1.
J Nurs Care Qual
; 33(2): 116-122, 2018.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29466260
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this quality improvement initiative was to improve oropharyngeal dysphagia screening and reduce aspiration pneumonia rates on 3 inpatient hospital medical units. Guided by a Plan-Do-Study-Act methodology, an interdisciplinary health team developed and implemented a systematic process for oropharyngeal dysphagia screening and management. As a result, use of the screening protocol increased, timely initiation of speech language pathology consultations increased, and aspiration pneumonia rates decreased.