The writing is on the wall: use of an LCD projector to aid communication at the ward round

A key element of good in-patient psychiatric care is the multidisciplinary review, with accurate and legible recording of the outcome of the discussion. Traditionally, the junior doctor and nurse act as ‘scribes' on the ward rounds, recording the outcomes in the multidisciplinary or separate me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatric bulletin of the Royal College of Psychiatrists 2005-05, Vol.29 (5), p.180-181
Main Authors: Baggaley, Martin, Inglis, Gary, Malizia, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
England
Information systems
London
Psychiatric units
Rounds
Visual displays
Wards
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Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:A key element of good in-patient psychiatric care is the multidisciplinary review, with accurate and legible recording of the outcome of the discussion. Traditionally, the junior doctor and nurse act as ‘scribes' on the ward rounds, recording the outcomes in the multidisciplinary or separate medical and nursing notes. There are a number of ways in which this process can fail. First, the scribe may simply misunderstand the decision of the team, given the complexity and variety of decisions in a psychiatric setting. Second, the scribe may understand what to record, but what is written may be illegible. Finally, people present at the ward round can have different beliefs about what has been decided, but unless they immediately review what has been written, they may not realise the discrepancy. One or more of these failings can result in serious untoward incidents, such as a patient being allowed off the ward on unescorted leave when the responsible medical officer believed the team had decided against permitting such leave. It is only when there is a serious incident that discrepancies can and do emerge.
ISSN:0955-6036
1472-1473
DOI:10.1192/pb.29.5.180