Protocol to describe the analysis of text-based communication in medical records for patients discharged from intensive care to hospital ward

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Abstract

Introduction

Effective communication during hospital transitions of patient care is fundamental to ensuring patient safety and continuity of quality care. This study will describe text-based communication included in patient medical records before, during and after patient transfer from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a hospital ward (n=10 days) by documenting (1) the structure and focus of physician progress notes within and between medical specialties, (2) the organisation of subjective and objective information, including the location and accessibility of patient data and whether/how this changes during the hospital stay and (3) missing, illegible and erroneous information.

Methods

This study is part of a larger mixed methods prospective observational study of ICU to hospital ward transfer practices in 10 ICUs across Canada. Medical records will be collected and photocopied for each consenting patient for a period of up to 10 consecutive days, including the final 2 days in the ICU, the day of transfer and the first 7 days on the ward (n=10 days). Textual analysis of medical record data will be completed by 2 independent reviewers to describe communication between stakeholders involved in ICU transfer.

Ethics and dissemination

Research ethics board approval has been obtained at all study sites, including the coordinating study centre (which covers 4 Calgary-based sites; UofC REB 13-0021) and 6 additional study sites (UofA Pro00050646; UBC PHC Hi4-01667; Sunnybrook 336-2014; QCH 20140345-01H; Sherbrooke 14-172; Laval 2015-2171). Findings from this study will inform the development of an evidence-based tool that will be used to systematically analyse the series of notes in a patient's medical record.

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Most cited references 21

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Definition, structure, content, use and impacts of electronic health records: a review of the research literature.

Kristiina Häyrinen, Kaija Saranto, Pirkko Nykänen (2008)

This paper reviews the research literature on electronic health record (EHR) systems. The aim is to find out (1) how electronic health records are defined, (2) how the structure of these records is described, (3) in what contexts EHRs are used, (4) who has access to EHRs, (5) which data components of the EHRs are used and studied, (6) what is the purpose of research in this field, (7) what methods of data collection have been used in the studies reviewed and (8) what are the results of these studies. A systematic review was carried out of the research dealing with the content of EHRs. A literature search was conducted on four electronic databases: Pubmed/Medline, Cinalh, Eval and Cochrane. The concept of EHR comprised a wide range of information systems, from files compiled in single departments to longitudinal collections of patient data. Only very few papers offered descriptions of the structure of EHRs or the terminologies used. EHRs were used in primary, secondary and tertiary care. Data were recorded in EHRs by different groups of health care professionals. Secretarial staff also recorded data from dictation or nurses' or physicians' manual notes. Some information was also recorded by patients themselves; this information is validated by physicians. It is important that the needs and requirements of different users are taken into account in the future development of information systems. Several data components were documented in EHRs: daily charting, medication administration, physical assessment, admission nursing note, nursing care plan, referral, present complaint (e.g. symptoms), past medical history, life style, physical examination, diagnoses, tests, procedures, treatment, medication, discharge, history, diaries, problems, findings and immunization. In the future it will be necessary to incorporate different kinds of standardized instruments, electronic interviews and nursing documentation systems in EHR systems. The aspects of information quality most often explored in the studies reviewed were the completeness and accuracy of different data components. It has been shown in several studies that the use of an information system was conducive to more complete and accurate documentation by health care professionals. The quality of information is particularly important in patient care, but EHRs also provide important information for secondary purposes, such as health policy planning. Studies focusing on the content of EHRs are needed, especially studies of nursing documentation or patient self-documentation. One future research area is to compare the documentation of different health care professionals with the core information about EHRs which has been determined in national health projects. The challenge for ongoing national health record projects around the world is to take into account all the different types of EHRs and the needs and requirements of different health care professionals and consumers in the development of EHRs. A further challenge is the use of international terminologies in order to achieve semantic interoperability.

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Communication failures: an insidious contributor to medical mishaps.

