Impact of a Quality Improvement Initiative to Optimize the Discharge Process of Pediatric Gastroenterology Patients at an Academic Children's Hospital.

Discharge is an important and complex process that can be optimized to reduce inpatient healthcare inefficiency and waste. This study aimed to increase the percentage of patients discharged before 1 pm by 20% from an academic inpatient pediatric gastroenterology service (IPGS), over 6 months. METHODS: We conducted a preintervention and postintervention study of patients discharged from IPGS. Patients discharged from January to June 2016, and those following our intervention from June to December 2016, were studied. Interventions included (1) implementation of the electronic medical record medical and logistical discharge criteria checklists for the 4 most common IPGS discharge diagnoses, (2) standardization of the rounds process to prioritize discharge, (3) education of nursing staff and families about the role they played in discharge. Process, outcome, and balancing measures were analyzed. RESULTS: Three hundred fifty-five total discharges were studied. Between the preintervention and postintervention groups, there were no significant improvements in discharge order time, physical discharge time, discharge response time, or discharges before 1 pm. The balancing measure of 30-day readmission was unaffected. However, length of stay (LOS) index, calculated as the ratio of actual to expected LOS, improved; when translated into days, LOS declined by 1 day, with potential associated savings of $373,000. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to improve discharge timeliness on IPGS service demonstrated mixed effectiveness. Only LOS index improved. Further iterative quality improvement interventions are needed to continue optimizing discharge timeliness and change the culture of pediatric discharge on inpatient subspecialty services in academic children's hospitals.

Comparison of three methods to increase knowledge about breast cancer and breast cancer screening in screening mammography patients.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The specific aim of the study was to determine which of several cost-effective interventions is best able to improve the breast cancer knowledge of women who present for screening mammography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 198 English-speaking women, with no personal or family history of breast cancer, were recruited and randomized to four groups when they presented to the clinic for a screening mammogram. All women filled in a demographic data form and answered a questionnaire containing nine questions about breast cancer, risk, and screening to assess their knowledge and perception. Three educational interventions were tested in this study. The first consisted of a brochure, which provided answers to the questionnaire items and addressed the issues in more depth. The second intervention was an educational conversation with a specially trained mammography technologist. She reviewed the subject's answers to the questionnaire items correcting and/or clarifying them. The third intervention consisted of the brochure together with the conversation with a trained technologist. There was also a control group that just filled in the study questionnaire but did not receive an educational intervention. The same questionnaire was administered by telephone 4 to 6 weeks after the screening experience to all study subjects. Changes in their knowledge and perceptions of breast cancer were measured and compared. RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in knowledge was found in all of the three investigated groups compared to the control group. There were no statistically significant differences in the amount of increase between women who underwent different interventions. CONCLUSIONS: All three interventions resulted in increased knowledge about breast cancer and screening. No differences in the amount of knowledge increase were found between three interventions tested. The educational brochure seems to represent the most convenient and least costly method to increase knowledge about breast cancer and screening among women who present for screening mammography.

Standardized, Interdepartmental, Simulation-Based Central Line Insertion Course Closes an Educational Gap and Improves Intern Comfort with the Procedure.

Central line placement is a common procedure, routinely performed by junior residents in medical and surgical departments. Before this project, no standardized instructional course on the insertion of central lines existed at our institution, and few interns had received formal ultrasound training. Interns from five departments participated in a simulation-based central line insertion course. Intern familiarity with the procedure and with ultrasound, as well as their prior experience with line placement and their level of comfort, was assessed. Of the 99 interns in participating departments, 45 per cent had been trained as of October 2015. Forty-one per cent were female. The majority (59.5%) had no prior formal ultrasound training, and 46.0 per cent had never placed a line as primary operator. Scores increased significantly, from a precourse score mean of 13.7 to a postcourse score mean of 16.1, P < 0.001. All three of the self-reported measures of comfort with ultrasound also improved significantly. All interns reported the course was "very much" helpful, and 100 per cent reported they felt "somewhat" or "much" more comfortable with the procedure after attendance. To our knowledge, this is the first hospital-wide, standardized, simulation-based central line insertion course in the United States. Preliminary results indicate overwhelming satisfaction with the course, better ultrasound preparedness, and improved comfort with central line insertion.