Health and Medical Administration Commons^™

Implementation Of A Standardized Suicide Screening Process In A University Student Health Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project, Addie Grace Strong, Kathryn Dambrino, R. David Phillippi, Linda Wofford

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among college age students, prompting the need for evidence-based screening tools like the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) to enable early detection and timely intervention. Inconsistencies in suicide screening may pose a risk of missed intervention opportunities. This Doctor of Nursing Practice project specifically aimed to improve the quality and consistency of suicide screening in a university student health clinic by implementing the C-SSRS tool into the clinic workflow during mental health appointments. Methods: Employing a quality improvement framework, this scholarly project followed the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Model for Improvement …

Quality Improvement In Public-Private Partnerships In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review, Cassandra Iroz, Rohit Ramaswamy, Zulfiqar Bhutta, Paul Barach

College of Population Health Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Public-private partnerships (PPP) are often how health improvement programs are implemented in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). We therefore aimed to systematically review the literature about the aim and impacts of quality improvement (QI) approaches in PPP in LMICs.

METHODS: We searched SCOPUS and grey literature for studies published before March 2022. One reviewer screened abstracts and full-text studies for inclusion. The study characteristics, setting, design, outcomes, and lessons learned were abstracted using a standard tool and reviewed in detail by a second author.

RESULTS: We identified 9,457 citations, of which 144 met the inclusion criteria and underwent full-text abstraction. We …

Enhancing Breast Cancer Screening In Kims Clinic: A Quality Improvement Initiative, Daniel J. Avila Castillo, Crystal Ike, Mina Choudhry

Gulf Coast Division Research Symposium 2024

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of A Community Based Teaching Hospital’S Geriatric Emergency Medicine Initiative, Josette Hartnett, Isabel Muronzi-Belfon, Suzanne J. Rose

Journal of Geriatric Emergency Medicine

INTRODUCTION: To accommodate the complex healthcare needs of the rising geriatric population, Stamford Hospital’s (SH) emergency department (ED) began a Geriatric Emergency Medicine Initiative (GEMI) in 2018 to improve our ED environment, practices, and focused assessments for our community-dwelling older adults.

METHODS: This retrospective program evaluation describes SH’s novel ED processes for at-risk older adults and compares GEMI and non-GEMI assessed patient outcomes using aggregate frequencies on throughput metrics such as length of stay (LOS), 72 hour and 30-day re-admission rates, and other outcomes of interest. Chi-square tests and group t-tests were used for all analyses with a p-value of …

Quality & Patient Safety Gazette : Volume 2, Issue 4 - 2023, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi

Quality & Patient Safety - Gazette

• World Quality Day 2023
• Workshop on How to conduct a Root Cause Analysis
• Blast from the Past
• Learn with Fun!
• Stay Tuned with Us…..

A 3- And 6- Month Follow-Up To A Student-Led Approach To Patient Safety In Pre-Clinical Curriculum, Nelson D. Gonzalez, Sahar Panjwani, Daniel Nwosuocha, Lauren Bayliss, Ayleen Godreau

Research Colloquium

Introduction: Preventable medical errors are currently the third leading cause of death in the United States following heart disease and cancer. In light of this, integration of formal patient safety education into undergraduate medical education has been encouraged by the World Health Organization. This study aimed to assess the change in patient safety knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs in students after early exposure to patient safety during pre-clinical years.

Methods: First and second-year medical students participated in the training and responses were assessed through a pre-test, immediate post-test, 3-month post-test, and 6-month post-test. The survey assessed student knowledge on aspects …

Retrospective Evaluation Of The Covid-19 Contact Tracing Program At The Maine Center For Disease Control And Prevention, Elisabeth Brewington Mha, Mph, Ben K. Greenfield Phd, Jessica Purser Phd

Journal of Maine Medical Center

Introduction: Despite the widespread use of contact tracing efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there are limited findings available about best practices and recommendations. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention contracted staff to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing from August 2020 through February 2022. A retrospective evaluation of this program was conducted to share lessons learned with public health and health care leaders for future use.

