communication, billing, education, assessment, research, auditing and legal purposes. Requirements include documenting assessments, evaluations, treatment responses and outcomes. Guidelines state documentation should be factual, accurate, complete and current. Examples of documentation formats include progress notes using SOAP, PIECES, or DAR formats. Consequences of inadequate documentation include fragmented care, repeated tasks, delayed therapy and recovery.