Implementing home blood glucose and blood pressure telemonitoring in primary care practices for patients with diabetes: lessons learned.

BACKGROUND: Prior telemonitoring trials of blood pressure and blood glucose have shown improvements in blood pressure and glycemic targets. However, implementation of telemonitoring in primary care practices may not yield the same results as research trials with extra resources and rigid protocols. In this study we examined the process of implementing home telemonitoring of blood glucose and blood pressure for patients with diabetes in six primary care practices. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Grounded theory qualitative analysis was conducted in parallel with a randomized controlled effectiveness trial of home telemonitoring. Data included semistructured interviews with 6 nurse care coordinators and 12 physicians in six participating practices and field notes from exit interviews with 93 of 108 randomized patients. RESULTS: The three stakeholder groups (patients, nurse care coordinators, and physicians) exhibited some shared themes and some unique to the particular stakeholder group. Major themes were that practices should (1) understand the capabilities and limitations of the technology and the willingness of patient and physician stakeholders to use it, (2) understand the workflow, flow of information, and human factors needed to optimize use of the technology, (3) engage and prepare the physicians, and (4) involve the patient in the process. Although there was enthusiasm for a patient-centered medical home model that included between-visit telemonitoring, there was concern about the support and resources needed to provide this service to patients. CONCLUSIONS: As with many technology interventions, careful consideration of workflow and information flow will help enable effective implementations.

Effect of home telemonitoring on glycemic and blood pressure control in primary care clinic patients with diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Patient self-management support may be augmented by using home-based technologies that generate data points that providers can potentially use to make more timely changes in the patients' care. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of short-term targeted use of remote data transmission on treatment outcomes in patients with diabetes who had either out-of-range hemoglobin A1c (A1c) and/or blood pressure (BP) measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-center randomized controlled clinical trial design compared in-home monitoring (n=55) and usual care (n=53) in patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension being treated in primary care clinics. Primary outcomes were A1c and systolic BP after a 12-week intervention. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups on either A1c or systolic BP following the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of technology alone is unlikely to lead to improvements in outcomes. Practices need to be selective in their use of telemonitoring with patients, limiting it to patients who have motivation or a significant change in care, such as starting insulin. Attention to the need for effective and responsive clinic processes to optimize the use of the additional data is also important when implementing these types of technology.

Making the transition to nursing bedside shift reports.

BACKGROUND: For hospitalized patients, shift handoffs between the offgoing and oncoming nurses, as represented in nurse shift reports, must include all critical information about a patient's plan of care, and that information must be well communicated. Few studies have provided the longitudinal results of the transition to bedside shift reports, and most of the data concern relatively short follow-up periods. A 20-bed inpatient nursing unit in a Midwestern academic health center made the transition to conducting nursing shift reports at the patient's bedside. METHODS: Preparatory work for designing the bedside shift report process, which began in February 2009, included examining baseline patient satisfaction scores, reviewing the existing shift report processes, and identifying potential barriers and facilitators in moving to bedside shift reports. Unitwide implementation of the new bedside shift report process began in June 2009. In the redesigned process, off-going nurses were required to ask patients to write down any questions they would like to ask during the shift report. RESULTS: For the first six months following implementation of bedside shift reports, there were significant increases in six nurse-specific patient satisfaction scores (scores increased at least 8.7 points, and percentile rankings increased from the 20th to > the 90th percentile when compared with similar nursing units in peer institutions). Longer-term results reflected subsequent declines and substantial month-to-month variation. CONCLUSIONS: Although the transition to bedside shift reports met with some resistance, the transition was made smoother by extensive planning, training, and gradual implementation. On the basis of this pilot study, the decision was made to adopt bedside shift reports in all inpatient nursing units in each of the system's five hospitals.

A review of verbal order policies in acute care hospitals.

