Clinical Decision Support for Glycemic Management Reduces Hospital Length of Stay.

OBJECTIVE: Dysglycemia influences hospital outcomes and resource utilization. Clinical decision support (CDS) holds promise for optimizing care by overcoming management barriers. This study assessed the impact on hospital length of stay (LOS) of an alert-based CDS tool in the electronic medical record that detected dysglycemia or inappropriate insulin use, coined as gaps in care (GIC). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Using a 12-month interrupted time series among hospitalized persons aged ≥18 years, our CDS tool identified GIC and, when active, provided recommendations. We compared LOS during 6-month-long active and inactive periods using linear models for repeated measures, multiple comparison adjustment, and mediation analysis. RESULTS: Among 4,788 admissions with GIC, average LOS was shorter during the tool's active periods. LOS reductions occurred for all admissions with GIC (-5.7 h, P = 0.057), diabetes and hyperglycemia (-6.4 h, P = 0.054), stress hyperglycemia (-31.0 h, P = 0.054), patients admitted to medical services (-8.4 h, P = 0.039), and recurrent hypoglycemia (-29.1 h, P = 0.074). Subgroup analysis showed significantly shorter LOS in recurrent hypoglycemia with three events (-82.3 h, P = 0.006) and nonsignificant in two (-5.2 h, P = 0.655) and four or more (-14.8 h, P = 0.746). Among 22,395 admissions with GIC (4,788, 21%) and without GIC (17,607, 79%), LOS reduction during the active period was 1.8 h (P = 0.053). When recommendations were provided, the active tool indirectly and significantly contributed to shortening LOS through its influence on GIC events during admissions with at least one GIC (P = 0.027), diabetes and hyperglycemia (P = 0.028), and medical services (P = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: Use of the alert-based CDS tool to address inpatient management of dysglycemia contributed to reducing LOS, which may reduce costs and improve patient well-being.

Effect of a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program on Emergency Department Opioid Prescribing.

INTRODUCTION: Our goal was to determine whether implementation of a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) altered emergency department (ED) opioid prescription rates overall and in patients of different pain severities. METHODS: We conducted this single-center, retrospective review at an academic ED. The study examined patients discharged from the ED who received opioid prescriptions, before and after the state's implementation of a PDMP (August 25, 2016). The monthly rate was a ratio of the patients given ≥ 1 opioid prescription to the ED patients with a numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) > 0. We performed an interrupted time series analysis on each demographic. RESULTS: The overall ED opioid prescription rate decreased from 51.3% (95% confidence interval [Cl], 50.4%-52.2%) to 47.9% (95% Cl, 47.0%-48.7%). For males, this decreased from 51.1% to 46.7% (P < 0.0001), while in females it did not significantly change (51.6% to 49.7% [P = 0.0529]). For those with mild pain, the rate increased from 27.5% to 34.3% (P < 0.0001), while for those with moderate pain, it did not significantly change (42.8% to 43.5% [P = 0.5924]). For those with severe pain, the rate decreased from 66.1% to 59.6% (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: We found that PDMP implementation was associated with an overall decrease in opioid prescription rates, and that patients with mild pain were prescribed opioids more often while severe pain patients were prescribed opioids less often.

