Improving the documentation of medical emergency team reviews

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To improve the documentation of events surrounding medical emergency team (MET) calls and to audit the incidence of MET calls and subsequent patient outcomes. METHODS: Prospective audit and patient chart review before and after three simultaneous interventions: medical team education, addition of intensive care personnel to the MET and introduction of a dedicated medical documentation pro forma. Data collected included patient demographics (including outcomes), features of each MET call (criteria, timing and treatment) and the completeness of medical documentation using nine predetermined criteria. Baseline data were collected over 5 months, April to August 2005. Following a 2-we..