Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Improving Patient Experience And Education By Leveraging Technology, Cathy Palleschi, Wendy Osgood, Mark Parker, Cecilia Inman, Alicia Russell, Eileen Shanahan, Erin Pappal

Operational Transformation

It is estimated that 65% of the population are visual learners. With that in mind, a team of cardiac nurses in a large academic tertiary hospital developed a quality improvement project to hopefully improve patient engagement as well the patients’ perception that the nurses explained things in a manner that they could understand.

Baseline patient survey scores for the question, “Nurses Explained Things In A Way That I Understand”, were under the 75^thpercentile for a period of 9 months. A root cause analysis was conducted and it demonstrated numerous reasons for this score.

Several countermeasures were instituted to …

Improving Patient Flow By Increasing Early Discharges On A Mother & Baby Unit, Faye Weir, Joy Moody, Kathleen Cyr, Cathy Palleschi, Stephen Tyzik, Joseph East, Heidi Morin, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

Discharging patients early in the day has many advantages amongst which is increased bed availability. However, the experience in a large academic tertiary medical center demonstrated that most discharges occurred early to mid afternoon. A care team on a mother /baby unit established a quality improvement project to increase the number of discharges by 11AM and streamline key discharge planning activities.

A root cause analysis identified multiple barriers to attaining he established goals. To address these barriers, a multi prong approach was instituted to include a discharge education KPI for all unit staff.

Data collection post countermeasure implementation demonstrated some …

Reduction Of Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (Cauti) In A Critical Care Setting, Deborah Jackson, Lindsey Lucas, Shawn Taylor, Jonathan Archibald, Stephen Tyzik, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common type of healthcare associated infections. Seventy five percent are related to indwelling urinary catheters. These infections come with increased morbidity and mortality risk. A team of intensive care providers at a large academic tertiary medical center initiated a quality improvement project to reduce the number of CAUTIs.

Baseline data established the total number of catheter days and CAUTIs by month. A subsequent root cause analysis was completed and several counter measures were developed to include a KPI implementation to track that all intensive care providers are educated in CAUTI and creation of …

Treating Substance Use Disorders: Enhancing Attendance At The Weekly Inpatient Medication Assisted Treatment Group, Devon Gillis, Jayne Weisberg, Dena Whitesell, Amy Mcauliffe, Amy Sparks, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Stephen Tyzik

Operational Transformation

At a large academic tertiary medical center, an Integrated Medication Assisted Treatment (IMAT) program has been established for those medically stable inpatients with an addiction diagnosis. Over a four month period, this program had experienced a decline in attendance and a quality improvement project was initiated is to better understand the barriers to attendance and institute a process that would reverse the decline.

A goal was established to improve attendance by medically stable patients that have consented to participate to a minimum of 50%.

A root cause analysis outlined numerous causes for low attendance and several countermeasures were established to …

Using Shared Decision Making And Team-Based Care To Overcome Socioeconomic And Cultural Barriers To Colorectal Cancer Screenings, Amanda Powell, Debra L. Pyle, Kristin Rowse, Misty Weeman, Rachel Kidder, Ruth Hanselman, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It disproportionally affects minorities and those in lower socioeconomic groups. The use of fecal immunochemical testing (FIT) is a low barrier, low cost and low risk screening tool as compared to the traditional colonoscopy exam. The use of FIT offers the opportunity to overcome barriers such as cultural, economic and low health literacy.

As part of a large health care system, an internal medicine clinic wanted to increase the use and return of FIT in their clinic patients. A team developed a plan for implementing improvement …

Nicotine Replacement Therapies To Decrease Withdrawal Symptoms And Improve Patient Experience, Cheryl Pawloski, Holly Stewart, Devon Gillis, Dena Whitesell, Maya Bulman, Christopher Racine, Raymond Serrano, Leslie Gatcombe-Hynes, Elizabeth Mullany, Amy Mcauliffe, Jayne Weisberg, Amy Sparks, Suneela Nayak, Stephen Tyzik, Ruth Hanselman

Operational Transformation

Smoking is one the leading causes of preventable death in the United States. Patient centered care revolves around encouraging patients to reduce their chances of preventable disease and death. To that end, nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) prescribed within 24 hours of hospital admission increases the chance of quitting and decreases the chance of nicotine withdrawal.

A pilot performance improvement project was initiated on two cardiac units at an academic tertiary medical center. The goal the project was to have NRT ordered within 24 hours of admission 100% of the time. Baseline metrics demonstrated admission NRT orders were below acceptable levels …