Pilot Evaluation of the Family Bridge Program: A Communication- and Culture-Focused Inpatient Patient Navigation Program.

OBJECTIVE: Children with low income and minority race and ethnicity have worse hospital outcomes due partly to systemic and interpersonal racism causing communication and system barriers. We tested the feasibility and acceptability of a novel inpatient communication-focused navigation program. METHODS: Multilingual design workshops with parents, providers, and staff created the Family Bridge Program. Delivered by a trained navigator, it included 1) hospital orientation; 2) social needs screening and response; 3) communication preference assessment; 4) communication coaching; 5) emotional support; and 6) a post-discharge phone call. We enrolled families of hospitalized children with public or no insurance, minority race or ethnicity, and preferred language of English, Spanish, or Somali in a single-arm trial. We surveyed parents at enrollment and 2 to 4 weeks post-discharge, and providers 2 to 3 days post-discharge. Survey measures were analyzed with paired t tests. RESULTS: Of 60 families enrolled, 57 (95%) completed the follow-up survey. Most parents were born outside the United States (60%) with a high school degree or less (60%). Also, 63% preferred English, 33% Spanish, and 3% Somali. The program was feasible: families received an average of 5.3 of 6 components; all received >2. Most caregivers (92%) and providers (81% [30/37]) were "very satisfied." Parent-reported system navigation improved from enrollment to follow-up (+8.2 [95% confidence interval 2.9, 13.6], P = .003; scale 0-100). Spanish-speaking parents reported decreased skills-related barriers (-18.4 [95% confidence interval -1.8, -34.9], P = .03; scale 0-100). CONCLUSIONS: The Family Bridge Program was feasible, acceptable, and may have potential for overcoming barriers for hospitalized children at risk for disparities.

Characteristics of Adolescents Who Use Secure Messaging on a Health System's Patient Portal.

OBJECTIVES: To determine adolescent characteristics associated with patient portal secure messaging use within a health system. METHODS: This study analyzed monthly data from individuals aged 13 to 17 who met study eligibility criteria from 2019 to 2021. The primary outcome was any secure messages sent from an adolescent's account during each observed month. Unadjusted and adjusted associations between adolescent characteristics and secure messaging use were assessed using generalized estimating equations with log link and binomial variance. RESULTS: Of 667 678 observed months, 50.8% occurred among males who were not transgender, 51.5% among those identifying as non-Hispanic white, and 83.3% among the privately insured. The adjusted relative risks of secure messaging use were significantly higher for individuals with female sex and transgender identities (female sex, not transgender: adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.41, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31-1.52; male sex, transgender: aRR 2.39, CI 1.98-2.90, female sex, transgender: aRR 3.01, 95% CI 2.63-3.46; referent male sex, not transgender), those with prior portal use (aRR 22.06, 95% CI 20.48-23.77; referent no use) and those with a recent preventive care visit (aRR 1.09, 95% CI 1.02-1.16; referent no recent visits). The adjusted relative risks of portal secure messaging use were significantly lower among those with public insurance (aRR 0.58, 95% CI 0.50-0.67; referent private). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents who sent patient portal secure messages differed from those who did not. Interventions to encourage secure messaging use may require tailoring based on patient characteristics.

Quality of Care for Youth Hospitalized for Suicidal Ideation and Self-Harm.

OBJECTIVE: To examine performance on quality measures for pediatric inpatient suicidal ideation/self-harm care, and whether performance is associated with reutilization. METHODS: Retrospective observational 8 hospital study of patients [N = 1090] aged 5 to 17 years hospitalized for suicidal ideation/self-harm between 9/1/14 and 8/31/16. Two medical records-based quality measures assessing suicidal ideation/self-harm care were evaluated, one on counseling caregivers regarding restricting access to lethal means and the other on communication between inpatient and outpatient providers regarding the follow-up plan. Multivariable logistic regression assessed associations between quality measure scores and 1) hospital site, 2) patient demographics, and 3) 30-day emergency department return visits and inpatient readmissions. RESULTS: Medical record documentation revealed that, depending on hospital site, 17% to 98% of caregivers received lethal means restriction counseling (mean 70%); inpatient-to-outpatient provider communication was documented in 0% to 51% of cases (mean 16%). The odds of documenting receipt of lethal means restriction counseling was higher for caregivers of female patients compared to caregivers of male patients (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-2.14). The odds of documenting inpatient-to-outpatient provider follow-up plan communication was lower for Black patients compared to White patients (aOR 0.45, 95% CI, 0.24-0.84). All-cause 30-day readmission was lower for patients with documented caregiver receipt of lethal means restriction counseling (aOR 0.48, 95% CI, 0.28-0.83). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed disparities and deficits in the quality of care received by youth with suicidal ideation/self-harm. Providing caregivers lethal means restriction counseling prior to discharge may help to prevent readmission.

