RE: BMI > 40
Our dietitians work from the admission list they are given. Sometimes it doesn't have the correct weight. Sometimes the weight was recorded in pounds but translated to kg or vice versa.
I look for key words in the physician documentation such as obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, CPAP, frail, thin, poor appetite, etc., to remind me to look at the admission ht/wt. Then I sneak a peek into the patient's room to see if what I see matches the numbers. I keep a BMI calculator on my computer desktop. Often as not, I am the one telling the dietitian about an abnormal BMI. If they don't document it, I just calculate it and ask the physician to document the BMI as I've calculated, and the clinical connection. Rarely has the physician ever balked.
Linda Renee Brown, RN, CCRN
Clinical Documentation Specialist
Arizona Heart Hospital
I look for key words in the physician documentation such as obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, CPAP, frail, thin, poor appetite, etc., to remind me to look at the admission ht/wt. Then I sneak a peek into the patient's room to see if what I see matches the numbers. I keep a BMI calculator on my computer desktop. Often as not, I am the one telling the dietitian about an abnormal BMI. If they don't document it, I just calculate it and ask the physician to document the BMI as I've calculated, and the clinical connection. Rarely has the physician ever balked.
Linda Renee Brown, RN, CCRN
Clinical Documentation Specialist
Arizona Heart Hospital