Venous Thromboembolism Prophylaxis Guideline Compliance: a Pilot Study of Augmented Medication Charts.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication of hospital admission. The incidence of hospital-acquired deep vein thrombosis is approximately 10–40 % amongst medical and general surgical patients without prophylaxis. Pulmonary embolism accounts for 5–10 % of deaths in hospitalised patients, making hospital-acquired VTE the most common preventable cause of in-hospital death. Studies suggest that prophylactic measures are widely under- and inappropriately used.