Reducing Antibiotic Prescribing in Primary Care for Respiratory Illness.

BACKGROUND: One-third of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions for pediatric acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) are inappropriate. We evaluated a distance learning program's effectiveness for reducing outpatient antibiotic prescribing for ARTI visits. METHODS: In this stepped-wedge clinical trial run from November 2015 to June 2018, we randomly assigned 19 pediatric practices belonging to the Pediatric Research in Office Settings Network or the NorthShore University HealthSystem to 4 wedges. Visits for acute otitis media, bronchitis, pharyngitis, sinusitis, and upper respiratory infection for children 6 months to <11 years old without recent antibiotic use were included. Clinicians received the intervention as 3 program modules containing online tutorials and webinars on evidence-based communication strategies and antibioti c prescribing, booster video vignettes, and individualized antibiotic prescribing feedback reports over 11 months. The primary outcome was overall antibiotic prescribing rates for all ARTI visits. Mixed-effects logistic regression compared prescribing rates during each program module and a postintervention period to a baseline control period. Odds ratios were converted to adjusted rate ratios (aRRs) for interpretability. RESULTS: Among 72 723 ARTI visits by 29 762 patients, intention-to-treat analyses revealed a 7% decrease in the probability of antibiotic prescribing for ARTI overall between the baseline and postintervention periods (aRR 0.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90-0.96). Second-line antibiotic prescribing decreased for streptococcal pharyngitis (aRR 0.66; 95% CI, 0.50-0.87) and sinusitis (aRR 0.59; 95% CI, 0.44-0.77) but not for acute otitis media (aRR 0.93; 95% CI, 0.83-1.03). Any antibiotic prescribing decreased for viral ARTIs (aRR 0.60; 95% CI, 0.51-0.70). CONCLUSIONS: This program reduced antibiotic prescribing during outpatient ARTI visits; broader dissemination may be beneficial.

Social Disadvantage, Access to Care, and Disparities in Physical Functioning Among Children Hospitalized with Respiratory Illness.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Understanding disparities in child health-related quality of life (HRQoL) may reveal opportunities for targeted improvement. This study examined associations between social disadvantage, access to care, and child physical functioning before and after hospitalization for acute respiratory illness. METHODS: From July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2016, children ages 8-16 years and/or caregivers of children 2 weeks to 16 years admitted to five tertiary care children's hospitals for three common respiratory illnesses completed a survey on admission and within 2 to 8 weeks after discharge. Survey items assessed social disadvantage (minority race/ ethnicity, limited English proficiency, low education, and low income), difficulty/delays accessing care, and baseline and follow-up HRQoL physical functioning using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL, range 0-100). We examined associations between these three variables at baseline and follow-up using multivariable, mixed-effects linear regression models with multiple imputation sensitivity analyses for missing data. RESULTS: A total of 1,325 patients and/or their caregivers completed both PedsQL assessments. Adjusted mean baseline PedsQL scores were significantly lower for patients with social disadvantage markers, compared with those of patients with none (78.7 for >3 markers versus 85.5 for no markers, difference -6.1 points (95% CI: -8.7, -3.5). The number of social disadvantage markers was not associated with mean follow-up PedsQL scores. Difficulty/delays accessing care were associated with lower PedsQL scores at both time points, but it was not a significant effect modifier between social disadvantage and PedsQL scores. CONCLUSIONS: Having social disadvantage markers or difficulty/delays accessing care was associated with lower baseline physical functioning; however, differences were reduced after hospital discharge.