Clinical decision support to improve management of diabetes and dysglycemia in the hospital: a path to optimizing practice and outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Innovative approaches are needed to design robust clinical decision support (CDS) to optimize hospital glycemic management. We piloted an electronic medical record (EMR), evidence-based algorithmic CDS tool in an academic center to alert clinicians in real time about gaps in care related to inpatient glucose control and insulin utilization, and to provide management recommendations. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The tool was designed to identify clinical situations in need for action: (1) severe or recurrent hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes: blood glucose (BG) ≥13.88 mmol/L (250 mg/dL) at least once or BG ≥10.0 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) at least twice, respectively; (2) recurrent hyperglycemia in patients with stress hyperglycemia: BG ≥10.0 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) at least twice; (3) impending or established hypoglycemia: BG 3.9-4.4 mmol/L (70-80 mg/dL) or ≤3.9 mmol/L (70 mg/dL); and (4) inappropriate sliding scale insulin (SSI) monotherapy in recurrent hyperglycemia, or anytime in patients with type 1 diabetes. The EMR CDS was active (ON) for 6 months for all adult hospital patients and inactive (OFF) for 6 months. We prospectively identified and compared gaps in care between ON and OFF periods. RESULTS: When active, the hospital CDS tool significantly reduced events of recurrent hyperglycemia in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes (3342 vs 3701, OR=0.88, p=0.050) and in patients with stress hyperglycemia (288 vs 506, OR=0.60, p<0.001). Hypoglycemia or impending hypoglycemia (1548 vs 1349, OR=1.15, p=0.050) were unrelated to the CDS tool on subsequent analysis. Inappropriate use of SSI monotherapy in type 1 diabetes (10 vs 22, OR=0.36, p=0.073), inappropriate use of SSI monotherapy in type 2 diabetes (2519 vs 2748, OR=0.97, p=0.632), and in stress hyperglycemia subjects (1617 vs 1488, OR=1.30, p<0.001) were recognized. CONCLUSION: EMR CDS was successful in reducing hyperglycemic events among hospitalized patients with dysglycemia and diabetes, and inappropriate insulin use in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Improving Outcomes in Patients With Sepsis.

Sepsis mortality may be improved by early recognition and appropriate treatment based on evidence-based guidelines. An intervention was developed that focused on earlier identification of sepsis, early antimicrobial administration, and an educational program that was disseminated throughout all hospital units and services. There were 1331 patients with sepsis during the intervention period and 1401 patients with sepsis during the control period. After controlling for expected mortality, patients in the intervention period had 30% lower odds of dying (odds ratio = 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.57 to 0.84). They also had 1.07 fewer days on average in the intensive care unit (95% CI = -1.98 to -0.16), 2.15 fewer hospital days (95% CI = -3.45 to -0.86), and incurred on average $1949 less in hospital costs, although the effect on costs was not statistically significant. Continued incremental improvement and sustainment is anticipated through organizational oversight, continued education, and initiation of an automated electronic sepsis alert function.

Patient flow in the emergency department: a classification and analysis of admission process policies.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We investigate the effect of admission process policies on patient flow in the emergency department (ED). METHODS: We surveyed an advisory panel group to determine approaches to admission process policies and classified them as admission decision is made by the team of providers (attending physicians, residents, physician extenders) (type 1) or attending physicians (type 2) on the admitting service, team of providers (type 3), or attending physicians (type 4) in the ED. We developed discrete-event simulation models of patient flow to evaluate the potential effect of the 4 basic policy types and 2 hybrid types, referred to as triage attending physician consultation and remote collaborative consultation on key performance measures. RESULTS: Compared with the current admission process policy (type 1), the alternatives were all effective in reducing the length of stay of admitted patients by 14% to 26%. In other words, patients may spend 1.4 to 2.5 hours fewer on average in the ED before being admitted to internal medicine under a new admission process policy. The improved flow of admitted patients decreased both the ED length of stay of discharged patients and the overall length of stay by up to 5% and 6.4%, respectively. These results are framed in context of teaching mission and physician experience. CONCLUSION: An efficient admission process can reduce waiting times for both admitted and discharged ED patients. This study contributed to demonstrating the potential value of leveraging admission process policies and developing a framework for pursuing these policies.

The usefulness of information and communication technologies in crisis response.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play a vital role in coordinating crisis response between pre-hospital services and emergency departments of hospitals. In spite of the advances in these technologies, there remain a variety of challenges to their usage during a crisis. To identify these challenges, we conducted focus group interviews with emergency department (ED) and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. We found that ED and EMS personnel have widely varying perceptions about the usefulness and ease-of-use of information tools and communication tools used in crisis management. We discuss the importance of bringing together communication and information tools into integrated networks of ICTs for effective crisis response. We also highlight design features of ICTs which can support seamless and effective communication and coordination between ED and EMS teams.