Improvement in Multidisciplinary Provider Rounding (Surgical Rounds) in the Pediatric Cardiac ICU: An Application of Lean Methodology.

OBJECTIVES: Provider-only, combined surgical, and medical multidisciplinary rounds ("surgical rounds") are essential to achieve optimal outcomes in large pediatric cardiac ICUs. Lean methodology was applied with the aims of identifying areas of waste and nonvalue-added work within the surgical rounds process. Thereby, the goals were to improve rounding efficiency and reduce rounding duration while not sacrificing critical patient care discussion nor delaying bedside rounds or surgical start times. DESIGN: Single-center improvement science study with observational and interventional phases from February 2, 2021, to July 31, 2021. SETTING: Tertiary pediatric cardiac ICU. PARTICIPANTS: Cardiothoracic surgery and cardiac intensive care team members participating in daily "surgical" rounds. INTERVENTIONS: Implementation of technology automation, creation of work instructions, standardization of patient presentation content and order, provider training, and novel role assignment. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sixty-one multidisciplinary rounds were observed (30 pre, 31 postintervention). During the preintervention period, identified inefficiencies included prolonged preparation time, redundant work, presentation variability and extraneous information, and frequent provider transitions. Application of targeted interventions resulted in a 26% decrease in indexed rounds duration (2.42 vs 1.8 min; p = 0.0003), 50% decrease in indexed rounds preparation time (0.53 vs 0.27 min; p < 0.0001), and 66% decrease in transition time between patients (0.09 vs 0.03 min; p < 0.0001). The number of presenting provider changes also decreased (9 vs 4; p < 0.0001). Indexed discussion duration did not change (1 vs 0.98 min; p = 0.08) nor did balancing measures (bedside rounds and surgical start times) change (8.5 vs 9 min; p = 0.89 and 38 vs 22 min; p = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS: Lean methodology can be effectively applied to multidisciplinary rounds in a joint cardiothoracic surgery/cardiac intensive care setting to decrease waste and inefficiency. Interventions resulted in decreased preparation time, transition time, presenting provider changes, total rounds duration indexed to patient census, and anecdotal improvements in provider satisfaction.

Sustained Reduction in Intravenous Pump Turnaround Time Using Lean Methodology.

Intravenous pumps provide essential, life-sustaining medications to patients. Pumps must be in working order and available on short notice to be effective. We identified inefficiencies in our pump management process that inflated the cost and time to complete repairs. Methods: Our multidisciplinary team completed a 60-day before-after trial that followed the Toyota Production System Lean methodology and evaluated the sustainability of our improvements for the following 48 months. We used value stream mapping and manual time studies to identify areas for improvement. Device turnaround time (TAT) was the number of days from receiving a device for repair to its return to service. Interventions included: establishing a reliable system to receive and track repair requests, creating a better organized, more efficient workroom, streamlining the inventory of repair parts, and tracking delivery systems reliably. Results: We reduced mean intravenous pump TAT by 89% and sustained TAT at 74%-97% below baseline for 4 years, including during the COVID pandemic. Conclusions: We used Lean methodology to create a system to receive, track, and provide safe, functional equipment to providers promptly. Both clinical and nonclinical healthcare professionals can use Lean to produce a sustainable improved system.

Improving Discharge Efficiency and Charge Containment on a Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Unit.

BACKGROUND: Hospital discharge delays can negatively affect patient flow and hospital charges. Our primary aim was to increase the percentage of acute care cardiology patients discharged within 2 hours of meeting standardized medically ready (MedR) discharge criteria. Secondary aims were to reduce length of stay (LOS) and lower hospital charges. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team used quality improvement methods to implement and study MedR discharge criteria in our hospital electronic health record. The criteria were ordered on admission and modified on daily rounds. Bedside nurses documented the time when all MedR discharge criteria were met. A statistical process control chart measured interventions over time. Discharge before noon and 30-day readmissions were also tracked. Average LOS was examined, comparing the first 6 months of the intervention period to the last 6 months. Inpatient charges were reviewed for patients with >2 hours MedR discharge delay. RESULTS: The mean percentage of patients discharged within 2 hours of meeting MedR discharge criteria increased from 20% to 78% over 22 months, with more patients discharged before noon (19%-32%). Median LOS decreased from 11 days (interquartile range: 6-21) to 10 days (interquartile range: 5-19) (P = .047), whereas 30-day readmission remained stable at 16.3%. A total of 265 delayed MedR discharges beyond 2 hours occurred. The sum of inpatient charges from care provided after meeting MedR criteria was $332 038 (average $1253 per delayed discharge). CONCLUSIONS: Discharge timeliness in pediatric acute care cardiology patients can be improved by standardizing medical discharge criteria, which may shorten LOS and decrease medical charges.