BACKGROUND: Although verbal and telephone orders (VOs) are commonly used in the patient care process, there has been little examination of the strategies and tactics used to ensure their appropriate use or how to ensure that they are accurately communicated, correctly understood, initially documented, and subsequently transcribed into the medical record and ultimately carried out as intended. A systematic review was conducted of hospital verbal and telephone order policies in acute care settings. METHODS: A stratified random sample of hospital verbal and telephone order policy documents were abstracted from critical access, rural, rural referral, and urban hospitals located in Iowa and Missouri and from academic medical centers from across the United States. FINDINGS: Substantial differences were found across 40 acute care settings in terms of who is authorized to give (including nonlicensed personnel) and take VOs and in terms of time allowed for the prescriber to cosign the VO. When a nonphysician or other licensed prescriber was allowed to communicate VOs, there was no discussion of the process to review the VO before it was communicated in turn to the hospital personnel receiving the order. Policies within several of the same hospitals were inconsistent in terms of the periods specified for prescriber cosignature. Few hospitals required authentication of the identity of the person making telephone VOs, nor the use of practices to improve communication reliability. CONCLUSION: Careful review and updating of hospital VO policies is necessary to ensure that they are internally consistent and optimize patient safety. The implementation of computerized medical records and ordering systems can reduce but not eliminate the need for VOs.

A framework for analyzing data from the electronic health record: verbal orders as a case in point.

BACKGROUND: Investment in health care information technology is resulting in a large amount of data electronically captured during patient care. These databases offer the opportunity to implement ongoing monitoring and analysis of processes with important patient care quality and safety implications to an extent that was previously not feasible with paper-based records. Thus, there is a growing need for analytic frameworks to efficiently support both ongoing monitoring and as-needed periodic detailed analyses to explore particular issues. One patient care process-the use of verbal orders-is used as a case in point to present a framework for analyzing data pulled from electronic health record (EHR) and computerized provider order entry systems. METHODS: Longitudinal and cross-sectional data on verbal orders (VOs) were analyzed at University of Missouri Health Care, Columbia, an academic medical center composed of five specialty hospitals and other care settings. RESULTS: A variety of verbal order analyses were conducted, addressing longitudinal-order patterns, provider-specific patterns, order content and urgency, associated computer-generated alerts, and compliance with institutional policy of a provider cosignature within 48 hours. For example, at the individual prescriber level, in July 2011 there were 14 physicians with 50 or more VOs, with the top 2 having 253 and 233 individual VOs, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Taking advantage of the automatic data-capture features associated with health information technologies now being incorporated into clinical work flows offers new opportunities to expand the ability to analyze care processes. Health care organizations can now study and statistically model, understand, and improve complex patient care processes.

Changing patient care orders from paper to computerized provider order entry-based process.

The purpose of this study was to describe the extent of change in patient care orders primarily for six diagnoses, procedures, or conditions in a not-for-profit Midwestern rural referral hospital. A descriptive method was used to analyze changes in the order sets over time for chest pain with acute myocardial infarction, degenerative osteoarthritis with hip joint replacement and degenerative osteoarthritis with knee joint replacement procedures, coronary artery bypass graft procedures, congestive heart failure, and pneumonia. Ten items about service-specific order sets were abstracted during pre- and post-EHR implementation and a year later. We then examined use 5 years later. The findings illustrate how the order sets evolved with multiple nested order sets to facilitate computerized provider order entry with a rate greater than 70% by physicians. The total number of available patient care orders within the order sets increased primarily because of linked nested order sets related to medications and diagnostic tests. Five years later, 50% of the orders were medication orders. In conclusion, this was important to deploy the order sets within smaller critical-access hospital facilities to train providers in adopting order sets internally.

A diabetes dashboard and physician efficiency and accuracy in accessing data needed for high-quality diabetes care.

PURPOSE: We compared use of a new diabetes dashboard screen with use of a conventional approach of viewing multiple electronic health record (EHR) screens to find data needed for ambulatory diabetes care. METHODS: We performed a usability study, including a quantitative time study and qualitative analysis of information-seeking behaviors. While being recorded with Morae Recorder software and "think-aloud" interview methods, 10 primary care physicians first searched their EHR for 10 diabetes data elements using a conventional approach for a simulated patient, and then using a new diabetes dashboard for another. We measured time, number of mouse clicks, and accuracy. Two coders analyzed think-aloud and interview data using grounded theory methodology. RESULTS: The mean time needed to find all data elements was 5.5 minutes using the conventional approach vs 1.3 minutes using the diabetes dashboard (P <.001). Physicians correctly identified 94% of the data requested using the conventional method, vs 100% with the dashboard (P <.01). The mean number of mouse clicks was 60 for conventional searching vs 3 clicks with the diabetes dashboard (P <.001). A common theme was that in everyday practice, if physicians had to spend too much time searching for data, they would either continue without it or order a test again. CONCLUSIONS: Using a patient-specific diabetes dashboard improves both the efficiency and accuracy of acquiring data needed for high-quality diabetes care. Usability analysis tools can provide important insights into the value of optimizing physician use of health information technologies.

