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event. The checkbox area also requests information about the patient’s airway and breathing status, as well as the patient’s initial heart rhythm. The checkbox section is followed by a grid which uses time as the main index, as requested in the far left column. The following columns provide pre-labeled entry areas for patient respiration, pulse, and heart rhythm. This is followed by a column for medications, infusions, and laboratory values. Finally, the last column is a catch-all section for free-text comments. 34 Initial prototypes A series of intermediate prototypes were generated and presented to participants at focus group sessions. The initial prototype (Figure 4) retains much of the original simplified Utstein-recommended content, but with some major modifications to the layout. Figure 4: Initial prototype of a redesigned code blue form, based on needs assessment results and basic usability heuristics. For the initial prototype, the most significant change was the relocation of the checkbox entry section to the end of the form. This was done in response to participant feedback during the previous needs assessment. Recording nurses liked the checkbox elements because they required less writing, but the checkboxes were often filled out at the end of the event. By moving the checkboxes to the end of the form, recorders could delay filling in that information and instead concentrate on documenting realtime events. In addition, the needs assessment feedback also highlighted complaints about unclear 35 directions on the form, and that recorders felt overwhelmed by the dense group of checkboxes at the beginning of the form. By deferring the checkbox section, recorders did not have to read a large amount of text at the beginning of the form. Although information requests about the patient’s initial condition were moved to the end of the form, specific time-sensitive requests were kept at the top of the first page. This included the code start time, the time of the first chest compressions, and the time of the first electric shock. 

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