documenting titratable drips

[Abby1974]

We have recently implemented the EPIC charting system at my facility. My unit manager is insisting that we document every 15 minutes the rate that any titratable drip (dopamine, levophed, propofol, cardizem, etc) is infusing. This is extremely time consuming and is not being done in the other ICU's in our facility. I am wondering what other institutions are requiring as to how frequently you record the rate for a titratable drip in your electronic charting system. Do you only record the time you change the rate, do you record hourly or more frequently? We are trying to develop a policy to address this issue. Thanks

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

I believe my facilities policy is hourly and whenever the rate is changed. So if the rate is changed 3 times in an hour it would be charted 3 times that hour, if the rate doesn't change for another 5 hours then just once each hour

[Biffbradford]

How often to you have to chart vitals?

[umcRN, BSN, RN]

hourly vitals on all icu pts, and vitals whenever drips are titrated

[apocatastasis]

When I worked ICU, we had to paper document drip rates hourly and vitals q15. When we switched to computer, we only documented rate changes, but vitals were still q15.

Policy in my ER is vitals q15 min for all patients on titratable drips, but the drips only need to be charted every hour and when changed.