Joint Commission journal on quality and patient safety / Joint Commission Resources
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Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf · Feb 2013
Handoff communication between hospital and outpatient dialysis units at patient discharge: a qualitative study.
Hemodialysis patients are vulnerable to adverse events, including those surrounding hospital discharge. Little is known about how dialysis-specific information is shared with outpatient dialysis clinics for discharged patients, and the applicability of existing models of handoff transitions is unknown. ⋯ Standardizing the communication process between inpatient and outpatient dialysis units when patients are discharged from the hospital has potential to reduce adverse events related to poor communication and improve patient care during this transition. Interprofessional collaboration has potential to create robust solutions to this complex problem and foster a culture of multidisciplinary reflexivity.
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Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf · Feb 2013
A multidisciplinary approach to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections.
Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) joined a Critical Care Learning Collaborative in fall 2004. The collaborative incorporated application of central line and ventilator bundles, multidisciplinary rounding, and daily goal sheets to improve patient outcomes. In a two-year period, the initiative spread to the medical, pediatric, cardiac, and neonatal ICUs. ⋯ A critical feature of the approach that SBUH followed was to establish buy-in and oversight from the SICU leadership through a multidisciplinary team, which became the "learning laboratory" for many of the subsequent changes in practice. Also, the fundamental role of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Department's quality management practitioner as facilitator cannot be overstated. "Hardwiring" of process changes augmented sustainability of improvements, as did a change in the health care team's perception of central line infections--that is, from an "unavoidable complication" to "a failure."
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Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf · Feb 2013
Multicenter StudyMaintaining and sustaining the On the CUSP: stop BSI model in Hawaii.
Hawaii joined the On the CUSP: Stop BSI national effort in the United States in 2009 (CUSP stands for Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program). In the initial 18-month study evaluation, adult ICUs decreased central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rates by 61%. The impact of a series of novel strategies/tools in reducing infections and sustaining the collaborative in ICUs and non-ICUs in Hawaii was assessed. ⋯ Hawaii successfully spread the program beyond adult ICUs and implemented a series of tools for maintenance and sustainment. Use of the tools shaped a culture around the continued belief that CLABSIs can be eradicated, and infections further reduced.
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Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf · Feb 2013
Methodology and bias in assessing compliance with a surgical safety checklist.
Surgical safety checklists, such as the perioperative time-out, have been shown to improve performance on a variety of patient safety measures. A variety of methods have been used to assess compliance with the perioperative time-out, but no standardized methodology with a reliable observer group currently exists. An observation-based methodology was used to assess time-out compliance at an academic medical center. ⋯ In our cohort of observed time-outs, the compliance rate was low, calling into question time-out quality, and, more importantly, patient safety. Measures must be taken by large hospitals to regularly audit time-out compliance and create effective programming to improve performance. Although observational assessment is an effective method to assess compliance with surgical safety checklists, observer group bias has the potential to skew results.