Each Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) should have a centralized document that clearly describes the policies and procedures the committee will follow.
Creating and regularly reviewing policies and procedures will ensure cases are identified, selected, reviewed, and documented with consistency. It also helps committee members to have a shared understanding of, and commitment to, the purpose of the MMRC and their roles and responsibilities. Key topics to cover in this type of document include
- Mission, vision, scope, and goals of the committee
- Committee member roles, terms (if applicable), and guidelines
- Authority and protection
- Maintaining confidentiality
- Methods of respecting or honoring each lost life reviewed by the committee
- Methods for managing and acting against bias and racism in data sources and each step of the review process
- Methods for caring for or healing vicarious trauma
- Methods of case identification and selection
- Methods for abstraction and development of a case narrative
- Communication, including case dissemination before or during the meeting
- Processes for case review, including facilitation and reaching consensus
- Processes for documenting decisions
- Data entry and management
