Coming in Hot: A quality improvement approach to improving care of febrile infants.

Background and Objectives: Significant practice variation exists in managing young infants with fever. Quality improvement strategies can aid in risk stratification and standardization of best care practices, along with a reduction of unnecessary interventions. The aim of this initiative was to safely reduce unnecessary admissions, antibiotics, and lumbar punctures (LPs) by 10% in low-risk, febrile infants aged 29 to 90 days presenting to the emergency department (ED) over a 12-month period. Methods: Using the Model for Improvement, a multidisciplinary team developed a multipronged intervention: an updated clinical decision tool (CDT), procalcitonin (PCT) adoption, education, a feedback tool, and best practice advisory (BPA) banner. Outcome measures included the proportion of low-risk infants that were admitted, received antibiotics, and had LPs. Process measures were adherence to the CDT and percentage of PCT ordered. Missed bacterial infections and return visits were balancing measures. The analysis was completed using descriptive statistics and statistical process control methods. Results: Five hundred and sixteen patients less than 90 days of age were included in the study, with 403 patients in the 29- to 90-day old subset of primary interest. In the low-risk group, a reduction in hospital admissions from a mean of 24.1% to 12.0% and a reduction in antibiotics from a mean of 15.2% to 1.3% was achieved. The mean proportion of LPs performed decreased in the intervention period from 7.5% to 1.8%, but special cause variation was not detected. Adherence to the CDT increased from 70.4% to 90.9% and PCT was ordered in 92.3% of cases. The proportion of missed bacterial infections was 0.3% at baseline and 0.5% in the intervention period while return visits were 6.7% at baseline and 5.0% in the intervention period. Conclusions: The implementation of a quality improvement strategy, including an updated evidence-based CDT for young infant fever incorporating PCT, safely reduced unnecessary care in low-risk, febrile infants aged 29 to 90 days in the ED. Purpose: To develop and implement a multipronged improvement strategy including an evidence-based CDT utilizing PCT to maximize value of care delivered to well-appearing, febrile infants presenting to EDs.

Multicenter Quality Collaborative to Reduce Overuse of High-Flow Nasal Cannula in Bronchiolitis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) for bronchiolitis increased over the past decade without clear benefit. This quality improvement collaborative aimed to reduce HFNC initiation and treatment duration by 30% from baseline. METHODS: Participating hospitals either reduced HFNC initiation (Pause) or treatment duration (Holiday) in patients aged <24 months admitted for bronchiolitis. Participants received either Pause or Holiday toolkits, including: intervention protocol, training/educational materials, electronic medical record queries for data acquisition, small-group coaching, webinars, and real-time access to run charts. Pause arm primary outcome was proportion of patients initiated on HFNC. Holiday arm primary outcome was geometric mean HFNC treatment duration. Length of stay (LOS) was balancing measure for both. Each arm served as contemporaneous controls for the other. Outcomes analyzed using interrupted time series (ITS) and linear mixed-effects regression. RESULTS: Seventy-one hospitals participated, 30 in the Pause (5746 patients) and 41 in the Holiday (7903 patients). Pause arm unadjusted HFNC initiation decreased 32% without LOS change. ITS showed immediate 16% decrease in initiation (95% confidence interval [CI] -27% to -5%). Compared with contemporaneous controls, Pause hospitals reduced HFNC initiation by 23% (95% CI -35% to -10%). Holiday arm unadjusted HFNC duration decreased 28% without LOS change. ITS showed immediate 11.8 hour decrease in duration (95% CI -18.3 hours to -5.2 hours). Compared with contemporaneous controls, Holiday hospitals reduced duration by 11 hours (95% CI -20.7 hours to -1.3 hours). CONCLUSIONS: This quality improvement collaborative reduced HFNC initiation and duration without LOS increase. Contemporaneous control analysis supports intervention effects rather than secular trends toward less use.

