Electronic screening of dictated reports to identify patients with do-not-resuscitate status.

Objective: Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders and advance directives are increasingly prevalent and may affect medical interventions and outcomes. Simple, automated techniques to identify patients with DNR orders do not currently exist but could help avoid costly and time-consuming chart review. This study hypothesized that a decision to withhold cardiopulmonary resuscitation would be included in a patient's dictated reports.