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Tracer methodology: mock survey example

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, December 23, 2003

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Your JCAHO mock surveyor chooses as a tracer a surgical patient who was admitted through your emergency department (ED). The surveyor begins by heading down to the ED, where he or she asks staff about the care that the patient received. The following are sample questions that your mock surveyor could ask. Consider using them in your own mock survey:

• I see that the patient came in with abdominal pain. What was your process for this patient's triage?
• What level would she have been at in triage, and how did you know that was the appropriate level?
• Did you ask the patient whether she has ever been abused?
• What types of abuse do you look for?

The surveyor then travels to the operating room (OR) and asks to speak with all surgical staff who were involved with the patient. The surveyor may examine the OR's scheduling process, review surgical prep procedures, or verify that physicians are sufficiently privileged and credentialed. How much time the mock surveyor should spend on each unit depends upon the individual tracer, the documentation in the medical record, and what your answers to his or her questions reveal.

Editor's note: The above is an activity from the new online course "Tracer methodology mock survey training." For more information on this course and other Accreditation courses go to www.hcprofessor.com and click on Accreditation.

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