Purpose:

To meet the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' standard requiring hospitals to collect data related to the process and outcomes of resuscitation and track trends over time, our teaching hospital devised a system for consistent, accurate documentation of these events.

Significance:

Research shows that collection and analysis of data about cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts is essential for delineating survival indicators and subsequent education and training of resuscitation teams.

Background:

While attempting to abstract resuscitation data, we discovered that a disturbing amount of code records were incomplete, inaccurate, illegible, or missing from nurses' documentation.

Methods:

An Interdisciplinary Code Blue Process Management Team was established to reengineer all aspects of code management. Roles of specific code response team members were redefined. Ten Advanced Cardiac Life Support certified nurses became "core code recorders." Available 24/7, they respond to all "Code Blues," record the event, and collect quality data on response times, event survival, and issues regarding leadership, equipment, and Advanced Cardiac Life Support protocol. Each recorder received instruction about proper code documentation and data collection.

Findings:

Code records are now available for all called events, and records demonstrate 100% legibility and 100% compliance with Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation standards. Areas for further improvement are supported by data.

Conclusions:

A core cadre of "Code Blue" recorders improves documentation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation attempts.

Implications for Practice:

Data collected from accurate, consistent documentation are available to evaluate the resuscitation process and outcomes, as well as identify areas of performance improvement and staff education. Healthcare providers have a better picture of the resuscitation event and report increased communication during the event.