Public knowledge of button battery ingestions: A social media based cross-sectional analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Button battery (BB) ingestion injuries are a devastating and preventable event within the pediatric population. Efforts to reduce the prevalence of esophageal button battery ingestion injuries include primary preventative measures. It is integral to assess the public's baseline knowledge about BB injuries to tailor future primary prevention efforts. METHODS: This is a crowdsourcing survey-based study. Participants were notified through our institution's Twitter and Instagram accounts. RESULTS: There were 930 completed survey responses from May to June 2022. The survey found that 87% (791/910) knew that swallowing a BB could cause injury and 71% knew that it could cause death (642/905). Eight-five percent of respondents did not know what signs and symptoms to look for after BB ingestion, only 30% (99/340) of healthcare professionals felt they would know. Only 10.1% (94/930) of participants knew to give children over 12 months old honey after suspected BB ingestion. Thirty-four percent (311/930) knew that complications could still occur even after BB were removed. Seventy-seven percent (719/930) knew that a dead BB could cause injury but only 17% knew the correct way to dispose of a dead button battery (158/930). Only 8% (72/930) of participants were knew that wrapping dead BB in tape could potentially prevent injury. CONCLUSION: The current study reveals gaps in the public's understanding of BB injury including: the presentation of BB injuries; the delayed harm of BB impactions; management and mitigation strategies, and BB disposal methods. This survey provided imperative insights to help guide future education and primary prevention initiatives.

Recommendations for Choosing Wisely in Pediatric Emergency Medicine: Five Opportunities to Improve Value.

Unnecessary diagnostic tests and treatments in children cared for in emergency departments (EDs) do not benefit patients, increase costs, and may result in harm. To address this low-value care, a taskforce of pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians was formed to create the first PEM Choosing Wisely recommendations. Using a systematic, iterative process, the taskforce collected suggested items from an interprofessional group of 33 ED clinicians from 6 academic pediatric EDs. An initial review of 219 suggested items yielded 72 unique items. Taskforce members independently scored each item for its extent of overuse, strength of evidence, and potential for harm. The 25 highest-rated items were sent in an electronic survey to all 89 members of the American Academy of Pediatrics PEM Committee on Quality Transformation (AAP COQT) to select their top ten recommendations. The AAP COQT survey had a 63% response rate. The five most selected items were circulated to over 100 stakeholder and specialty groups (within the AAP, CW Canada, and CW USA organizations) for review, iterative feedback, and approval. The final 5 items were simultaneously published by Choosing Wisely United States and Choosing Wisely Canada on December 1, 2022. All recommendations focused on decreasing diagnostic testing related to respiratory conditions, medical clearance for psychiatric conditions, seizures, constipation, and viral respiratory tract infections. A multinational PEM taskforce developed the first Choosing Wisely recommendation list for pediatric patients in the ED setting. Future activities will include dissemination efforts and interventions to improve the quality and value of care specific to recommendations.

Resource stewardship and Choosing Wisely in a children's hospital.

Objectives: Evidence suggests that approximately 30% of the tests and treatments currently prescribed in healthcare are potentially unnecessary, may not add value, and in some cases cause harm. We describe the evolution of our hospital's Choosing Wisely (CW) program over the first 5 years of existence, highlighting the enablers, challenges, and overall lessons learned with the goal of informing other healthcare providers about implementing resource stewardship initiatives in paediatric healthcare settings. Methods: We describe the development of de novo "top 5" CW lists of recommendations using anonymous surveys and Likert scale scoring. Composition and role of the steering committee, measurement of data and outcomes, and implementation strategies are outlined. Results: Many projects have resulted in a successful decrease in inappropriate utilization while simultaneously monitoring for unintended consequences. Examples include respiratory viral testing in the emergency department (ED) decreased by greater than 80%; ankle radiographs for children with ankle injuries decreased from 88% to 54%; and use of IVIG for treatment of typical ITP cases decreased from 88% to 55%. Early involvement focused within General Paediatrics and the ED, but later expanded to include perioperative services and paediatric subspecialties. Conclusions: An internally developed CW program in a children's hospital can reduce targeted areas of potentially unnecessary tests and treatments. Enablers include credible clinician champions, organizational leadership support, reliable measurement strategies, and dedicated resource stewardship education. The lessons learned may be generalizable to other paediatric healthcare settings and providers looking to introduce a similar approach to target unnecessary care in their own organizations.

Value-Based Care for Healthy Children With First Episode of Febrile Neutropenia.

