The expert team met to review and finalize the data collection forms. Several decisions were made:
- The list of indications on the data collection sheet will include all possible indications which the person reviewing the chart might encounter, including those that may not be legitimate medical indications for delivery before 39 weeks in the eyes of the expert panel. The report prepared by PQCNC for each hospital will include the frequency of various indications, and each hospital's team can determine whether these are appropriate at a given gestational age.
- A second column will be added to the list of indications asking whether the chart reviewer was able to find "objective evidence" in the chart (such as lab values, blood pressure or ultrasound report depending on the condition) to support the indication for delivery given by the clinician.
- For the retrospective chart review, hospitals will review 25 sequential scheduled cesareans and 25 inductions from 2008, at gestational ages of 36-386/7 weeks. This will provide a baseline of how many planned deliveries before 39 weeks were elective, while eliminating those done at earlier gestational ages, which are generally done exclusively for medical complications.