23-06-2025
The Precharting System That Actually Saves Time
This transcript has been edited for clarity.
Let's talk about precharting — that early morning scramble to review your patients before rounds. To do it efficiently, you need a system.
Start with your own list of patients and tackle them one by one. Try not to bounce around. First, scan vitals, overnight events, and new labs. Look for trends, not just numbers;for example, whether a fever is resolving or a creatinine is up-trending.
Next, check notes from the night team or nursing updates for any changes or issues that came up. Then, review medications, especially any new ones started overnight.
Finally, take a moment to mentally prepare your assessment and nice to have a rough idea of what you're going to say on rounds.
The goal of precharting is focused, high-yield review: enough to know what happened, what's going on now, and what you're going to recommend. That is efficient precharting.