OBJECTIVES: There is a lack of guidance on the management of febrile neutropenia in otherwise healthy children, including the need for hospitalization and antibiotic administration, leading to significant practice variation in management. The aim of this initiative was to decrease the number of unnecessary hospitalizations and empirical antibiotics prescribed by 50% over a 24-month period for well-appearing, previously healthy patients older than 6 months presenting to the emergency department with a first episode of febrile neutropenia. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team of stakeholders was assembled to develop a multipronged intervention strategy using the Model for Improvement. A guideline for the management of healthy children with febrile neutropenia was created, coupled with education, targeted audit and feedback, and reminders. Statistical control process methods were used to analyze the primary outcome of the percentage of low-risk patients receiving empirical antibiotics and/or hospitalization. Balancing measures included missed serious bacterial infection, emergency department (ED) return visit, and a new hematologic diagnosis. RESULTS: Over the 44-month study period, the mean percentage of low-risk patients hospitalized and/or who received antibiotics decreased from 73.3% to 12.9%. Importantly, there were no missed serious bacterial infections, no new hematologic diagnoses after ED discharge, and only 2 ED return visits within 72 hours without adverse outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: A guideline for the standardized management of febrile neutropenia in low-risk patients increases value-based care through reduced hospitalizations and antibiotics. Education, targeted audit and feedback, and reminders supported sustainability of these improvements.

Multicenter Study of High-Flow Nasal Cannula Initiation and Duration of Use in Bronchiolitis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is a paucity of multicenter data on rates of high flow nasal cannula (HFNC) usage in bronchiolitis in the United States, largely because of the absence of standardized coding, with HFNC often subsumed into the larger category of noninvasive mechanical ventilation. METHODS: We examined HFNC utilization in patients with bronchiolitis from a sample of hospitals participating in a national bronchiolitis quality improvement collaborative. Medical records of patients aged <2 years admitted November 2019 to March 2020 were reviewed and hospital-specific bronchiolitis policies were collected. Exclusion criteria were prematurity <32 weeks, any use of mechanical ventilation, and presence of comorbidities. HFNC utilization (including initiation, initiation location, and treatment duration), and hospital length of stay (LOS) were calculated. HFNC utilization was analyzed by individual hospital HFNC policy characteristics. RESULTS: Sixty-one hospitals contributed data on 8296 patients; HFNC was used in 52% (n = 4286) of admissions, with the most common initiation site being the emergency department (ED) (75%, n = 3226). Hospitals that limited HFNC use to PICUs had reduced odds of initiating HFNC (odds ratio, 0.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3 to 0.4). Hospitals with an ED protocol to delay HFNC initiation had shorter HFNC treatment duration (-12 hours; 95% CI, -15.6 to -8.8) and shorter LOS (-14.9 hours; 95% CI, -18.2 to -11.6). CONCLUSIONS: HFNC was initiated in >50% of patients admitted with bronchiolitis in this hospital cohort, most commonly in the ED. In general, hospitals with policies to limit HFNC use demonstrated decreased odds of HFNC initiation, shorter HFNC duration, and reduced LOS compared with the study population.

Vascular Complications in Children Following Button Battery Ingestions: A Systematic Review.

CONTEXT: Children presenting to health care facilities with button battery (BB) impaction. OBJECTIVES: To describe characteristics of children with vascular complications after BB impaction, as well as associated outcomes. DATA SOURCES: National Capital Poison Center registry and PubMed database from inception to December 2021. STUDY SELECTION: All reports describing children aged <18 years with vascular, esophageal, or airway complications after BB ingestion. DATA EXTRACTION: We extracted characteristics including date of publication, age and sex of child, battery type and size, duration and location of impaction, complications, subsequent interventions, and interval between battery removal and death. RESULTS: A total of 361 cases involved severe complications or death after BB ingestion (321 cases from the National Capital Poison Center registry database, 40 additional cases from PubMed). Nineteen percent (69 of 361) were fatal and 14% (51 of 361) involved vascular injuries. Three-quarters (75%) of vascular complications were aorto-esophageal fistulae and 82% of vascular injuries were not survivable. Fatal vascular cases had significantly longer median impaction time (96 hours versus 144 hours, P <.05) and a wider range of presenting features than survivors. LIMITATIONS: The total number of cases with vascular complications was small, data reported varied between cases, and no data were available on overall exposure. Long-term morbidity data were not available for the survivors. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged BB impaction is a risk factor for vascular complications and death. A high index of suspicion is required for children representing with hematemesis after BB impaction, with prompt transfer to a tertiary center because vascular surgical intervention may offer a chance of survival.

