Critical care nurse
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The need for nurses to understand patient safety and quality outcome data is pressing in the current era of data transparency. Health care outcomes data are now publicly reported and readily accessible to consumers, are necessary for performance-based reimbursement, and are required by government and regulatory agencies. In order for nurses at all levels of practice to own their outcomes and be accountable for making improvements, they must possess skills in collecting, analyzing, evaluating, and acting on outcome data. This article provides basic tools and clinical examples for nurses to use in a focused application of outcome data and a structured process for improving nursing care outcomes.
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Critical care nurse · Dec 2018
Electronic Health Record Tool to Promote Team Communication and Early Patient Mobility in the Intensive Care Unit.
Intensive care unit early mobility programs improve patients' outcomes while reducing costs for both patients and institutions. Inadequate interprofessional communication is a known barrier to achieving good early mobility program outcomes. Electronic health record communication tools promoting interprofessional communication have demonstrated improved patient outcomes, but have not been evaluated for mobility in the intensive care unit. ⋯ Interprofessional communication and collaboration can lead to improved outcomes. Combining routine educational reviews and an electronic health record communication tool may improve patient and system outcomes for intensive care unit early mobility program patients.
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Critical care nurse · Dec 2018
Interprofessional Approach to the Sustained Reduction in Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) increases morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. ⋯ Development, implementation, and revision of a VAP prevention strategy using the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control methodology was associated with marked, sustained reduction in VAP rates, notably during the unit's expansion from 16 to 24 beds, the opening of a pediatric cardiothoracic unit, and the hiring of more than 80 new nurses. After 7 years, the VAP rate continues to be low at 0.86 for 2016 and 0 through June 2017.