What the Kardex is
The Kardex is a summary card, folder, or screen that lists a client's current diagnosis, active orders, medications, treatments, activity, precautions, and allergies. Nurses use it for planning the shift's care and for endorsement at handoff. Because the Kardex is a working summary that is revised or discarded as orders change and usually is not kept as part of the permanent record, the care given and the client's responses must be documented in the chart. This answers the student's question.
Kardex versus the chart
The client's chart (medical record) is the permanent legal document of care. It contains the physician's order sheet, nursing notes, flow sheets, and medication administration records. The Kardex only summarizes what is in the chart. Entries on it are often written in pencil or updated electronically as orders change, and old cards may be discarded at discharge. Anything recorded only on the Kardex may therefore be lost, and it would not show what was actually done or how the client responded.
| Feature | Kardex | Chart (medical record) |
|---|
| Purpose | Quick reference for planning and handoff | Permanent legal record of care |
| Content | Summary of current orders, care, precautions | Orders, notes, assessments, care given, responses |
| Updated | Revised as orders change | Entries added, never erased |
| Retention | Often discarded | Kept permanently |
Why the other options are wrong
The Kardex lists far more than medicines: it includes diagnosis, treatments, activity, precautions, and allergies. It is a care-planning tool, not an internal quality or risk document such as an incident report. And it is not the legal record for physician's orders; the legal source of orders is the order sheet in the chart, which the Kardex only summarizes.
Watch out! A complete Kardex can feel like enough documentation, but planned care is not the same as care delivered. Only the chart proves what was done.
Exam takeaway
Key point! The Kardex is a temporary working summary for planning and endorsement; care given and client responses are documented in the permanent chart.