Developer’s guide for observation and response charts

This developer’s guide for observation and response charts was prepared as part of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s (ACSQHC) program for ‘Recognising and Responding to Clinical Deterioration’. The work reported in this guide was part of the second phase of a program of research aimed at producing a small number of evidence-based adult observation charts for Australian health services.The project brief for phase two was to develop three new observation and response charts to complement the observation chart that we have already developed (the Adult Deterioration Detection System or ‘ADDS’ chart). The four observation and response charts reflect the main types of track and trigger systems that are currently in use in Australia:1. A multiple parameter system (with a single parameter system with one response category also embedded)2. A single parameter system with four response categories3. A single parameter system with two response categories4. A single parameter system with one response categoryWe were also required to write this guide, setting out which observation chart elements should be standardised, which elements can be modified to reflect local conditions, and how any modifications should be implemented.