QUALITY PRACTICE
PRACTICE ADVICE : UPDATE ON REQUIREMENT FOR SURGICAL / ANESTHETIC LOGS
ASSISTING WITH EFFICIENCY IN RECORD KEEPING
Recently a notice was sent to facility directors of accredited veterinary facilities in Ontario regarding an update on compliance with maintaining surgical / anesthetic logs . This update took effect on August 1 , 2020 . Details of the update are relevant to all veterinarians .
The College places a strong emphasis on supporting quality medical records . Medical records are central to safe quality veterinary medicine and provide the basis for continuity of care .
The Minimum Standards for Veterinary Facilities in Ontario ( MSVFO ) outlines the medical record requirements for a Certificate of Accreditation . During an inspection , accreditation inspectors ensure the facility ’ s medical records meet these requirements .
In the MSVFO , there is a requirement for veterinary facilities to keep an anesthetic log , either alone or in combination with a surgical log , and the MSVFO states explicitly what information must be contained in these logs . There is also a requirement to keep an anesthetic monitoring chart . While the MSVFO does not state what needs to be contained in the anesthetic monitoring chart , the College has produced a sample anesthetic monitoring chart template as guidance to veterinarians on what should be recorded in the chart based on what is considered current best practice . The sample template may be modified to meet an individual facility ’ s needs .
The College recognizes the information that must be in the anesthetic / surgical logs may also be contained in the anesthetic monitoring chart , resulting in duplication of record-keeping . To address this and assist facilities with efficiency in record-keeping , an alternative method to meet the anesthetic / surgical log requirements was considered .
The College has updated the sample anesthetic monitoring chart template so it contains all of the required information for an anesthetic / surgical log .
If a veterinary facility uses an anesthetic monitoring chart that contains all of the information required in an anesthetic / surgical log , they may choose to maintain the anesthetic / surgical log by compiling patient anesthetic monitoring charts in chronological order . This can be paper copies of the anesthetic monitoring charts in a binder , scanned copies in an electronic file , or electronic copies in a file that can easily be accessed and printed . A copy of the anesthetic monitoring chart should be kept in the patient ’ s individual medical record . By doing this , the veterinary facility will not need to also keep a separate anesthetic / surgical log . A facility may choose to keep a separate anesthetic / surgical log if preferred .
The updated sample anesthetic monitoring chart template and the sample anesthetic / surgical log template can be found at the following links :
Sample Form Anesthetic Monitoring Chart Template
Sample Form Anesthetic / Surgical Log
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