Vaccination Status and Adherence to Quality Measures for Acute Respiratory Tract Illnesses.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between vaccination status and clinician adherence to quality measures for children with acute respiratory tract illnesses. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter prospective cohort study of children aged 0 to 16 years who presented with 1 of 4 acute respiratory tract illness diagnoses (community-acquired pneumonia, croup, asthma, and bronchiolitis) between July 2014 and June 2016. The predictor variable was provider-documented up-to-date (UTD) vaccination status. Our primary outcome was clinician adherence to quality measures by using the validated Pediatric Respiratory Illness Measurement System (PRIMES). Across all conditions, we examined overall PRIMES composite scores and overuse (including indicators for care that should not be provided, eg, C-reactive protein testing in community-acquired pneumonia) and underuse (including indicators for care that should be provided, eg, dexamethasone in croup) composite subscores. We examined differences in length of stay, costs, and readmissions by vaccination status using adjusted linear and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Of the 2302 participants included in the analysis, 92% were documented as UTD. The adjusted mean difference in overall PRIMES scores by UTD status was not significant (adjusted mean difference -0.3; 95% confidence interval: -1.9 to 1.3), whereas the adjusted mean difference was significant for both overuse (-4.6; 95% confidence interval: -7.5 to -1.6) and underuse (2.8; 95% confidence interval: 0.9 to 4.8) composite subscores. There were no significant adjusted differences in mean length of stay, cost, and readmissions by vaccination status. CONCLUSIONS: We identified lower adherence to overuse quality indicators and higher adherence to underuse quality indicators for children not UTD, which suggests that clinicians "do more" for hospitalized children who are not UTD.

Identifying Modifiable Health Care Barriers to Improve Health Equity for Hospitalized Children.

BACKGROUND: Children from socially disadvantaged families experience worse hospital outcomes compared with other children. We sought to identify modifiable barriers to care to target for intervention. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of hospitalized children over 15 months. Caregivers completed a survey within 3 days of admission and 2 to 8 weeks after discharge to assess 10 reported barriers to care related to their interactions within the health care system (eg, not feeling like they have sufficient skills to navigate the system and experiencing marginalization). Associations between barriers and outcomes (30-day readmissions and length of stay) were assessed by using multivariable regression. Barriers associated with worse outcomes were then tested for associations with a cumulative social disadvantage score based on 5 family sociodemographic characteristics (eg, low income). RESULTS: Of eligible families, 61% (n = 3651) completed the admission survey; of those, 48% (n = 1734) completed follow-up. Nine of 10 barriers were associated with at least 1 worse hospital outcome. Of those, 4 were also positively associated with cumulative social disadvantage: perceiving the system as a barrier (adjusted ß = 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02 to 2.30), skill barriers (ß = 3.82; 95% CI 3.22 to 4.43), cultural distance (ß = 1.75; 95% CI 1.36 to 2.15), and marginalization (ß = .71; 95% CI 0.30 to 1.11). Low income had the most consistently strong association with reported barriers. CONCLUSIONS: System barriers, skill barriers, cultural distance, and marginalization were significantly associated with both worse hospital outcomes and social disadvantage, suggesting these are promising targets for intervention to decrease disparities for hospitalized children.

Satisfaction With Care Coordination for Families of Children With Disabilities.

INTRODUCTION: Children with disabilities have significant health care needs, and receipt of care coordinator services may reduce caregiver burdens. The present study assessed caregivers' experience and satisfaction with care coordination. METHOD: Caregivers of Medicaid-enrolled children with disabilities (n = 2,061) completed a survey (online or by telephone) collecting information on the caregivers' experiences and satisfaction with care coordination using the Family Experiences with Coordination of Care questionnaire. RESULTS: Eighty percent of caregivers with a care coordinator reported receiving help making specialist appointments, and 71% reported help obtaining community services. Caregivers who reported that the care coordinator helped with specialist appointments or was knowledgeable, supportive, and advocating for children had increased odds of satisfaction (odds ratio = 3.46, 95% confidence interval = [1.01, 11.77] and odds ratio = 1.07, 95% confidence interval = [1.03, 1.11], respectively). DISCUSSION: Findings show opportunities for improving care coordination in Medicaid-enrolled children with disabilities and that some specific elements of care coordination may enhance caregiver satisfaction with care.

