Are we good at thromboembolic disease prophylaxis - an audit of the use of risk assessment forms in emergency medical admissions.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalised patients. Thromboprophylaxis is an effective strategy for VTE prevention in high-risk patients. An initial audit in our district general hospital trust showed poor adherence to the thromboembolic risk factors consensus group recommendations and so a risk assessment form (RAF) was devised. We present repeated audits to assess the RAF uptake and its effects on VTE thromboprophylaxis. We also present data analysing perceptions among doctors of the RAF and reasons for its poor completion. We provide compelling evidence that the RAF is an invaluable tool in the assessment of VTE thromboprophylaxis.