Quality Improvement Commons^™

Impact Of Covid-19 On The Italian And American Healthcare Systems : A Comparative Assessment, Bita Pejam, Jennifer Lam

All Reports

This report aims to examine and assess the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the healthcare systems of the United States of America and Italy; two of the most heavily affected nations. Using data from December 2019 to January 2021, several consultations, and policy reviews, we identify risks and notable areas of issue in each nations’ approach to combating the virus. We focus our report particularly on the health policies and the governmental structures in place that contributed to each nations’ initial method of alleviating the impact of COVID-19. Our report compares the two healthcare systems and proposes a …

An Examination Of The Research Related To American Physicians' Prescription Of Opioid Analgesics Before And After The Joint Commission Pain Standards For 2001, Valory Anne S. Vailoces

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the literature regarding physicians’ prescriptions of opioid analgesics before and after The Joint Commission Pain Standards for 2001. Opioids are a last resort treatment for chronic pain due to their high potential for tolerance, dependency, and misuse. The establishment of The Joint Commission Pain Standards for 2001 was the culmination of several movements to address the underassessment and undertreatment of pain. The Joint Commission Pain Standards for 2001 focused on improving pain assessment, management, and treatment through a systematic approach. The Joint Commission (TJC), formerly the Joint Commission on Accreditation of …

Blue Light And Adult Sleep Outcomes, Andrew Caddas

Undergraduate Distinction Papers

This study investigated the effects blue light from self-luminous devices has on adult sleeping patterns. We investigated sleep quality and duration qualitatively with a randomized, double-blind, cross-over, placebo-controlled design with a wash-out period. Participants wore blue light blocking lenses or placebo lenses whenever they were using a self-luminous device throughout each day for one week. Each morning, participants filled out a survey to report their number of hours slept, time to fall asleep, and amount of time spent on self-luminous devices. Participants took the Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale (PIRS) at the end of the one week trial (See Appendix A). …

Potential Perioperative Complications Due To Difference In Timing Of Systemic Heparinization During Ruptured Aneurysm Coiling, Rouzbeh Kotaki, Ameer E. Hassan, Wondwossen G. Tekle

MEDI 9331 Scholarly Activities Clinical Years

Potential Perioperative Complications Due To Differences in Timing Of Systemic Heparin Distribution During Ruptured Aneurysm Coiling

Introduction:

In general, systematic heparin anticoagulation is standard in regards to neurovascular intervention. When coiling ruptured aneurysms, many neurointerventionalists have their own protocol as to timing of systemic heparinization. There is ample research and literature reviewing the frequency of perioperative events, predictors and outcomes, as well as the efficacy in the use of anticoagulants and/or antiplatelets before, during, and after neurovascular procedures to prevent adverse outcomes. However, there currently exists a dearth of research in regards to timing of distribution of heparin intraoperatively and …

The Impact Of The Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program On Healthy Days, Health Inequity, And Hospital Community Benefit Spending, Samhita Kadiyala

Scripps Senior Theses

The Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program (HVBP) is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) program implemented in 2012 to reward acute-care hospitals with incentive payments for the quality of care provided to Medicare patients in inpatient settings. Under this policy, payment adjustments are made based on a variety of factors including clinical quality, patient experience, and cost reductions. This paper uses state-level variation in the implementation of HVBP to ascertain whether the policy led to improvements in Healthy Days (a CDC-designed composite measure of individuals’ self-reported number of physically and mentally “healthy” days per month), health disparities, and community …

Reducing Turnaround Time From Pathology Collection To Patient Awareness In Gastroenterology Practice, Adrianna Hyams

DNP Scholarly Projects

Background: Means of improving the turnaround time from specimen completion to the patient being notified of results are not well known or researched. The aim of this study is to decrease the turnaround time (TAT) from when the specimen is collected to the time the patient is notified from 4 weeks to 2 weeks. This quality improvement project took place in a privately owned gastroenterology office in southern Indiana.

Methods: An exhaustive literature review was completed to determine the best means of improving pathology TAT. The Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) method of quality improvement was used for this project. …

Large Scale Organizational Intervention To Improve Emergency Department Throughput In A Community Hospital, Karen Elliott

DNP Scholarly Projects

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Emergency Department boarding is a well-documented systemic problem across the country. ED-2b, the time from decision to admit a patient to Emergency Department departure, is specified by the Joint Commission as a quality measure for Emergency Department boarding. ED-2b metrics have been a longstanding challenge at this community hospital outside the nation’s capital. The aim of this study was to reduce median ED-2b times by 10% compared to fiscal year 2020 (FY20). To accomplish the reduction in time, a multidisciplinary throughput committee was developed with subsequent action plans designed to improve Emergency Department throughput.