Hospital-Based Quality Measures for Pediatric Mental Health Care.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Patients with a primary mental health condition account for nearly 10% of pediatric hospitalizations nationally, but little is known about the quality of care provided for them in hospital settings. Our objective was to develop and test medical record-based measures used to assess quality of pediatric mental health care in the emergency department (ED) and inpatient settings. METHODS: We drafted an evidence-based set of pediatric mental health care quality measures for the ED and inpatient settings. We used the modified Delphi method to prioritize measures; 2 ED and 6 inpatient measures were operationalized and field-tested in 2 community and 3 children's hospitals. Eligible patients were 5 to 19 years old and diagnosed with psychosis, suicidality, or substance use from January 2012 to December 2013. We used bivariate and multivariate models to examine measure performance by patient characteristics and by hospital. RESULTS: Eight hundred and seventeen records were abstracted with primary diagnoses of suicidality (n = 446), psychosis (n = 321), and substance use (n = 50). Performance varied across measures. Among patients with suicidality, male patients (adjusted odds ratio: 0.27, P < .001) and African American patients (adjusted odds ratio: 0.31, P = .02) were less likely to have documentation of caregiver counseling on lethal means restriction. Among admitted suicidal patients, 27% had documentation of communication with an outside provider, with variation across hospitals (0%-38%; P < .001). There was low overall performance on screening for comorbid substance abuse in ED patients with psychosis (mean: 30.3). CONCLUSIONS: These new pediatric mental health care quality measures were used to identify sex and race disparities and substantial hospital variation. These measures may be useful for assessing and improving hospital-based pediatric mental health care quality.

Development of a Caregiver-Reported Experience Measure for Pediatric Hospital-to-Home Transitions.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and test a caregiver-reported experience measure for pediatric hospital-to-home transitions. DATA SOURCES/STUDY SETTING: Primary data were collected between 07/2014 and 05/2015 from caregivers within 2-8 weeks of their child's discharge from a tertiary care children's hospital. STUDY DESIGN/DATA COLLECTION: We used a step-wise approach to developing the measure that included drafting de novo survey items based on caregiver interviews (n = 18), pretesting items using cognitive interviews (n = 18), and pilot testing revised items among an independent sample of caregivers (n = 500). Item reduction statistics and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed on a test sample of the pilot data to refine the measure, followed by CFA on the validation sample to test the final measure model fit. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Of 46 initial survey items, 19 were removed after pretesting and 19 were removed after conducting item statistics and CFA. This resulted in an eight-item measure with two domains: transition preparation (four items) and transition support (four items). Survey items assess the quality of discharge instructions, access to needed support and resources, care coordination, and follow-up care. Practical fit indices demonstrated an acceptable model fit: χ2  = 28.3 (df = 19); root-mean-square error of approximation = 0.04; comparative fit index = 0.99; and Tucker-Lewis index = 0.98. CONCLUSIONS: An eight-item caregiver-reported experience measure to evaluate hospital-to-home transition outcomes in pediatric populations demonstrated acceptable content validity and psychometric properties.

The Impact of an Adolescent Depressive Disorders Clinical Pathway on Healthcare Utilization.

Clinical pathways are known to improve the value of health care in medical and surgical settings but have been rarely studied in the psychiatric setting. This study examined the association between level of adherence to an adolescent depressive disorders inpatient clinical pathway and length of stay (LOS), cost, and readmissions. Patients in the high adherence category had significantly longer LOS and higher costs compared to the low adherence category. There was no difference in the odds of 30-day emergency department return visits or readmissions. Understanding which care processes within the pathway are most cost-effective for improving patient-centered outcomes requires further investigation.

Using State Administrative Data to Identify Social Complexity Risk Factors for Children.

PURPOSE: Screening for social determinants of health is challenging but critically important for optimizing child health outcomes. We aimed to test the feasibility of using an integrated state agency administrative database to identify social complexity risk factors and examined their relationship to emergency department (ED) use. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among children younger than 18 years with Washington State Medicaid insurance coverage (N = 505,367). We linked child and parent administrative data for this cohort to identify a set of social complexity risk factors, such as poverty and parent mental illness, that have either a known or hypothesized association with suboptimal health care use. Using multivariate analyses, we examined associations of each risk factor and of number of risk factors with the rate of ED use. RESULTS: Nine of 11 identifiable social complexity risk factors were associated with a higher rate of ED use. Additionally, the rate increased as the number of risk factors increased from 0 to 5 or more, reaching approximately twice the rate when 5 or more risk factors were present in children aged younger than 5 years (incidence rate ratio = 1.92; 95% CI, 1.85-2.00) and in children aged 5 to 17 years (incidence rate ratio = 2.06; 95% CI, 1.99-2.14). CONCLUSIONS: State administrative data can be used to identify social complexity risk factors associated with higher rates of ED use among Medicaid-insured children. State agencies could give primary care medical homes a social risk flag or score to facilitate targeted screening and identification of needed resources, potentially preventing future unnecessary ED use in this vulnerable population of children.

