Charting intervention improves geriatric assessment notes

(HealthDay)—A quality improvement intervention can improve documentation of geriatric assessments during transitions of care, according to a study published online Dec. 18 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Ben A. Blomberg, M.D., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues assessed a continuous quality improvement intervention aimed at improving assessment and documentation of function, cognition, and advance care planning (ACP) in admission and discharge notes on an Acute Care of the Elderly unit at an academic tertiary hospital. The intervention involved the introduction of templated notes, staff education, leadership outreach, and posted reminders.

The researchers found that at baseline, no admission and discharge notes met minimum documentation criteria for the three domains of function, cognition, and ACP, with documentation of function and cognition completely absent. After the intervention, however, there was substantial improvement in all measures, with 64 percent of admission notes and 94 percent of discharge notes meeting at least minimum documentation criteria in all three domains.

"A quality improvement intervention using geriatric-specific note templates, house staff training, and reminders increased documentation of function, cognition, and ACP for post-acute care," the authors write.