Documentation of Indications: Agreement Between Order Entry and Clinical Notes and Effect on Time to Antibiotic Administration

Background/Objectives: Antibiotic indication documentation at the time of order entry is mandated by the Joint Commission. Inclusion of indication at order entry may have an impact on the time to administration. Our primary objective was to evaluate agreement between indication selected during order entry and clinical notes. Our secondary objective was to observe if there was a change in time to administration after indications were required during order entry. Methods: Patients ≤18 years old who received ≥1 dose of vancomycin or ceftriaxone during a preintervention period and 3 postintervention periods were included. Indication for use, agreement between order and clinical note, and timing of antibiotic administration were collected. Results: Most common indication for vancomycin (total: 789) was sepsis (26%, n = 204). Common indications for ceftriaxone (total: 1071) were sepsis (12%, n = 127), perforated appendicitis (12%, n = 125), and urinary tract infection (10%, n = 107). Postintervention, agreement between the indication selected during order entry and indication documented in clinical note for ceftriaxone and vancomycin orders were 41% and 46%, respectively. Median time to administration decreased among patients who received ceftriaxone (P <.01) but had no significant impact on time to administration of vancomycin (P =.49). Conclusions: Indication for ceftriaxone and vancomycin selected during order entry and reported in clinical notes inconsistently matched. Inclusion of antibiotic indication may impact time to administration.