Methods: Contracted contact tracing staff participated in facilitated discussions structured by the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats analysis framework. Three sessions were recorded and transcribed, and qualitative analysis through thematic review and evaluation coding …

Oxygen Therapy Education To Improve Oxygen Safety In The Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Project, Latania Wolfe

DNP Projects

Background and Significance: Oxygen is often administered in emergency departments (ED) in US without the nurses and other healthcare staff inputting orders for this medication. This gap in placing orders poses a risk to patient safety and poses a regulation issue.

Purpose: The goal of this quality improvement project is to increase the rate of orders placed for patients using oxygen in ED staff by 12% from March 1, 2023 to May 31, 2023.

Methods: The Model for Improvement guided this quality improvement project. Two PDSA cycles were completed.

Results: PDSA #1 Completed SWOT analysis and used information to …

Implementation Of A Patient Satisfaction Survey At A Free Community Clinic: A Quality Improvement Project, Nora O'Sullivan

DNP Projects

Background: The uninsured, underinsured, and underserved populations in the US are impacted by health disparities and have unique experiences with healthcare. Yet, settings which serve these populations – the “safety net”- are not adequately supported to gather patient experience data. In Connecticut, Fairfield County has a higher percentage of uninsured people than the overall state. Additionally, this population has demonstrated higher frequency of emergency department utilization than the overall population. Therefore, processes to measure the barriers to accessing quality care and patient experience and satisfaction with care are needed in safety net clinics to promote elimination of health disparities and …

Improving Group B Streptococcus Susceptibility Testing, Sofia Sarduy, Michelle Ozcan

North Florida Division Research Day 2023

No abstract provided.

Multicomponent Approach To Delirium Prevention In The Acute Care Setting: An Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Project., Kelley James

Doctor of Nursing Practice Papers

Background: Acutely ill, hospitalized individuals are at an increased likelihood of developing delirium. Between 30-35% of those patients admitted to the hospital will develop delirium, and as a result, these individuals will face an increased risk of mortality, adverse medical events, restraint usage, and incur a more extended hospitalization. The literature supports early screening utilizing the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) tool and nurse-driven, multicomponent interventions to aid in preventing its development.

Environment: This project was implemented in a long-term, acute care facility specializing in patients requiring long-term mechanical ventilation, advanced wound care, pulmonary and respiratory care, and the rehabilitation of …

Asking The Question ‘What Matters To You?’ In A London Intensive Care Unit, Harriet Pittaway, Laura White, Karen Turner, Angelique Mcgillivary

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: At the heart of the paradigm shift in approach to patient care from paternalism toward shared decision-making lies the international “What Matters To You?” (WMTY) movement. However, WMTY principles are not frequently applied to the critical care setting. The aim of this quality improvement project work was to design and integrate a tool for all patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) that helped answer WMTY.

Methods: Using Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) methodology across 8 cycles, a multidisciplinary team designed and integrated a bedside poster into the ICU. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via a bedside audit process on …

Care Alert Program In Chronic Recurrent Ed Utilizing Patients, Kaitlyn Phelps, Jonathan Bryan, Jonathan Leggett, Erica Gibbons, Brian Griggs

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

The Care Alert program is designed to help navigate encounters with patient populations that are high utilizers of emergency department (ED) resources. These populations often have chronic medical conditions, have a poor understanding of their conditions, are unfamiliar with the EDs’ role in the management of these conditions, and commonly lack outpatient resources. The Care Alert program intends to address the needs of this challenging patient population by designing individualized care plans that are approved through a multidisciplinary committee. Data from this study showed a 37% decrease in ED visits and a 47% decrease in hospitalizations during the initial 8 …

