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. 2003 Mar-Apr;10(2):177-87.
doi: 10.1197/jamia.m1175.

The effect of computer-generated reminders on charting deficiencies in the ICU

Thomas A Oniki  1 , Terry P Clemmer, T Allan Pryor
Affiliations

The effect of computer-generated reminders on charting deficiencies in the ICU

Thomas A Oniki et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2003 Mar-Apr.

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effect of computer-generated reminders on nurse charting deficiencies in two intensive care units.

Design: Nurses caring for a group of 60 study patients received patient-specific paper reminder reports when charting deficiencies were found at mid-day. Nurses caring for a group of 60 control patients received no reminders. A group of 60 retrospective patients was also formed.

Measurements: The average numbers of charting deficiencies at the end of the shift in each of the three groups were compared using two planned orthogonal contrasts.

Results: The average in the study group patients was 1.02 deficiencies per day per patient, whereas the control group the average was 1.40 deficiencies per day per patient (p = 0.001). The average number of end-of-shift deficiencies in the pooled prospective (study/control) population was 1.21 deficiencies per day per patient, compared with the average in the retrospective group of 1.56 deficiencies per day per patient (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The decrease was likely due both to the appropriate response of the nurses to the reminders and to a learned attentiveness to the tasks on the part of the nurses who cared for study patients. Greater gains were hindered by incomplete "coupling" of the reminders to the end-of-shift deficiencies and by inaccuracies in the reminders.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Example of mid-day reminder report. “Data updated” is an indicator of whether the data were properly updated before generation of the reminder report. MAAS = Motor Activity Assessment Scale, PT = physical therapy.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Average number of mid-day reminders per patient, by patient’s ICU day.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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