Proactive care of older people undergoing surgery ('POPS'): designing, embedding, evaluating and funding a comprehensive geriatric assessment service for older elective surgical patients.

BACKGROUND: older people undergoing elective surgery have significant post-operative problems prolonging hospitalisation. OBJECTIVE: to design, embed, and evaluate an evidence-based comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) service for at-risk older patients undergoing elective surgery. SETTING: urban teaching hospital. SUBJECTS: elective surgical patients aged 65+. INTERVENTION: multidisciplinary preoperative CGA service with post-operative follow-through (proactive care of older people undergoing surgery ['POPS']). METHODS: observational cohort study and multilevel surveys (development and modelling phase). Prospective 'before and after' comparison (exploratory evaluation). RESULTS: findings from the development phase showed high levels of preoperative co-morbidity, no multidisciplinary preoperative input, and multiple potentially preventable post-operative problems delaying discharge in older elective surgery patients. Comparison of 2 cohorts of elective orthopaedic patients (pre-POPS vs POPS, N = 54) showed the POPS group had fewer post-operative medical complications including pneumonia (20% vs 4% [p = 0.008]) and delirium (19% vs 6% [p = 0.036]), and significant improvements in areas reflecting multidisciplinary practice including pressure sores (19% vs 4% [p = 0.028]), poor pain control (30% vs 2% [p<0.001]), delayed mobilisation (28% vs 9% [p = 0.012]) and inappropriate catheter use (20% vs 7% [p = 0.046]). Length of stay was reduced by 4.5 days. There were fewer delayed discharges relating to medical complications (37% vs 13%) or waits for OT assessment or equipment (20% vs 4%). CONCLUSION: a proactive evidence-based CGA service for at-risk older elective surgical patients was developed according to MRC framework for complex interventions. Pre/post comparison in elective orthopaedic patients showed improved (within methodological limitations) post-operative outcomes indicative of better clinical effectiveness and efficiency, and contributed to the service obtaining mainstream funding. Informed by the present study, a randomised controlled trial is ongoing.

Benefits planning for advanced clinical information systems implementation at Allina hospitals and clinics.

Allina Hospitals and Clinics is implementing an enterprise-wide information system with inpatient and ambulatory clinical documentation and orders, clinical decision support, and revenue cycle applications. Allina has adopted a rigorous approach to planning for and realizing the expected clinical and financial benefits from this investment. Allina's strategies include: Forming a benefits realization team with formal responsibility for analysis, education, facilitation, and measurement; Studying system design to consider requirements for benefits realization; Integrating cultural, organizational and process change plans with system implementation plans; Measuring benefits using a measurement framework that matches organizational reporting, enables multi-level sequential analysis and adjusts for bias in quantifying benefits; Assigning accountability for achieving benefits by matching every benefit with an individual and an operational group; system executives, hospital executives, and department managers are held accountable for benefits within their scope of responsibility, and expected financial benefits are part of their yearly budgets. This article describes Allina's approach for benefits planning, contrasting it with the typical provider's approach to benefits realization. It argues that this approach may greatly increase the likelihood of realizing the value of investments in integrated clinical and business IT

Treatment of constipation and fecal incontinence in stroke patients: randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Despite its high prevalence in stroke survivors, there is little clinical research on bowel dysfunction in this population. This is the first randomized controlled trial to evaluate treatment of constipation and fecal incontinence in stroke survivors. METHODS: Stroke patients with constipation or fecal incontinence were identified by screening questionnaire (122 community, 24 stroke rehabilitation inpatients) and randomized to intervention or routine care (73 per group). The intervention consisted of a 1-off structured nurse assessment (history and rectal examination), leading to targeted patient/carer education with booklet and provision of diagnostic summary and treatment recommendations (after consultation with geriatrician) to patient's general practitioner (GP)+/-ward physician. RESULTS: Percentage of bowel movements (BMs) per week graded as "normal" by participants in a prospective 1-week stool diary was significantly higher in intervention versus control patients at 6 months (72% versus 55%; P=0.027), as was mean number of BMs per week (5.2 versus 3.6; P=0.005). There was no significant reduction in fecal incontinence, although numbers were small. At 12 months, intervention patients were more likely to be modifying their diets (odds ratio [OR], 3.1 [1.2 to 8.0]) and fluid intake (OR, 4.2 [1.4 to 12.2]) to control their bowels and to have visited their GP for their bowel problem (OR, 5.0 [1.4 to 17.5]). GP prescribing of laxatives and suppositories was significantly influenced at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: A single clinical/educational nurse intervention in stroke patients effectively improved symptoms of bowel dysfunction up to 6 months later, changed bowel-modifying lifestyle behaviors up to 12 months later, and influenced patient-GP interaction and physician prescribing patterns.