The Physician Documentation Expert Panel came together in the fall of 2005 because of concerns about the deficiencies in patient health records due to incomplete, inaccurate and lengthy delays in physician documentation.

A family doctor treating a patient without the benefit of a discharge summary from an acute care physician is working at a disadvantage in a potentially life-threatening situation. Quality physician documentation shared in a timely manner can help avoid negative consequences, such as adverse medication events.

These are some of the concerns that brought the panel together to devise strategies and tools to improve physician documentation primarily in acute and ambulatory care episodes.

The panel spent several months developing a guide to better physician documentation. This guide reflects the collective input and recommendations of physicians, representing a range of disciplines, and the profession's regulator and association as well as stakeholders, who came together as part of the Information Management Strategy.

The guide includes a chart completion policy template to serve as a standard template to physicians and hospitals to facilitate the accurate and timely completion of patient charts. The goal is effective, yet streamlined, communication.

A brochure providing highlighting the importance of quality physician documentation was also produced.

Resources	Format PDF
Presentation : What You Should Know About Physician Documentation	english
Brochure : What you should know about physician documentation	english | french
A Guide to Better Physician Documentation	english
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