Decreasing Misdiagnoses of Urinary Tract Infections in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common diagnosis in the emergency department (ED), often resulting in empirical antibiotic treatment before culture results. Diagnosis of a UTI, particularly in children, can be challenging and misdiagnosis is common. The aim of this initiative was to decrease the misdiagnosis of uncomplicated pediatric UTIs by 50% while improving antimicrobial stewardship in the ED over 4 years. METHODS: By using the Model for Improvement, 3 interventions were developed: (1) an electronic UTI diagnostic algorithm, (2) a callback system, and (3) a standardized discharge antibiotic prescription. Outcome measures included the percentage of patients with UTI misdiagnosis (prescribed antibiotics, but urine culture results negative) and antibiotic days saved. As a balancing measure, positive urine culture results without a UTI diagnosis were reviewed for ED return visits or hospitalization. Statistical process control and run charts were used for analysis. RESULTS: From 2017 to 2021, the mean UTI misdiagnosis decreased from 54.6% to 26.4%. The adherence to the standardized antibiotic duration improved from 45.1% to 84.6%. With the callback system, 2128 antibiotic days were saved with a median of 89% of patients with negative culture results contacted to discontinue antibiotics. Of 186 patients with positive urine culture results with an unremarkable urinalysis, 14 returned to the ED, and 2 were hospitalized for multiresistant organism UTI treatment. CONCLUSIONS: A UTI diagnostic algorithm coupled with a callback system safely reduced UTI misdiagnoses and antibiotic usage. Embedding these interventions electronically as a decision support tool, targeted audit and feedback, reminders, and education all supported long-term sustainability.

Airway Complications Resulting From Pediatric Esophageal Button Battery Impaction: A Systematic Review.

Importance: Button batteries (BBs) are commonly found in many household items and present a risk of severe injury to children if ingested. The direct apposition of the trachea and recurrent laryngeal nerves with the esophagus puts children at risk of airway injury secondary to the liquefactive necrotic effects of BB impactions. Objective: To review airway injuries, including long-term sequelae, after BB ingestion in children. Evidence Review: For this systematic review, a comprehensive strategy was designed to search MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science, and CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature) from inception to July 31, 2021, in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) reporting guideline. Additional cases were identified from the National Capital Poison Center BB registry. Individual authors were contacted for additional information. Studies with pediatric patients (<18 years) who developed airway injuries after BB ingestion were included. A total of 195 patients were included in the analysis; 95 were male. The mean (SD) age at BB ingestion was 17.8 (10.2) months. The mean (SD) time from BB ingestion to removal was 5.8 (9.0) days. The 2 most common airway sequelae observed in our series were 155 tracheoesophageal fistulae and 16 unilateral vocal cord paralyses. Twenty-three children had bilateral vocal cord paralysis. The mean (SD) duration of ingestion leading to vocal cord paralysis was shorter than that of the general cohort (17.8 [22.5] hours vs 138.7 [216.7] hours, respectively). Children presenting with airway symptoms were likely to have a subsequent tracheoesophageal fistula or vocal cord paralysis. Conclusions and Relevance: Airway injuries are a severe consequence of BB ingestion, occurring more often in younger children. This systematic review found that tracheoesophageal fistulae and vocal cord paralyses were the 2 most common airway injuries, often requiring tracheostomy. Vocal cord injury occurred after a shorter BB exposure time than other airway injuries. Continued efforts should be directed toward prevention strategies to avoid the devastating sequelae of BB-associated airway injury.

Button battery taping prevents oesophageal injury.

AIM: Most button battery (BB) ingestions in children are unwitnessed leading to prolonged exposures and severe complications. One third of ingestions occur from free BB, that are stored or awaiting disposal. Recommendations have been made to cover the terminals of discarded BB with adhesive tape; however, it is unclear if this practice prevents injury. Our aim was to determine if tape could prevent oesophageal injury in a cadaveric porcine model. METHODS: Electrical, masking, packing and duct tape were compared. One BB was left untaped. Taped BBs were placed in a cadaveric porcine oesophagus controlled for temperature and humidification. Specimens were assessed at 0, 0.5, and hourly for 6 h by visual inspection, temperature and pH. BB voltage was measured before and after testing. All tests were repeated in triplicate. RESULTS: Oesophageal specimens demonstrated burn prevention in the packing and duct tape trials. Burns were seen in 2/3 trials with electrical tape and 3/3 trials with masking tape. pH remained neutral throughout the study for all packing and duct tape specimens. pH remained neutral initially for masking tape but increased rapidly to 12 by 2 h. There was no change in battery voltage for the packing tape and duct tape trials. There was a 16.3% reduction in voltage for masking tape which was similar to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Taping BB with packing tape and duct tape prevented oesophageal burns. This may provide a novel method of burn prevention for loose BB intended for disposal.