Nurses' perceptions of how clinical information system implementation affects workflow and patient care.

There is a little evidence of the impact of clinical information system implementation on nurses' workflow and patient care to guide institutions across the nation as they implement electronic health records. This study compared changes in nurse's perceptions about patient care processes and workflow before and after a comprehensive clinical information system implementation at a rural referral hospital. The study used the Information Systems Expectations and Experiences survey, which consists of seven scales-provider-patient communication, interprovider communication, interorganizational communication, work-life changes, improved care, support and resources, and patient care processes. Survey responses were examined across three administrations-before and after training and after implementation. The survey responses decreased significantly for eight of the 47 survey items from the first administration to the second and for 37 items from the second administration to the third. Perceptions were more positive in nurses who had previous experience with electronic health records and less positive in nurses with more years of work experience. These findings point to the importance of setting realistic expectations, assessing user perceptions throughout the implementation process, designing training to meet the needs of the end user, and adapting training and implementation processes to support nurses who have concerns.

Evaluating clinical decision support rules as an intervention in clinician workflows with technology.

The implementation of electronic health records in rural settings generated new challenges beyond those seen in urban hospitals. The preparation, implementation, and sustaining of clinical decision support rules require extensive attention to standards, content design, support resources, expert knowledge, and more. A formative evaluation was used to present progress and evolution of clinical decision support rule implementation and use within clinician workflows for application in an electronic health record. The rural hospital was able to use clinical decision support rules from five urban hospitals within its system to promote safety, prevent errors, establish evidence-based practices, and support communication. This article describes tools to validate initial 54 clinical decision support rules used in a rural referral hospital and 17 used in clinics. Since 2005, the study hospital has added specific system clinical decision support rules for catheter-acquired urinary tract infection, deep venous thrombosis, heart failure, and more. The findings validate the use of clinical decision support rules across sites and ability to use existing indicators to measure outcomes. Rural hospitals can rapidly overcome the barriers to prepare and implement as well as sustain use of clinical decision support rules with a systemized approach and support structures. A model for design and validation of clinical decision support rules into workflow processes is presented. The replication and reuse of clinical decision support rule templates with data specifications that follow data models can support reapplication of the rule intervention in subsequent rural and critical access hospitals through system support resources.

Rework and workarounds in nurse medication administration process: implications for work processes and patient safety.

BACKGROUND: Health care organizations have redesigned existing and implemented new work processes intended to improve patient safety. As a consequence of these process changes, there are now intentionally designed "blocks" or barriers that limit how specific work actions, such as ordering and administering medication, are to be carried out. Health care professionals encountering these designed barriers can choose to either follow the new process, engage in workarounds to get past the block, or potentially repeat work (rework). Unfortunately, these workarounds and rework may lead to other safety concerns. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine rework and workarounds in hospital medication administration processes. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Observations and semistructured interviews were conducted with 58 nurses from four hospital intensive care units focusing on the medication administration process. Using the constant comparative method, we analyzed the observation and interview data to develop themes regarding rework and workarounds. From this analysis, we developed an integrated process map of the medication administration process depicting blocks. FINDINGS: A total of 12 blocks were reported by the participants. Based on the analysis, we categorized them as related to information exchange, information entry, and internal supply chain issues. Whereas information exchange and entry blocks tended to lead to rework, internal supply chain issues were more likely to lead to workarounds. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: A decentralized pharmacist on the unit may reduce work flow blocks (and, thus, workarounds and rework). Work process redesign may further address the problems of workarounds and rework.

The relationship between super users' attitudes and employee experiences with clinical information systems.

The purpose of this study is to examine the manner in which Super User attitudes toward clinical information systems (CIS) are associated with employee experiences with CIS implementation. Super Users (N = 82), selected by hospital administration to assist in implementation of the new CIS, completed a survey that assessed time spent in the Super User role as well as attitudes toward the role. These data were matched with hospital employee (N = 325) survey data about attitudes toward CIS and its impact on work processes. Time spent in the role of Super User was associated with employee attitudes; Super Users' perceptions about qualifications also predicted employee attitudes, particularly about care outcomes and perceptions about implementation of the CIS. The study suggests that as organizations encourage more time in the Super User role and develop more positive attitudes about this role, the possibility of positive employee attitudes toward CIS increases.

Complexity of medication-related verbal orders.