Kawasaki Disease Substantially Impacts Health-Related Quality of Life.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively evaluate the acute impact of Kawasaki disease (KD) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and to assess deterioration in the HRQoL experienced by children with KD compared with other childhood diseases. STUDY DESIGN: We merged the Outcomes Assessment Program database obtained prospectively with the existing KD database and queried for KD admissions between 1 month and 13 years of age. HRQoL was evaluated with the parent-proxy Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) 4.0 Generic Core and Infant Scales. We compared the KD HRQoL results with those obtained from newly diagnosed patients with cancer and pneumonia, matched for age, sex and race. PedsQL total scores over time were assessed with ANCOVA models, adjusted for matching variables and PedsQL score prior to admission. RESULTS: We identified 89 patients with KD and compared 65 subjects with an equal number with pneumonia and with 67 subjects with newly diagnosed cancer. Patients with demonstrated lower PedsQL total score on admission and suffered a significantly greater HRQoL decline from baseline to admission than the other groups. KD diagnostic subtype (complete or incomplete) and coronary artery dilatation were not associated with HRQoL outcomes. However, non-intravenous immunoglobulin responders showed greater HRQoL decline than responders (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Children with KD suffer acute and significant HRQoL impairment exceeding that of children newly diagnosed with cancer. Lack of immediate treatment response may exert an additional HRQoL burden, whereas KD subtype and coronary artery dilatation do not.

Development and Validation of the Pediatric Medical Complexity Algorithm (PMCA) Version 2.0.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Pediatric Medical Complexity Algorithm (PMCA) was developed to stratify children by level of medical complexity. We sought to refine PMCA and evaluate its performance based on the duration of eligibility and completeness of Medicaid data. METHODS: PMCA version 1.0 was applied to a cohort of 299 children insured by Washington State Medicaid with ≥1 Seattle Children's Hospital outpatient, emergency department, and/or inpatient encounter in 2012. Blinded assessment of the validation cohort's PMCA category was performed by using medical records. In-depth review of discrepant cases was performed and informed the development of PMCA version 2.0. The sensitivity and specificity of PMCA version 2.0 were assessed. RESULTS: Using Medicaid data, the sensitivity of PMCA version 2.0 was 74% for complex chronic disease (C-CD), 60% for noncomplex chronic disease (NC-CD), and 87% for those without chronic disease (CD). Specificity was 84% to 91% in Medicaid data for all 3 groups. Medicaid data were most complete for children that had primarily fee-for-service claims and were less complete for those with some managed care encounter data. PMCA version 2.0 performed optimally when children had a longer duration of coverage (25 to 36 months) with fee-for-service reimbursement, identifying children with C-CD with 85% sensitivity and 75% specificity, children with NC-CD with 55% sensitivity and 88% specificity, and children without CD with 100% sensitivity and 97% specificity. CONCLUSIONS: PMCA version 2.0 identifies children with C-CD with good sensitivity and very good specificity when applied to Medicaid data. Data quality is a critical consideration when using PMCA.

Association of Bronchiolitis Clinical Pathway Adherence With Length of Stay and Costs.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the associations between the level of adherence to bronchiolitis clinical pathway recommendations, health care use, and costs. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 267 patients ≤24 months old diagnosed with bronchiolitis from 12/2009 to 7/2012. Clinical pathway adherence was assessed by using a standardized scoring system (0-100) for 18 quality measures obtained by medical record review. Level of adherence was categorized into low, middle, and high tertiles. Generalized linear models were used to examine relationships between adherence tertile and (1) length of stay (LOS) and (2) costs. Logistic regression was used to examine the associations between adherence tertile and probability of inpatient admission and 7-day readmissions. RESULTS: Mean adherence scores were: ED, 78.8 (SD, 18.1; n = 264), inpatient, 95.0 (SD, 6.3; n = 216), and combined ED/inpatient, 89.1 (SD, 8.1; n = 213). LOS was significantly shorter for cases in the highest versus the lowest adherence tertile (ED, 90 vs 140 minutes, adjusted difference, -51 [95% confidence interval (CI), -73 to -29; P <.05]; inpatient, 3.1 vs 3.8 days, adjusted difference, -0.7 [95% CI, -1.4 to 0.0; P <.05]). Costs were less for cases in the highest adherence tertile (ED, -$84, [95% CI, -$7 to -$161; P <.05], total, -$1296 [95% CI, -126.43 to -2466.03; P <.05]). ED cases in the highest tertile had a lower odds of admission (odds ratio, 0.38 [95% CI, 0.15-0.97; P < .05]). Readmissions did not differ by tertile. CONCLUSIONS: High adherence to bronchiolitis clinical pathway recommendations across care settings was associated with shorter LOS and lower cost.

