ABCs of Hospitalized XXXX : A Simple Before-After Study of a Communication Tool to Improve Quality of Inpatient Care.

@entity1150 @entity1 @entity413 @entity580
OBJECTIVES: Within the past several years, innovative communication tools have been established as viable quality improvement mechanisms in health care. Meanwhile, the economic and societal burdens of @entity580 ( @entity580 ) continue to rise. Various interventions have been attempted to reduce @entity580 . This study evaluated the effectiveness of a communication tool in reducing risk factors for @entity580 . METHODS: A communication tool aimed at reducing HAC risk factors was developed by an interdisciplinary team of physicians and nurses and tested in a simple before-after quality improvement study. It included 8 components: ambulation/fall risk, blood @entity413 greater than 200 mg/dL, central venous catheters, @entity1150 prophylaxis, erosions of the skin/dermal ulcers, Foley/urinary catheters, got communication, and heart monitor/telemetry. This communication tool facilitated multidisciplinary communication. The nurses completed it nightly, and the physicians reviewed the communication tool each morning and, when appropriate, addressed components of care that were out of compliance with best practices. RESULTS: The use of the ABCs of Hospitalized @entity1 Communication Tool led to daily improvements with reduction in the percentage of @entity1 with blood @entity413 greater than 200 mg/dL from 43.3% to 35.1%, reduction in the use of central venous catheters from 8.2% to 1.0% of @entity1 , increase in the use of chemical @entity1150 prophylaxis from 45.4% of @entity1 to 56.7%, reduction in the use of urinary catheters from 27.6% to 13.2%, and decrease in use of telemetry from 67.5% to 55.1%. All of the results have P < 0.05. These improvements were sustained over time. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a multidisciplinary communication tool serves as a simple, resource-conscious, and customizable instrument to reduce the risk factors for developing @entity580 . This communication tool can be easily disseminated and used by other institutions.
