Observation and Response Charts Usability Testing Report

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care implemented a program of work on Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration, which focuses on ensuring that hospital patients whose clinical condition deteriorates receive appropriate and timely care and treatment. The Observation and Response Chart (ORC) project forms an element of this program. The project objectives were to examine whether the ORCs: 1) were suitable for observations of adult medical-surgical patients, and prompt a response for episodes of clinical deterioration; 2) had any sections that require modifications; and 3) could be introduced and applied in practice with minimal training.