Costs of Care for Hospitalized Children Associated With Preferred Language and Insurance Type.

OBJECTIVE: The study goal was to determine whether preferred language for care and insurance type are associated with cost among hospitalized children. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted of inpatients at a freestanding children's hospital from January 2011 to December 2012. Patient information and hospital costs were obtained from administrative data. Cost differences according to language and insurance were calculated using multivariate generalized linear model estimates, allowing for language/insurance interaction effects. Models were also stratified according to medical complexity and length of stay (LOS) ≥3 days. RESULTS: Of 19 249 admissions, 8% of caregivers preferred Spanish and 6% preferred another language; 47% of admissions were covered by public insurance. Models controlled for LOS, medical complexity, home-to-hospital distance, age, asthma diagnosis, and race/ethnicity. Total hospital costs were significantly higher for publicly insured Spanish speakers ($20 211 [95% confidence interval (CI), 7781 to 32 641]) and lower for privately insured Spanish speakers (-$16 730 [95% CI, -28 265 to -5195]) and publicly insured English speakers (-$4841 [95% CI, -6781 to -2902]) compared with privately insured English speakers. Differences were most pronounced among children with medical complexity and LOS ≥3 days. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital costs varied significantly according to preferred language and insurance type, even adjusting for LOS and medical complexity. These differences in the amount of billable care provided to medically similar patients may represent either underprovision or overprovision of care on the basis of sociodemographic factors and communication, suggesting problems with care efficiency and equity. Further investigation may inform development of effective interventions.

A Comprehensive Approach to Pediatric Pneumonia: Relationship Between Standardization, Antimicrobial Stewardship, Clinical Testing, and Cost.

OBJECTIVE: In September 2012, our institution implemented an emergency department (ED) and inpatient pathway for community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) based on national guideline recommendations. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between standardizing ED and inpatient care for CAP and antimicrobial stewardship, clinical testing, and cost. METHODS: We used descriptive statistics, statistical process control, and interrupted time series analysis to analyze measures 12 months before and after implementation. RESULTS: Six hundred thirty-two patients were included. We found an immediate sustained increase in narrow-spectrum antibiotic (ampicillin) use from a baseline of 8-54%. There was a shift toward more guideline-recommended diagnostic testing with an increase in blood cultures and respiratory viral testing among admitted patients (35-63% and 52-84%, respectively). We identified no significant change in ED chest radiography use, mean ED length of stay (LOS), percentage of CAP admissions, or mean inpatient LOS. Costs of care for admitted patients and for patients discharged from the ED were unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Standardizing care for ED and inpatient management of CAP led to immediate and sustained improvements in antimicrobial stewardship and guideline-recommended testing without significantly affecting costs.

Modification of an Established Pediatric Asthma Pathway Improves Evidence-Based, Efficient Care.

OBJECTIVE: In September 2011, an established pediatric asthma pathway at a tertiary care children's hospital underwent significant revision. Modifications included simplification of the visual layout, addition of evidence-based recommendations regarding medication use, and implementation of standardized admission criteria. The objective of this study was to determine the impact of the modified asthma pathway on pathway adherence, percentage of patients receiving evidence-based care, length of stay, and cost. METHODS: Cases were identified by using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes. Data were analyzed for 24 months before and after pathway modification. Statistical process control was used to examine changes in processes of care, and interrupted time series was used to examine outcome measures, including length of stay and cost in the premodification and postmodification periods. RESULTS: A total of 5584 patients were included (2928 premodification; 2656 postmodification). Pathway adherence was high (79%-88%) throughout the study period. The percentage of patients receiving evidence-based care improved after pathway modification, and the results were sustained for 2 years. There was also improved efficiency, with a 30-minute (10%) decrease in emergency department length of stay for patients admitted with asthma (P = .006). There was a nominal (<10%) increase in costs of asthma care for patients in the emergency department (P = .04) and no change for those admitted to the hospital. CONCLUSIONS: Modification of an existing pediatric asthma pathway led to sustained improvement in provision of evidence-based care and patient flow without adversely affecting costs. Our results suggest that continuous re-evaluation of established clinical pathways can lead to changes in provider practices and improvements in patient care.

