Improving Accuracy in Documenting Cardiopulmonary Arrest Events.

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medicine
• Clinical Informatics
• Quality Improvement

Background:

• Traditional paper documentation of cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) events is prone to inaccuracies and incompleteness.
• Accurate documentation is crucial for process improvements, optimal patient care, and deriving reliable national benchmarks.
• Electronic documentation systems offer a potential solution to enhance data quality in critical care settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the timeliness and accuracy of electronic versus paper-based documentation for live CPA events.
• To evaluate the impact of a handheld electronic device with a documentation app on the quality of CPA event recording.
• To assess healthcare provider satisfaction with electronic documentation methods.

Main Methods:

• Nurses on four medical-surgical units were trained on a handheld electronic device with the Full Code Pro app for documenting CPA events.
• Data from electronic documentation were compared with data from paper forms and a LIFEPAK 15 defibrillator using CODE-STAT 10.0 software.
• Control units using traditional paper forms were also compared with CODE-STAT data to establish a baseline.

Main Results:

• Electronic documentation demonstrated significantly greater accuracy for recorded rhythm (100% vs. 13%) and end-tidal carbon dioxide (67% vs. 0%) compared to paper.
• Legibility was significantly higher with the electronic method (100% vs. 13%).
• Staff reported increased satisfaction with the electronic documentation system.

Conclusions:

• Electronic handheld devices significantly improve the accuracy and quality of live resuscitation event documentation compared to paper-based methods.
• Electronic documentation facilitates quicker identification and recording of initial cardiac rhythms, enhancing resuscitation quality.
• Further research with larger sample sizes could further elucidate the impact on resuscitation timing and outcomes.