How do staff roles play into identifying ACOCs?
Each long-term care facility should clearly define the roles and responsibilities of different categories of staff in observing, assessing, documenting, and reporting information about a patient’s condition change. Staff and practitioners should use specific criteria to clarify whether a symptom, abnormality, or condition change is problematic or is a normal or acceptable variation (e.g., vital signs that are outside a range that is acceptable for this patient, a change in behavior, altered breathing patterns). The accurate description of symptoms and condition changes can enable the identification of the likely causes of an ACOC. Clues that will assist in differentiating specific causes often lie in details of the patient’s history. Systems that ensure the accurate assessment and reporting of patients’ symptoms may enable facilities to effectively identify and manage the causes of many ACOCs without the necessity for hospital transfers. • What if the ACOC’s cause can’t be readily iden
