UK MDs DOA when it comes to note-taking

Does “DOA” mean “dead on arrival” or “date of admission”? A British doctor mistakenly chose the former when, after misinterpreting a colleague's notes, he informed a woman's family that she had died. Cases such as that are one reason why British hospitals want staffers to improve their record-keeping skills to avoid such serious — and potentially litigious — errors.

Bond Solon, a London company that trains expert witnesses, has begun teaching thousands of doctors and nurses to take better notes in order to improve patient care and help reduce medical negligence claims. Last year, the National Health Service's (NHS) bill for such claims reached £4.4 billion, and NHS lawyers say they are often hampered by sloppy record keeping that failed to document treatment properly.

“Note-taking should be as simple and quick as possible,” says Mark Solon, a solicitor and creative director at Bond Solon, which holds 1-day training seminars for health care professionals. He says a lack of consistency in the use of acronyms such as “DOA” poses a special problem, particularly for the many foreign-born MDs and nurses working for the NHS. (Medical Abbreviations says DOA can represent 5 phrases: date of admission, dead on arrival, dominant optic atrophy, driver of automobile and duration of action.) — Mary Helen Spooner, West Sussex, UK