Abstract
Introduction
Urethral catheterisation is a procedure frequently done in the hospital by medical personnel. Appropriate documentation is necessary to ensure safe clinical care and to reduce the risk of litigation.
Method
We randomly reviewed electronic notes of patients seen by the on-call urology team who had a urethral catheter inserted in September 2020. Reviewing the trust’s guidelines, we considered that appropriate documentation should include reference to the following 10 items; indication, chaperone present, consent obtained, groin examination, catheter size, catheter type, insertion process, urine colour, water in balloon and residual volume were reviewed.
Results
A total of 50 patients were included. 72%(36/50) were inserted by a member of the urology team. Only 28%(14/50) had all 10 items documented. Indication for catheterisation was best documented at 94%(47/50) while presence of a chaperone and groin examination (i.e. presence of a foreskin and its replacement post-catheterisation) were the lowest at 44%(22/50).
Conclusions
This study shows there is low compliance to adequate documentation of urethral catheterisation. A ‘smart phrase’ has been developed for use with our Trusts electronic medical records system to assist clinicians with appropriate documentation. Clinicians that use the phrase ‘.icat’ are prompted to document all 10 requisite items. This uses the mnemonic i-CATHETAR [indication, Chaperone and consent, groin Assessment, Tube (catheter size and type), insertion process (Hard/Easy), urine Tint, Aqua in balloon, Residual volume]. A second audit cycle is currently being done to review the effectiveness of this intervention.
Novel open-source electronic medical records system for palliative care in low-resource settings