Reducing Unnecessary Respiratory Viral Testing to Promote High-Value Care.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Viral respiratory infections are common in children, and practice guidelines do not recommend routine testing for typical viral illnesses. Despite results often not impacting care, nasopharyngeal swabs for viral testing are frequently performed and are an uncomfortable procedure. The aim of this initiative was to decrease unnecessary respiratory viral testing (RVT) in the emergency department (ED) and the pediatric medicine wards (PMWs) by 50% and 25%, respectively, over 36 months. METHODS: An expert panel reviewed published guidelines and appropriate evidence to formulate an RVT pathway using plan-do-study-act cycles. A multifaceted improvement strategy was developed that included implementing 2 newer, more effective tests when testing was deemed necessary; electronic order modifications with force functions; audit and feedback; and education. By using statistical process control charts, the outcomes analyzed were the percentage of RVT ordered in the ED and the rate of RVT ordered on the PMWs. Balancing measures included return visits leading to admission and inpatient viral nosocomial outbreaks. RESULTS: The RVT rate decreased from a mean of 3.0% to 0.5% of ED visits and from 44.3 to 30.1 per 1000 patient days on the PMWs and was sustained throughout the study. Even when accounting for the new rapid influenza test available in the ED, a 50% decrease in overall ED RVT was still achieved without any significant impact on return visits leading to admission or inpatient nosocomial infections. CONCLUSIONS: Through implementation of a standardized, electronically integrated RVT pathway, a decrease in unnecessary RVT was successfully achieved. Audit and feedback, reminders, and biannual education all supported long-term sustainability of this initiative.

Distinguishing Features of Adolescents With Undiagnosed Infectious Tuberculosis Attending a Pediatric Emergency Department.

More than 10 days of fever or 13 days of cough differentiated adolescent patients presenting to a pediatric emergency department with infectious tuberculosis (TB) from most patients with pneumonia. Upper lobe involvement was significantly more common in patients with TB. Symptom- and radiograph-based algorithms could minimize TB exposure and aid diagnosis.

Qualitative evaluation of a mandatory provincial programme auditing emergency department return visits.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this qualitative study was to evaluate the perceived impact and value of the Return Visit Quality Programme (RVQP), a mandatory province-wide emergency department audit programme. DESIGN: We employed an interpretive descriptive qualitative approach with maximum variation sampling to ensure diverse representation across several geographical and institutional factors. RVQP programme leads were invited to participate in semistructured interviews and snowball sampling was used to reach non-lead physicians to capture the perspectives of those working within the programme. SETTING: In Ontario's RVQP, participating emergency departments must audit their return visits resulting in admission to identify issues that can be addressed through quality improvement initiatives. PARTICIPANTS: Between June and August 2018, we interviewed 32 participants (local programme leads and non-lead physicians) from 23 out of the 86 participating centres. RESULTS: Participants' perceived impact and value of the programme was associated with the existence (or absence) and nature of the local quality improvement culture, the implementation approach of the programme within their emergency departments, and key aspects of the programme pertaining to medicolegal concerns and resource availability. CONCLUSIONS: This study of an innovative, large-scale programme aimed at promoting continuous quality improvement in emergency departments showed that while its perceived impact has been meaningful, there are key structural and operational elements that support and hinder this aim. Healthcare leaders should consider these findings when looking to implement large-scale audit or quality improvement programmes.

Engaging medical trainees in resource stewardship through resident-led teaching sessions: a choosing wisely educational initiative.

Implication Statement Overuse of healthcare resources is prevalent, including among medical trainees. As front-line clinicians and near-peers, residents are well-positioned to teach resource stewardship to medical students and address barriers students may face while trying to "choose wisely." We describe the implementation of two resident-led, case-based teaching sessions for medical students that focus on resource stewardship. Similar teaching models can be adapted by residents at their own institutions to enhance resource stewardship proficiency amongst trainees.

L'utilisation excessive des ressources en soins de santé est fréquente, y compris parmi les étudiants en médecine. En tant que cliniciens de première ligne et quasi-pairs des étudiants en médecine, les résidents sont bien placés pour leur enseigner la gestion des ressources et pour les aider à surmonter les obstacles à « choisir avec soin ¼. Nous décrivons la mise en œuvre de deux sessions d'enseignement animées par des résidents fondées sur l'étude de cas et axées sur la gestion des ressources. Des modèles d'enseignement similaires peuvent être adaptés par les résidents dans leurs institutions respectives afin d'améliorer les compétences des étudiants en matière de gestion des ressources.

The Parent Perspective on Return Visits to the Pediatric Emergency Department: A Missing Piece of the Puzzle.

