The impact of feedback to medical housestaff on chart documentation and quality of care in the outpatient setting.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether feedback from attending physicians to residents about outpatient medical records improves chart documentation and quality of care.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study with repeated measures.


METHODS
Primary care internal medicine clinic at a metropolitan community hospital.


METHODS
Fifteen interns and 20 residents.


METHODS
Attending physicians reviewed at least two charts for each resident on three occasions about 4 months apart and then discussed their findings with the residents.


RESULTS
Explicit criteria defined the extent of chart documentation and the comprehensiveness of care delivery. Attending physicians also made a subjective assessment of the overall quality of care. All results were converted to 0-to-1 scales. From the first to the third period, chart documentation increased from 0.60 to 0.86 (p < .001), but there were no significant changes in the delivery of care or in the subjective assessments of the overall quality of care.


CONCLUSIONS
Both review of residents' outpatient medical records and periodic feedback from attending physicians improve how well medical housestaff document care in the chart.
Opila
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DA
Department of Internal Medicine, St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, Phoenix, Ariz 85013, USA.
D001130:Arizona; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005246:Feedback; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008499:Medical Records; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital; D011787:Quality of Health Care