Verbal orders are a common practice in hospitals but there has been little systematic study about them. Although the potential for harm arising from the miscommunication and misunderstanding of verbal orders has been recognized, there is very little research examining their complexity. This article provides a descriptive analysis of one hospital's medication-related verbal-order events for a 1-week period. Among other things, this analysis demonstrates the presence of great variability across different patient care units related to when and the way in which verbal orders are communicated and the numbers and types of individual medication-related orders communicated within a single verbal-order event. The discussion identifies 3 categories of factors potentially contributing to the complexity of verbal orders and the potential for miscommunication, misunderstanding, and patient harm: Verbal Ordering Process and Content, Verbal Order Makers, and Verbal Order Takers.

Nurse burnout and patient safety outcomes: nurse safety perception versus reporting behavior.

This article examines the relationship between nurse burnout and patient safety indicators, including both safety perceptions and reporting behavior. Based on the Conservation of Resources model of stress and burnout, it is predicted that burnout will negatively affect both patient safety perceptions and perceived likelihood of reporting events. Nurses from a Veteran's Administration hospital completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and safety outcomes subset of measures from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Patient Safety Culture measure. After controlling for work-related demographics, multiple regression analysis supported the prediction that burnout was associated with the perception of lower patient safety. Burnout was not associated with event-reporting behavior but was negatively associated with reporting of mistakes that did not lead to adverse events. The findings extend previous research on the relationship between burnout and patient outcomes and offer avenues for future research on how nurse motivation resources are invested in light of their stressful work environment.

A 10-Rights framework for patient care quality and safety.

Recent reports in the lay and professional press document the failings of our patient care systems and have led to a multitude of suggestions for patient care quality and safety improvement initiatives. Given the complexity and range of services being offered, hospitals are launching numerous improvement initiatives in nearly all clinical care and support areas. This article describes a quality improvement framework, the "10 Rights," designed to help leaders better understand, organize, and prioritize patient care quality and safety issues and approaches. In addition to describing the framework, each Right is linked to 3 current national efforts at enhancing patient care quality and safety: the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations' National Patient Safety Goals, the National Quality Forum 30 Safe Practices, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Quality Measures.

The State of Nursing Home Information Technology Sophistication in Rural and Nonrural US Markets.

OBJECTIVE: To test for significant differences in information technology sophistication (ITS) in US nursing homes (NH) based on location. METHODS: We administered a primary survey January 2014 to July 2015 to NH in each US state. The survey was cross-sectional and examined 3 dimensions (IT capabilities, extent of IT use, degree of IT integration) among 3 domains (resident care, clinical support, administrative activities) of ITS. ITS was broken down by NH location. Mean responses were compared across 4 NH categories (Metropolitan, Micropolitan, Small Town, and Rural) for all 9 ITS dimensions and domains. Least square means and Tukey's method were used for multiple comparisons. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Methods yielded 815/1,799 surveys (45% response rate). In every health care domain (resident care, clinical support, and administrative activities) statistical differences in facility ITS occurred in larger (metropolitan or micropolitan) and smaller (small town or rural) populated areas. CONCLUSIONS: This study represents the most current national assessment of NH IT since 2004. Historically, NH IT has been used solely for administrative activities and much less for resident care and clinical support. However, results are encouraging as ITS in other domains appears to be greater than previously imagined.

National Quality Forum 30 safe practices: priority and progress in Iowa hospitals.

The National Quality Forum (NQF) recently released a list of "30 Safe Practices" that were identified as relevant for all hospitals. The purpose of the present analysis was to assess hospitals' perceptions of each of the NQF 30 Safe Practices in terms of priority and progress. One hundred of Iowa's hospitals (86%) completed a survey. The highest progress ratings were for items involving hand washing, unit-dose medication dispensing, influenza vaccinations, implementing protocols to prevent wrong-site procedures, and standardized methods for labeling and storing medications. The lowest progress ratings were for intensive care units staffed by intensivists and implementing a computerized provider order entry system. Overall, safe practices that have been recommended for some time had higher priority and progress ratings. Most safe practices were equally endorsed by large and small hospitals, suggesting that the NQF goal of identifying safe hospital practices may be attainable for most of the safe practices.

