Developing Program Performance Measures for Rural Emergency Medical Services.

BACKGROUND: The development of measures to monitor and evaluate the performance and quality of emergency medical services (EMS) systems has been a focus of attention for many years. The Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program), established by Congress in 1997, provides grants to states to implement initiatives to strengthen rural healthcare delivery systems, including better integration of EMS into those systems of care. OBJECTIVE: Building on national efforts to develop EMS performance measures, we sought to identify measures relevant to the rural communities and hospitals supported by the Flex Program. The measures are intended for use in monitoring rural EMS performance at the community level as well as for use by State Flex Programs and the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to demonstrate the impact of the Flex Program. METHODS: To evaluate the performance of EMS in rural communities, we conducted a literature search, reviewed research on performance measures conducted by key EMS organizations, and recruited a panel of EMS experts to identify and rate rurally-relevant EMS performance measures as well as emergent protocols for episodes of trauma, ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), and stroke. The rated measures were assessed for inclusion in the final measure set. RESULTS: The Expert Panel identified 17 program performance measures to support EMS services in rural communities. These measures monitor the capacity of local agencies to collect and report quality and financial data, use the data to improve agency performance, and train rural EMS employees in emergent protocols for all age groups. CONCLUSION: The system of care approach on which this rural EMS measures set is based can support the FORHP's goal of better focusing State Flex Program activity to improve program impact on the performance of rural EMS services in the areas of financial viability, quality improvement, and local/regional health system performance.

Little shop of errors: an innovative simulation patient safety workshop for community health care professionals.

Continuing education for health care workers is an important mechanism for maintaining patient safety and high-quality health care. Interdisciplinary continuing education that incorporates simulation can be an effective teaching strategy for improving patient safety. Health care professionals who attended a recent Patient Safety Academy had the opportunity to experience firsthand a simulated situation that included many potential patient safety errors. This high-fidelity activity combined the best practice components of a simulation and a collaborative experience that promoted interdisciplinary communication and learning. Participants were challenged to see, learn, and experience "ah-ha" moments of insight as a basis for error reduction and quality improvement. This innovative interdisciplinary educational training method can be offered in place of traditional lecture or online instruction in any facility, hospital, nursing home, or community care setting.

Implementation of Telehealth Services in Rural Schools: A Qualitative Assessment.

BACKGROUND: In rural areas with health professional workforce shortages, telehealth offers an opportunity to address service gaps and meet the health needs of students. Few studies have examined telehealth implementation in rural schools. This study explores facilitators and barriers to the implementation of telehealth programs in rural schools and identifies strategies for successful implementation to inform future school-based telehealth initiatives. METHODS: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with 50 key informants involved in the implementation of telehealth programs funded through the School-Based Telehealth Network Grant Program. Researchers completed a thematic analysis of interview transcripts. RESULTS: The most commonly cited barriers were technology, reimbursement for services, and facilitating acceptance of the telehealth among school staff, clinicians, parents, and students. Key informants identified strategies for facilitating program implementation, including technology training and support, marketing efforts, and integration into existing school processes. CONCLUSIONS: School-based telehealth can augment clinical capacity in areas with clinician shortages. Entities interested in such an approach to care must engage with their school community to ensure successful implementation. For rural, school-based telehealth to gain greater adoption and be sustained, these services must be reimbursable by Medicaid and private insurers.

Scoliosis Surgery in Cystic Fibrosis: Surgical Considerations and the Multidisciplinary Approach of a Rare Case.

Spinal deformity in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is usually mild requiring no treatment. These patients are rarely considered as surgical candidates for scoliosis correction, as the pulmonary condition and other comorbidities increase the risk of general anaesthesia and recovery. This paper reviews all the literature up to date with regard to scoliosis in patients with CF and reports this unique case of a 14-year-old Caucasian girl with progressive scoliosis, who was treated surgically at the age of 17. She underwent a posterior spinal fusion T2-L3 with the use of unilateral segmental instrumentation. Preoperative workup included respiratory, cardiac, anaesthetic, endocrine, and dietician reviews, as well as bone density optimisation with zoledronic acid and prophylactic antibiotics. Surgical time was 150 minutes and intraoperative blood loss was 47% of total blood volume. Postoperative intensive care included noninvasive ventilation, antibiotic cover, pain management, chest physiotherapy, pancreatic enzyme supplementation, and nutritional support. She was discharged on day 9. At follow-up she had a good cosmetic outcome, no complaints of her back, and stable respiratory function. Multidisciplinary perioperative care and meticulous surgical technique may reduce the associated risks of major surgery in CF patients, while achieving adequate deformity correction and a good functional outcome.

Safety of Rural Nursing Home-to-Emergency Department Transfers: Improving Communication and Patient Information Sharing Across Settings.

The "siloed" approach to healthcare delivery contributes to communication challenges and to potential patient harm when patients transfer between settings. This article reports on the evaluation of a demonstration in 10 rural communities to improve the safety of nursing facility (NF) transfers to hospital emergency departments by forming interprofessional teams of hospital, emergency medical service, and NF staff to develop and implement tools and protocols for standardizing critical interfacility communication pathways and information sharing. We worked with each of the 10 teams to document current communication processes and information sharing tools and to design, implement, and evaluate strategies/tools to increase effective communication and sharing of patient information across settings. A mixed methods approach was used to evaluate changes from baseline in documentation of patient information shared across settings during the transfer process. Study findings showed significant improvement in key areas across the three settings, including infection status and baseline mental functioning. Improvement strategies and performance varied across settings; however, accurate and consistent information sharing of advance directives and medication lists remains a challenge. Study results demonstrate that with neutral facilitation and technical support, collaborative interfacility teams can assess and effectively address communication and information sharing problems that threaten patient safety.

Pilot testing of the restorative care intervention for the cognitively impaired.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to test the feasibility and impact of a 2-tiered motivational intervention, the Restorative Care Intervention for the Cognitively Impaired (Res-Care-CI), on nursing home residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairment. DESIGN: Single-group repeated measures study. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were 46 nursing home residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairment at a single nursing home designed for individuals with dementia. MEASUREMENTS: Descriptive data, the Barthel Index, the Physical Activity Survey in Long-Term Care, actigraphy, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, and the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (short form). RESULTS: There was significant improvement in resident mood (F = 3.26, P = .02) and behavioral symptoms (F = 3.21, P = .04), but no significant change in physical function (F = 0.897, P = .43) or overall reported physical activity (F = 0.931, P = .43). There was a significant decrease in physical activity measured by actigraphy in 35 participants (F = 4.93, P = .005). CONCLUSIONS: Restorative care interventions were feasible to implement, and demonstrated improvements in mood and behavior, when used with nursing home residents with moderate to severe cognitive impairment.