Language Preference Impact On The Outcomes Of Those Lost To Follow-Up After A Diagnosis Of Pregnancy Of Unknown Location, Erin A. Leestma, Mayra A. Shafique, Megan Mcnitt, Annmarie Vilkins

Medical Student Research Symposium

Pregnancy of unknown location (PUL) is a temporary diagnosis when there is a positive pregnancy test but an intrauterine gestational sac and/or fetal pole are not visualized with ultrasonography. The three potential outcomes for such a pregnancy are failed pregnancy, an early intrauterine pregnancy or an ectopic/abnormal pregnancy. Given the serious associated morbidity of ectopic pregnancy, these PUL require strict follow up of bHCG levels to help the clinician determine the likely outcome of the PUL (failed vs early vs ectopic) and choose the best intervention (expectant management, surgical management or medical management). One potential barrier to follow-up identified in …

Implementation Of A Drive-Through Covid-19 Mass Vaccination Site: Experiences From Louvax–Broadbent In Louisville, Kentucky, Ruth Carrico, Sarah Beth Hartlage, Valenchia Brown Msn, Aprn, Fnp-C, Sarah M. Bishop, Luanne Didelot, William Hayden, Beverly Williams Coleman, Sarah Tan, Delanor Manson, Kellie Kane, Dawn Balcom, Paul Kern

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

Background: Response to the COVID-19 pandemic has required innovative approaches to vaccination, including methods to rapidly and safely immunize communities. A major challenge to such a response involved access to untapped healthcare worker resources. The Louisville, Kentucky, response involved the use of a large volunteer workforce to supplement local public health employees in planning and implementing a large-scale drive-through vaccination event. The objective of this manuscript was to outline processes involved in training a mass immunization workforce and implementating a large-scale COVID-19 community vaccination.

Approach: Competency-based and standardized training was provided for every volunteer before working their shift. Volunteers worked …

Perioperative Registries In Resource-Limited Settings: The Way Forward For Pakistan, Usama Waqar, Shaheer Ahmed, Ayesha Nasir Hameed, Namrah Aziz, Hina Inam

Medical College Documents

Capable of improving surgical quality, perioperative registries can allow performance benchmarking, reliable reporting and the development of risk-prediction models. Well established in high-income countries, perioperative registries remain limited in lower- and middle-income countries due to several challenges. First, ensuring comprehensive data entry forums to power the registries is difficult because of limited electronic medical records requiring sustained efforts to develop and integrate these into practice. Second, lack of adequate expertise and resources to develop and maintain registry software necessitates the involvement of software developers and information technology personnel. Third, case ascertainment and item completion are challenging secondary to poor-quality medical …

Improving Cancer Screening Rates In Primary Care Via Practice Facilitation And Academic Detailing: A Multi-Pbrn Quality Improvement Project, Christopher P. Morley, Laura A. Schad, Laurene M. Tumiel-Berhalter, Laura A. Brady, Alexandrea Bentham, Karen Vitale, Amanda Norton, Gary Noronha, Carlos Swanger

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: In the United States, cancer screening rates are often below national targets. This project implemented practice facilitation and academic detailing aimed at increasing breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening rates in safety-net primary care practices.

Methods: Three practice-based research networks across western and central New York State partnered to provide quality improvement strategies on breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening. Pre/postintervention screening rates for all participating practices were collected annually, as were means across all practices over 7 years. Simple ordinary least squares linear regression was used to calculate the trend for each cancer type and test for statistical …

Increasing Breast, Cervical, And Colorectal Cancer Screenings: A Qualitative Assessment Of Barriers And Promoters In Safety-Net Practices, Laura A. Brady, Laurene M. Tumiel-Berhalter, Laura A. Schad, Alexandrea Bentham, Karen Vitale, Amanda Norton, Gary Noronha, Carlos Swanger, Christopher P. Morley

Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews

Purpose: Breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening rates are suboptimal in underserved populations. A 7-year quality improvement (QI) project implemented academic detailing and practice facilitation in safety-net primary care practices to increase cancer screening rates. This manuscript assesses barriers and promoters.