OBJECTIVES: Return visits to the pediatric emergency department (ED) give insight into the unmet needs of patients and families. The aim of this study was to capture the parent perspective on factors contributing to return visits to the pediatric ED. METHODS: This is a prospective cohort study consisting of an 11-item survey that was administered to parents of children who had a return visit to the ED less than 72 hours from their initial visit. Surveys were distributed over an 8-month period between November 2015 and June 2016. RESULTS: The primary reason parents report for returning to the ED is that their child had ongoing or worsening symptoms (55%). Parents were satisfied with the care they received at the initial ED visit (89% report excellent, very good or good care). For parents who report that the initial visit could have been improved, they report wanting more tests done (54%), a better follow-up plan arranged by the ED (31%), consultation with a specialist (26%), admission to hospital on the initial visit (26%), and better communication and more time spent with the ED physician (21%). The majority (97%) of parents reported that their child has a primary care provider, and 39% of parents brought their child to a health care provider for the same problem in the 7 days before their return visit to the ED. CONCLUSIONS: The parent perspective gives important insights into the reasons for return visits to the pediatric ED. Conclusions from this study will help inform future quality improvement initiatives that direct health care resources to provide high value care to patients and families.

Antibiotic Prescription Practice for Pediatric Urinary Tract Infection in a Tertiary Center.

OBJECTIVES: Prescribing antibiotics for suspected urinary tract infection (UTI) is common practice and may lead to unnecessary antibiotic exposure. We aimed to review UTI diagnosis and management in the emergency department and to identify targets for antimicrobial stewardship. METHODS: Single-center, retrospective cohort study of children aged 12 weeks to younger than 18 years discharged from the emergency department with a diagnosis of UTI between October and December 2016. Children with genitourinary malformations were excluded. Clinical information, urine collection method, laboratory findings, and urine culture results were gathered. The sensitivity and specificity of nitrite and leukocyte esterase for UTI diagnosis were calculated. The relationship between urinalysis characteristics and confirmed UTI was examined using logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 183 children with a median (interquartile range) age of 4.2 (1.1-7.5) years were included; 82.5% were female. Almost all children were discharged home on antibiotics (n = 180, 98%) for a median (interquartile range) duration of 7 (7-10) days. A total of 85 patients (46.4%) received antibiotics despite negative urine cultures leading to 525 unnecessary antibiotic days. The presence of nitrites was the strongest predictor of UTI (odds ratio = 20.22, P < 0.001) and was highly specific. CONCLUSIONS: Current practice in managing suspected pediatric UTIs in our ED resulted in significant and unnecessary antibiotic exposure. We identified targets to reduce unnecessary antibiotic exposure including improving the diagnostic accuracy of UTIs, a process to discontinue antibiotics for negative cultures and standardizing antimicrobial duration.

Improving Quality of Care Through a Mandatory Provincial Audit Program: Ontario's Emergency Department Return Visit Quality Program.

The Emergency Department Return Visit Quality Program was launched in Ontario, Canada, to promote a culture of quality. It mandates the province's largest-volume emergency departments (EDs) to audit charts of patients who had a return visit leading to hospital admission, including some of their 72-hour all-cause return visits with admission and all of their 7-day ones with sentinel diagnoses (ie, acute myocardial infarction, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and pediatric sepsis), and submit their findings to a governmental agency. This provides an opportunity to identify possible adverse events and quality issues, which hospitals can then address through quality improvement initiatives. A group of emergency physicians with quality improvement expertise analyzed the submitted audits and accompanying narrative templates, using a general inductive approach to develop a novel classification of recurrent quality themes. Since the Return Visit Quality Program launched in 2016, 125,698 return visits with admission have been identified, representing 0.93% of the 86 participating EDs' 13,559,664 visits. Overall, participating hospitals have conducted 12,852 detailed chart audits, uncovering 3,010 (23.4%) adverse events/quality issues and undertaking hundreds of quality improvement provincewide projects as a result. The inductive analysis revealed 11 recurrent themes, classified into 3 groupings: patient characteristics (ie, patient risk profile and elder care), ED team actions or processes (ie, physician cognitive lapses, documentation, handover/communication between providers, radiology, vital signs, and high-risk medications or medication interactions), and health care system issues (ie, discharge planning/community follow-up, left against medical advice/left without being seen, and imaging/testing availability). The Return Visit Quality Program is the largest mandatory audit program for EDs and provides a novel approach to identify local adverse events/quality issues to target for improved patient safety and quality of care. It provides a blueprint for health system leaders to enable clinicians to develop an approach to organizational quality, as well as for teams to construct an audit system that yields defined issues amenable to improvement.