Implementation of hospital computerized physician order entry systems in a rural state: feasibility and financial impact.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to estimate the costs of implementing computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems in hospitals in a rural state and to evaluate the financial implications of statewide CPOE implementation. METHODS: A simulation model was constructed using estimates of initial and ongoing CPOE costs mapped onto all general hospitals in Iowa by bed quantity and current clinical information system (CIS) status. CPOE cost estimates were obtained from a leading CPOE vendor. Current CIS status was determined through mail survey of Iowa hospitals. Patient care revenue and operating cost data published by the Iowa Hospital Association were used to simulate the financial impact of CPOE adoption on hospitals. RESULTS: CPOE implementation would dramatically increase operating costs for rural and critical access hospitals in the absence of substantial costs savings associated with improved efficiency or improved patient safety. For urban and rural referral hospitals, the cost impact is less dramatic but still substantial. However, relatively modest benefits in the form of patient care cost savings or revenue enhancement would be sufficient to offset CPOE costs for these larger hospitals. CONCLUSION: Implementation of CPOE in rural or critical access hospitals may depend on net increase in operating costs. Adoption of CPOE may be financially infeasible for these small hospitals in the absence of increases in hospital payments or ongoing subsidies from third parties.

Clinical information technology in hospitals: a comparison between the state of Iowa and two provinces in Canada.

Despite the growing interest in adopting information technology (IT) in healthcare, the degree of technology sophistication varies among healthcare organizations. Changes in the health care sector and continuous pressure to improve the quality of care have driven the evolution of IT in hospitals. This paper provides an overview of clinical IT sophistication in a sample of U.S. hospitals, and compares clinical IT capacities in this sample with a sample of Canadian hospitals. The instrument used for the comparison measures three clinical dimensions of IT sophistication: functional sophistication, technological sophistication and integration level. Clinical areas that were considered include patient management, patient care activities and clinical support activities. The comparison between hospitals in Iowa and Canada shows differences in clinical IT sophistication between the two settings. Hospitals in Iowa appear to have more technologies but fewer computerized processes and integration of patient management activities. Technological sophistication however, was low in both samples. Our findings confirm the construct validity of the measurement instrument and show initial evidence of its generalizability. More initiatives using the instrument would lead to enhancement in IT assessment tools that can be used for evaluation of IT in relation to patient management and quality outcomes.

Barriers and facilitators to managing multiple chronic conditions: a systematic literature review.

The prevalence of multiple chronic conditions (MCC) is increasing, creating challenges for patients, families, and the health care system. A systematic literature search was conducted to locate studies describing patient's perceptions of facilitators and barriers to management of MCC. Thirteen articles met study inclusion criteria. Patients reported nine categories of barriers including financial constraints, logistical challenges, physical limitations, lifestyle changes, emotional impact, inadequate family and social support, and the complexity of managing multiple conditions, medications, and communicating with health care providers. Four facilitators were found, including health system support, individualized care education and knowledge, informal support from family and social systems, and having personal mental and emotional strength. Existing research on management of MCC from the patient's perspective is limited. Interventions are needed to improve management practices with particular attention to the knowledge and skills required by this unique population.

What would be the effect of referral to high-volume hospitals in a largely rural state?

CONTEXT: Volume of certain surgical procedures has been linked to patient outcomes. The Leapfrog Group and others have recommended evidence-based referral using specific volume thresholds for nonemergent cases. The literature is limited on the effect of such referral on hospitals, especially in rural areas. PURPOSE: To examine the impact of evidence-based referral by volume standard for 5 hospital procedures (abdominal aortic artery repair, coronary angioplasty, coronary artery bypass graft, esophageal cancer surgery, and pancreatic resection) in a largely rural state. METHODS: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Iowa State Inpatient Dataset was analyzed to identify hospitals meeting the volume standard versus those not meeting the standard. FINDINGS: Relatively few hospitals perform these procedures in Iowa. Hospitals performing the procedures at a volume above the threshold standard set by the Leapfrog Group tend to be larger, receive more transfers from other hospitals for these procedures, and perform fewer of these procedures on an emergency basis. In Iowa, hospitals that met the volume standard did not differ from hospitals that did not meet the volume standard in risk-adjusted mortality rates. The impact of evidence-based referral would be substantial in terms of travel time for some procedures (ie, coronary artery bypass graft, pancreatic resection, and esophageal cancer surgery) and produce considerable lost revenue for some hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence-based referral would be associated with substantial burden for some patients and hospitals in Iowa. This negative impact does not appear to be offset by improvement in in-hospital mortality rates. These initial findings suggest that there are a number of issues that need to be considered, especially in a rural state, before evidence-based referral is embraced as a means to enhance patient outcomes.