METHODS: The Plan Do …

Implementation Of Community Health Worker Education Toolkit To Promote Compliance In Managed Care Organization, Lamonica Johnson

DNP Scholarly Projects

Community health workers provide case management and care coordination services to high-risk members enrolled in Louisiana Department of Health’s Medicaid program. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services require states entering contracts with managed care organizations to conduct external quality reviews by an independent External Quality Review Organization. Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set are quality metrics managed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. These metrics are reported annually and required by Louisiana Department of Health. Community health workers are required to demonstrate quality accreditation and meet state specific requirement compliance through documentation. The aim of this project was to …

Influence Of Telephone Preoperative Evaluations On Patient Medication Compliance On Day Of Surgery, Emmanuel Magsino, Michael Jung, Olga Suarez Md

Graduate Research Posters

Patient compliance with medication instructions on day of surgery (DOS) is an important part of the preoperative assessment, as failure to comply with these may lead to serious perioperative consequences. Prior studies have shown that compliance increases with multimodal interventions. However due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, many in-person visits transitioned to telephone visits and providers had to rely on patients to follow solely verbal instructions.

To determine medication compliance, this study compared the medication instructions provided by the VCU Preoperative Assessment Communication and Education Clinic, per chart review, with each patient’s own report of which medications they took on …

Covid-10, Healthcare Interior Design + Provider Experience - How Does Your Space Work For You?, Ruth E.P. Deibler

Graduate Research Posters

The lack of research on healthcare staff experience and interior design of the spaces they work in is evident. A focus on staff perspective is needed, particularly staff who navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. This research seeks to capture those stories to develop further research in order to improve staff experience. The initial phase of this mixed-methods approach is a survey. Hypothetically, by placing providers at the center of qualitative research related to healthcare interior design, we can better understand existing healthcare spaces. Ideally, we can develop additional evidence-based, human-centered solutions to transform interior environments in healthcare.

The 20-year Women’s Health …

Another Step In Diagnostics Consultation Model© Actualization: Examining The Impact Of Consultation Workflow Processes On Providers' Clinical Decision Making, Elizabeth K. Leibach

Theses and Dissertations

Background
Communication errors in health services delivery significantly compromise quality in clinical decision making (CDM). Diagnostic information generated by clinical laboratories (CL) accounts for as much as 93% of objective data in the clinical record and therefore is foundational in CDM. This work describes the Diagnostics Consultation Model© (DCM©), a CL communications portal, which supports CDM within interprofessional teams, providers, and institutions. Specific aims were to develop and validate a workflow prediction index (the complexity index, CI) to assign resolution of consultation requests based on an algorithm comprised of characteristics available at the point of consultation initiation. The CI functions …

Mortality Outcomes In Therapeutic Versus Prophylactic Anticoagulation In Obese Patients In Predominantly Hispanic Population, Dave Patel, Moktar Ahmed Sheikh-Salah, Raul Garcia, Jewel Udenwagu, Jose Campo Maldonado, Christopher Romero

MEDI 9331 Scholarly Activities Clinical Years

Introduction: As of January 26, 2021, there have been 1,988,063 confirmed cases with 34,701 fatalities from COVID-19 in the state of Texas. As the fatalities increased in Rio Grande Valley, there was overwhelming evidence that showed that obesity, an already hypercoagulable state, was a risk factor that contributed to the severity of COVID-19 infection (Sanchis-Gomar, et. Al. 2020). The prevalence of obesity amongst the population in in the RGV presents an opportunity to correlate trends in outcomes with the obese population that are admitted for inpatient management of COVID-19.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective cohort study looks at patient’s electronic …

Developing And Evaluating Strategies To Implement An Insulin Patient Decision Aid In An Academic Primary Care Clinic In Malaysia, Tong Wen Ting

Student Works (2020-2029)

Patient decision aids (PDAs) are decision-making tools to facilitate shared decision-making; however, their routine use in clinical consultations is still lacking. This study aims to develop and evaluate strategies to effectively implement a locally developed insulin PDA in an academic primary care clinic in Malaysia. This implementation study began with a qualitative exploration to identify PDA implementation barriers in Malaysian public healthcare settings (Phase 1). In Phase 2, an implementation intervention was systematically developed for the insulin PDA in an academic primary care clinic. This involved stakeholders using a multi-voting technique to prioritise Phase 1 barriers. Next, strategies were identified …

Improving Employee Engagement On An Inpatient Unit: A Quality Improvement Project, Holly Mccormack

DNP Scholarly Projects

BACKGROUND: Engaged employees are paramount to the success of an organization. They are more invested in their organization and the unit on which they work. This investment in the organization results in higher patient satisfaction and safety, less staff turnover, and improved quality. According to the literature, generational differences may be necessary to consider when improving employee engagement. To successfully lead a multigenerational workforce, nurse leaders should consider these differences and incorporate them into their strategic plan for employee engagement.

METHODS: A pilot survey was conducted on a medical-surgical unit to assess a perceived lack of engagement. Subsequently, work engagement …