Methods: Primary care practices providing care to underserved patients were recruited in New York cities Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. Enrollment totaled 31 practices, with 12 practices participating throughout. Annually, each practice received 6 months of practice facilitation support for development and implementation of evidence-based interventions to increase screening rates for the three cancer types. At the end of each …

Improvement Cycles In Medical Education: From Quality Improvement To Patient Care And Clinical Research, Julio A. Ramirez

The University of Louisville Journal of Respiratory Infections

No abstract provided.

Building Patient Participation In Quality Of Care Through The Healthcare Stories Project: A Demonstration Program In New York State Hiv Clinics, Abigail Baim-Lance, Freda Coren, Margaret Brown, Hazel Lever, Daniel Tietz, Bruce Agins

Patient Experience Journal

There is growing recognition that patients should play a central role in defining, assessing, and improving the quality of healthcare, thereby enhancing patient experiences. Healthcare organizations struggle to meet these goals, which require becoming more patient-centered and patient-involved. The Healthcare Stories Project (HCSP), a demonstration program of the NYS Department of Health AIDS Institute, aimed to address this. HCSP comprises three, stepwise activities to: 1) Capture how patients define and experience ‘quality of care’ in the clinic; 2) Engage patients and providers as equal partners in understanding and improving the quality of care; and through partnerships, 3) Support the building …

Measurement Matters: Changing Penalty Calculations Under The Hospital Acquired Condition Reduction Program (Hacrp) Cost Hospitals Millions, Olga A. Vsevolozhskaya, Karina C. Manz, Pierre M. Zephyr, Teresa M. Waters

Biostatistics Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: Since October 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has penalized 25% of U.S. hospitals with the highest rates of hospital-acquired conditions under the Hospital Acquired Conditions Reduction Program (HACRP). While early evaluations of the HACRP program reported cumulative reductions in hospital-acquired conditions, more recent studies have not found a clear association between receipt of the HACRP penalty and hospital quality of care. We posit that some of this disconnect may be driven by frequent scoring updates. The sensitivity of the HACRP penalties to updates in the program's scoring methodology has not been independently evaluated.

METHODS: We used …

Community Health Interventions To Reduce The Burden Of Radon-Related Lung Cancer, Benjamin Weaver

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. One in seven homes in Vermont has elevated levels of radon, but most patients are unaware of radon as a risk factor for lung cancer or that radon testing and mitigation services are available to them. To promote increased testing and mitigation of radon we screened patients presenting to a Family Medicine practice in Vermont about whether they had had these services done in their home. We also developed a patient education resource for providers to give to patients who had more questions about radon …

Effect Of An Electronic Order Set On Newborn Hepatitis B Immunization Rates, Daniel Pedersen, Angelina Rodriguez, Olu Oyesanmi, Heather Schramm, Michael King

HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine

Objective

Hepatitis B is an infectious deoxyribonucleic acid virus which can cause significant morbidity and mortality. There is no current definitive treatment, however in the United States immunization is widely available. A paper published by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices/Centers for Disease Control (ACIP/CDC) in 2018 made updated recommendations regarding vaccination practices in the United States. The most notable change made was that all healthy newborns weighing ≥2000 g with a negative hepatitis B-status mother should receive hepatitis B immunization within 24 hours of birth. This quality improvement project studied the effect of the electronic medical record newborn admission …

Enhancing Patient Involvement In Quality Improvement: How Complaint Managers See Their Roles And Limitations, Nathalie Clavel, Marie-Pascale Pomey