Kathleen M. Sutcliffe, Elizabeth Lewton, Marilynn Rosenthal (2004)

To describe how communication failures contribute to many medical mishaps. In late 1999, a sample of 26 residents stratified by medical specialty, year of residency, and gender was randomly selected from a population of 85 residents at a 600-bed U.S. teaching hospital. The study design involved semistructured face-to-face interviews with the residents about their routine work environments and activities, the medical mishaps in which they recently had been involved, and a description of both the individual and organizational contributory factors. The themes reported here emerged from inductive analyses of the data. Residents reported a total of 70 mishap incidents. Aspects of "communication" and "patient management" were the two most commonly cited contributing factors. Residents described themselves as embedded in a complex network of relationships, playing a pivotal role in patient management vis-à-vis other medical staff and health care providers from within the hospital and from the community. Recurring patterns of communication difficulties occur within these relationships and appear to be associated with the occurrence of medical mishaps. The occurrence of everyday medical mishaps in this study is associated with faulty communication; but, poor communication is not simply the result of poor transmission or exchange of information. Communication failures are far more complex and relate to hierarchical differences, concerns with upward influence, conflicting roles and role ambiguity, and interpersonal power and conflict. A clearer understanding of these dynamics highlights possibilities for appropriate interventions in medical education and in health care organizations aimed at improving patient safety.

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Communication failures in patient sign-out and suggestions for improvement: a critical incident analysis.

V Arora, J. Johnson, D Lovinger … (2005)

The transfer of care for hospitalized patients between inpatient physicians is routinely mediated through written and verbal communication or "sign-out". This study aims to describe how communication failures during this process can lead to patient harm. In interviews employing critical incident technique, first year resident physicians (interns) described (1) any adverse events or near misses due to suboptimal preceding patient sign-out; (2) the worst event due to suboptimal sign-out in which they were involved; and (3) suggestions to improve sign-out. All data were analyzed and categorized using the constant comparative method with independent review by three researchers. Twenty six interns caring for 82 patients were interviewed after receiving sign-out from another intern. Twenty five discrete incidents, all the result of communication failures during the preceding patient sign-out, and 21 worst events were described. Inter-rater agreement for categorization was high (kappa 0.78-1.00). Omitted content (such as medications, active problems, pending tests) or failure-prone communication processes (such as lack of face-to-face discussion) emerged as major categories of failed communication. In nearly all cases these failures led to uncertainty during decisions on patient care. Uncertainty may result in inefficient or suboptimal care such as repeat or unnecessary tests. Interns desired thorough but relevant face-to-face verbal sign-outs that reviewed anticipated issues. They preferred legible, accurate, updated, written sign-out sheets that included standard patient content such as code status or active and anticipated medical problems. Communication failures during sign-out often lead to uncertainty in decisions on patient care. These may result in inefficient or suboptimal care leading to patient harm.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMJ Open

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMJ Open

Journal ID (hwp): bmjopen

Journal ID (publisher-id): bmjopen

Title: BMJ Open

Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group (BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JR )

ISSN (Electronic): 2044-6055

Publication date Collection: 2016

Publication date (Electronic): 8 July 2016

Volume: 6

Issue: 7

Electronic Location Identifier: e012200

Affiliations

[1 ]Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Calgary , Calgary, Alberta, Canada

[2 ]Alberta Health Services , Calgary, Alberta, Canada

[3 ]W21C Research and Innovation Centre, Institute of Public Health, University of Calgary , Calgary, Alberta, Canada

[4 ]Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary , Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Author notes

[Correspondence to ] Dr Henry T Stelfox; tstelfox@ 123456ucalgary.ca

Article

Publisher ID: bmjopen-2016-012200

DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-012200

PMC ID: 4947755

PubMed ID: 27401367

SO-VID: 1d247a6b-b68f-4011-b326-85e54457005d

Copyright © Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

History

Date received : 8 April 2016

Date revision received : 7 June 2016

Date accepted : 14 June 2016

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Protocol to describe the analysis of text-based communication in medical records for patients discharged from intensive care to hospital ward

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Abstract

Introduction

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Ethics and dissemination

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JMIR: Research Protocols

Most cited references 21

Definition, structure, content, use and impacts of electronic health records: a review of the research literature.

Communication failures: an insidious contributor to medical mishaps.

Communication failures in patient sign-out and suggestions for improvement: a critical incident analysis.

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