Do goals of care documentation reflect the conversation?: Evaluating conversation-documentation accuracy

• Published in: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS) 2024-08, Vol.72 (8), p.2500-2507
• Main Authors: Ma, Jessica E, Schlichte, Lindsay, Haverfield, Marie, Gambino, Julia, Lange, Allison, Blanchard, Kelly, Morgan, Brianne, Bekelman, David B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Advance directives; Communication; Conversation; Documentation; Electronic health records; Electronic medical records; Health services; Illnesses; Medical decision making; Medical records; Nurses; Objectives; Older people; Social workers; Verbal communication
• ISSN: 0002-8614; 1532-5415; 1532-5415
• DOI: 10.1111/jgs.18913

Documenting goals of care in the electronic health record is meant to relay patient preferences to other clinicians. Evaluating the content and documentation of nurse and social worker led goals of care conversations can inform future goals of care initiative efforts. As part of the ADvancing symptom Alleviation with Palliative Treatment trial, this study analyzed goals of care conversations led by nurses and social workers and documented in the electronic health record. Informed by a goals of care communication guide, we identified five goals of care components: illness understanding, goals and values, end of life planning, surrogate, and advance directives. Forty conversation transcripts underwent content analysis. Through an iterative team process, we defined documentation accuracy as four categories: (1) Complete-comprehensive accurate documentation of the conversation, (2) Incomplete-partial documentation of the conversation, (3) Missing-discussed and not documented, and (4) Incorrect-misrepresented in documentation. We also defined-Not Discussed-for communication guide questions that were not discussed nor documented. A constant comparative approach was used to determine the presence or absence of conversation content in the documentation. All five goals of care components were discussed in 67% (27/40) of conversation transcripts. Compared to the transcripts, surrogate (37/40, 93%) and advance directives (36/40, 90%) were often documented completely. Almost 40% of goals and values (15/40, 38%) and half of end of life planning (19/40, 48%) were incomplete. Illness understanding was missing (13/40, 33%), not discussed (13/40, 33%), or incorrect (2/40, 5%). Nurse and social worker led goals of care conversations discussed and documented most components of the goals of care communication guide. Further research may guide how best to determine the relative importance of accuracy, especially in the broad setting of incomplete, missing, and incorrect EHR documentation.