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Comparative Study
. 1997 Jun;12(6):352-6.
doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.1997.00059.x.

The impact of feedback to medical housestaff on chart documentation and quality of care in the outpatient setting

D A Opila  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

The impact of feedback to medical housestaff on chart documentation and quality of care in the outpatient setting

D A Opila. J Gen Intern Med. 1997 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether feedback from attending physicians to residents about outpatient medical records improves chart documentation and quality of care.

Design: Cross-sectional study with repeated measures.

Setting: Primary care internal medicine clinic at a metropolitan community hospital.

Patient/participants: Fifteen interns and 20 residents.

Intervention: Attending physicians reviewed at least two charts for each resident on three occasions about 4 months apart and then discussed their findings with the residents.

Measurements and main results: Explicit criteria defined the extent of chart documentation and the comprehensiveness of care delivery. Attending physicians also made a subjective assessment of the overall quality of care. All results were converted to 0-to-1 scales. From the first to the third period, chart documentation increased from 0.60 to 0.86 (p < .001), but there were no significant changes in the delivery of care or in the subjective assessments of the overall quality of care.

Conclusions: Both review of residents' outpatient medical records and periodic feedback from attending physicians improve how well medical housestaff document care in the chart.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Outpatient medical record documentation standards.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Outpatient health care delivery standards.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Outpatient medical record documentation results. *p < .001 compared with period I (baseline). **p < .001 compared with period II and p < .001 compared with period I.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Outpatient subjective quality-of-care results. *All p values nonsignificant.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Outpatient health care delivery results. *All p values nonsignificant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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