Development and Validation of a Method to Identify Children With Social Complexity Risk Factors.

OBJECTIVES: We sought to develop and validate a method to identify social complexity risk factors (eg, limited English proficiency) using Minnesota state administrative data. A secondary objective was to examine the relationship between social complexity and caregiver-reported need for care coordination. METHODS: A total of 460 caregivers of children with noncomplex chronic conditions enrolled in a Minnesota public health care program were surveyed and administrative data on these caregivers and children were obtained. We validated the administrative measures by examining their concordance with caregiver-reported indicators of social complexity risk factors using tetrachoric correlations. Logistic regression analyses subsequently assessed the association between social complexity risk factors identified using Minnesota's state administrative data and caregiver-reported need for care coordination, adjusting for child demographics. RESULTS: Concordance between administrative and caregiver-reported data was moderate to high (correlation range 0.31-0.94, all P values <.01), with only current homelessness (r = -0.01, P = .95) failing to align significantly between the data sources. The presence of any social complexity risk factor was significantly associated with need for care coordination before (unadjusted odds ratio = 1.65; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-2.53) but not after adjusting for child demographic factors (adjusted odds ratio = 1.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.98-2.37). CONCLUSIONS: Social complexity risk factors may be accurately obtained from state administrative data. The presence of these risk factors may heighten a family's need for care coordination and/or other services for children with chronic illness, even those not considered medically complex.

Construct Validity and Responsiveness of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales and Infant Scales in the PICU.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the construct validity and the responsiveness of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 Generic Core Scales and Infant Scales in the medical-surgical (PICU) and cardiac PICU. DESIGN/SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Prospective cohort study of 367 inpatients admitted either to the PICU or the cardiac ICU at Seattle Children's Hospital from January 2012 to June 2013. Parent/caregiver and child (≥ 8 yr old, developmentally appropriate, and critical illness resolved) Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory scores were obtained within 24 hours of PICU/cardiac ICU discharge and subsequently at 4-12 weeks following hospital discharge. Of the 491 eligible participants invited to participate, 367 (74.7% response rate) completed the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory survey at ICU discharge, and of these, 263 (71.7% follow-up response rate) completed the follow-up survey 4-12 weeks after hospital discharge. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Responsiveness was assessed by calculating improvement scores (difference between follow-up and ICU discharge scores, Δ Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory). Construct validity was examined by comparing mean improvement scores for known groups differing by medical complexity. At follow-up, [INCREMENT] Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory scores were as follows (mean ± SD): physical domain, 34.8 ± 32.0; and psychosocial domain, 23.1 ± 23.5. Patients with complex chronic or noncomplex chronic disease had physical functioning improvement scores that were 17.4 points (95% CI, -28.3 to -6.5; p < 0.001) and 19.5 points (95% CI, -30.4 to -8.5; p < 0.002) lower than children with no chronic illness, respectively. Patients with complex chronic disease exhibited psychosocial improvement scores that were 9.6 points (95% CI, -18.4 to -0.8; p < 0.033) lower than patients without chronic disease. Patients with noncomplex chronic disease had similar psychosocial improvement scores when compared with patients without chronic disease. CONCLUSIONS: As a measure of health-related quality of live, Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory demonstrated responsiveness and construct validity in a broad population of critically ill children. This measure represents a patient-centered clinically meaningful patient-or-parent-reported outcome measure for pediatric research assessing the clinical effectiveness of PICU/cardiac ICU interventions. When using health-related quality of life recovery as an outcome measure to assess clinical effectiveness in the PICU/cardiac ICU setting, measuring and controlling for the level of medical complexity is important in order to understand the true impact of clinical interventions.