Chapter 26: Documentation and Informatics Flashcards
Documentation
anything written or printed which is relied on as proof of all patient care activities
Documentation must be
Accurate Comprehensive and flexible Maintain continuity of care Track patient outcomes Reflect current standards of nursing practice
When a plan is not communicated to all members of the health care team
care becomes fragmented, tasks are repeated, and often delays or omissions in therapy occur.
When documenting, nurses must keep in mind:
- Quality of care
- The standards of regulatory agencies and nursing practice
- The reimbursement structure in the health care system
- The legal guidelines
- Principles to maintain confidentiality of information
Institutional standards or policies often
dictate the frequency of documentation.
What is generally the first reference used when it is suspected that standards were not met?
nurses notes
Institutional accreditation
Standards set by The Joint Commission (TJC) and/or Center for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) must be met to receive accreditation.
Reports may be
oral, written or audiotaped (not as common a way of shift change report)
Common types of reports given by nurses
Change of Shift Reports
Telephone Reports
Hand-off Reports
Incident Reports
Nurses also engage in
consultations and referrals
Purposes of Medical Records include
Communication Legal Documentation Reimbursement Education Research Auditing/Monitoring
Purposes of Record: Communication
Document information as you provide care.
Do not “save all of your charting for later” to do at one time… you will forget and omit important details.
Communication includes
Patient Needs and Progress Individual Therapies Content of Consultations Patient Education Discharge Planning
Purposes of Records: Legal Documentation (Table 26-1, p. 351)
The best defense for legal claims.
If you don’t document it, you didn’t do it.
Care must be
goal oriented, individualized and based on the nursing assessment.
Common Charting Mistakes
- Failing to record pertinent health or drug information
- Failing to record nursing actions
- Failing to record that medications have been given
- Failing to record drug reactions
- Failing to record changes in patient’s condition
- Writing illegible or incomplete records
- Failing to document discontinued medications
Purposes of Records: Reimbursement
DRG’s are the basis for establishing reimbursement: Classification based on diagnosis
Hospitals are reimbursed based off
DRG (Diagnosis Related Groups)
Purposes of Records: Education
Reading the patient care record helps to learn the nature of an illness and the patient’s response:
Identify patterns of information from patient to patient.
Learn to anticipate the care required for a patient.
Purposes of Records: Research
Charts are reviewed by nurse researchers for example, to gather statistical data, review complications, review therapies.
Purposes of Records: Auditing/Monitoring
Accrediting agencies (TJC) require quality improvement programs: Data must be shared A plan must be in place for remediation/correction of deficiencies
Auditing/Monitoring includes
Patient teaching Discharge planning Performance of individualized care Proof standards of care have been met
Goal for 2014 that all medical records will be kept electronically which will enhance
- communication among health care providers
- patient safety by providing clear, legible, standardized documentation and including physician order entry
- accessibility to health care records for continuity of care
Confidentiality
It is an ethical obligation to keep and maintain confidentiality concerning patient information.
Who can have legitimate access to the patient’s records?
only staff directly involved in the patient’s care
What organization governs all areas of patient information and management of that information?
HIPAA
As student nurses, you insure confidentiality by
not including any patient identifiers in your clinical care plans
EHR has inherent risks:
anyone with access to an agency computer station can access any patient information.