Patient Experience Journal

Patient involvement is a priority for healthcare organizations seeking to improve the quality of care and services. The contribution that complaint handling can make towards quality improvement has remained underexplored, while healthcare organizations are implementing strategies to effectively involve patients in quality improvement. We conducted a qualitative study to understand how complaint managers see their roles and limitations in enhancing patient involvement in quality improvement. A convenience sample of eleven complaint managers was selected from nine Canadian healthcare organizations with various annual volumes of complaints and situated in different settings (urban, rural, and semi-urban). The data were analyzed using a …

Exploring Peer Mentoring In Pediatric Transition: Perspectives Of Different Stakeholders About Accompanying Patients In Gastroenterology, Guillaume Dumais-Lévesque, Marie-Pascale Pomey

Patient Experience Journal

The literature identifies several issues in the pediatric transition, such as the lack of coordination between pediatric and adult settings and young patients who are not exercising independence in the self-management of their disease. The objective of this study is to explore the potential for a pediatric transition program in gastroenterology, introducing an accompanying patient program to support the transition. A qualitative case study was conducted, including semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews with each group involved in the pediatric transition between two centres in Quebec. A thematic analysis of the collected data was performed using QDA Miner v5.1. In …

Teleboard: The Move To A Virtual Family Advisory Board, Sheryl Chadwick, Deejo Miller, Kathryn Taff, Amanda Montalbano

Patient Experience Journal

Restrictions on in-person meetings were going to hamper the ability for the well-established Family Advisory Board (FAB) for our pediatric hospital to continue meeting unless a virtual meeting platform was introduced. The FAB was moved to a virtual platform for the April and May 2020 meetings. Attendance rates from family members and staff were measured and compared to the previous 14 in-person meetings. Contributions during the virtual meetings from each attendee type were recorded to analyze engagement during virtual meetings. There was no statistical difference in average attendance for virtual compared to in-person meetings, 75% versus 64.3% for family members …

Reinventing The Tradition Of Morbidity And Mortality Conference: Turning Anecdotes Into Databases, Tandis Soltani Md, Key Yan Tsoi Md, Alexandra Csortan, Aidan Charles Md, Darwin Ang

General Surgery

See attached.

Onecare Vermont Aco Quality Metric Evaluation, Alexander Braun

Family Medicine Clerkship Student Projects

This project explores OneCare Vermont ACO quality metrics and how they can be used to improve patient care and reimbursement in a Vermont family medicine practice. Perspectives of physicians within the practice and others familiar with OneCare Vermont operations are shared. Several metrics were identified as areas for improvement within the practice by comparing ACO metrics with patient data.

Compounding Effects Of Reducing Nurse Burnout And How It Can Produce An Increase In Patient Safety And Satisfaction, Alexander Mua

Master's Projects and Capstones

The reduction of nurse burnout has shown to have an increase in patient satisfaction and quality of care. It also has shown a decrease in patient-related or sentinel events. Accordingly, with the reduction of nurse burnout, there has also been a reduction of compassion fatigue. This project has illuminated the benefits of acuity-based caseload at the micro-level, including the cost-effective nature of overtime pay, including HCHAPS benefit score. The method of obtaining, planning, and implementing was based on the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA), which required collaboration amongst multiple disciplines, groups, departments, and executives. The process and goals concluded to …

Improving The Workflow And Partnership Between Registration And Clinical Staff In An Outpatient Urgent Care Center, Melissa Fairfield, Bailey Eells, Faye Collins, Joyce Cornish, Stephen Tyzik, Joy Moody, Wendy Osgood, Suneela Nayak, Ruth Hanselman, Amy Sparks

Operational Transformation

An outpatient urgent care unit was experiencing challenges in balancing the need to register patients and delivering care in the timeliest manner as possible. Upon examination, it was found that delays were being experienced in patient triage and discharge that resulted in low patient satisfaction scores.

A team of providers was established to review all process steps and a quality improvement project was created to attain a goal of 100% of the time discharge would not be delayed due to incomplete registration.

Baseline metrics demonstrated current numbers of delayed discharges, median time from door to triage as well as door …