Suggested improvements for written sign-out
| Category (n) | Sub-category (n) | Sample comments (n = 20)* |
|---|---|---|
| *More than one category and sub-category mapped to these 20 distinct suggestions for improvements. | ||
| Patient content (13) | Code status (3) | “The code status would be helpful.” (C2) |
| Anticipated problems (4) | “A great IF/then section which is really important to troubleshoot problems.” (C9) | |
| Active problems (4) | “It would be helpful to have a specific section that chronicles cross-cover events in prior nights.” (P9) | |
| Baseline exam (3) | “In general, neuro status if often not included and a patient has mental status changes so you don’t know what the baseline is.” (P10) | |
| Pending test or consults (4) | “If they have tests or consults ending, it needs to be pointed out.” (C10) | |
| Overall features (8) | Legible (3) | “Often times you don’t understand what has been written down because it is illegible or incomplete and that is all that you have to go on.” (P4) |
| Relevant (2) | “We take up a lot of room on history data that may not be important for cross cover.” (P9) | |
| Accurate (5) | “Room numbers can be incorrect and then you have to call bed access to find the patient.” (P11) | |
| Updated (4) | “In general, room numbers and medications are not updated. The worst thing is when things aren’t updated. Last week when I was on call, a patient had written down that I should check q4 hour CBCs. Initially, I did not know that it was left over. I assumed when it wasn’t in the computer, that the CBC was not done.” (P12) | |