Therapy Workloads in Pediatric Health: Preliminary Findings and Relevance for Defining Practice.

PURPOSE: To measure time spent by pediatric physical and occupational therapists in performing daily work activities. METHODS: Physical and occupational therapists at an urban pediatric academic hospital were observed during a standard workday. Time studies recorded total time spent performing patient care and other workplace-specific tasks. Data were analyzed to identify trends. RESULTS: Broad similarities existed in average amounts of time spent in direct patient care, indirect patient care, and nonpatient care tasks. Indirect patient care tasks demonstrated the lowest variability in time spent. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of pediatric physical and occupational therapists' time in performing daily tasks. The metric and tools derived from these findings support managerial decision-making, provide a comparison of actual versus targeted workload, assist with determining appropriate and safe staffing caseloads, and contribute to measurements of a patient's therapy acuity level.Video Abstract: For more insights from the authors, access Supplemental Digital Content 1, available at: http://links.lww.com/PPT/A280.

Reduced isolation room turnover time using Lean methodology.

OBJECTIVE: To prevent environmental transmission of pathogens, hospital rooms housing patients on transmission-based precautions are cleaned extensively and disinfected with ultraviolet (UV) light. To do so consistently requires time and coordination, and these procedures must avoid patient flow delays and associated safety risks. We sought to improve room turnover efficiency to allow for UV disinfection. DESIGN: A 60-day quality improvement and implementation project. SETTING: A quaternary academic pediatric referral facility. INTERVENTIONS: A multidisciplinary healthcare team participated in a 60-day before-and-after trial that followed the Toyota Production System Lean methodology. We used value-stream mapping and manual time studies to identify areas for improvement. Areas addressed included room breakdown, room cleaning, and wait time between cleaning and disinfection. Room turnover was measured as the time in minutes from a discharged patient exiting an isolation room to UV disinfection completion. Impact was measured using postintervention manual time studies. RESULTS: Median room turnover decreased from 130 minutes (range, 93-294 minutes) to 65 minutes (range, 48-95 minutes; P < .0001). Other outcomes included decreased median time between room breakdown to cleaning start time (from 10 to 3 minutes; P = .004), room cleaning complete to UV disinfection start (from 36 to 8 minutes; P < .0001), and the duration of room cleaning and curtain changing (from 57 to 37 minutes; P < .0001). CONCLUSION: We decreased room turnover time by half in 60 days by decreasing times between and during routine tasks. Utilizing Lean methodology and manual time study can help teams understand and improve hospital processes and systems.

Using Lean methodologies to streamline processing of requests for durable medical equipment and supplies for children with complex conditions.

BACKGROUND: An improvement team from the Complex Care Center at our large pediatric medical center participated in a 60-day initiative to use Lean methodologies to standardize their processes, eliminate waste and improve the timely and reliable provision of durable medical equipment and supplies. METHODS: The team used value stream mapping to identify processes needing improvement. Improvement activities addressed the initial processing of a request, provider signature on the form, returning the form to the sender, and uploading the completed documents to the electronic medical record. Data on lead time (time between receiving a request and sending the completed request to the Health Information Management department) and process time (amount of time the staff worked on the request) were collected via manual pre- and post-time studies. RESULTS: Following implementation of interventions, the median lead time for processing durable medical equipment and supply requests decreased from 50 days to 3 days (p < 0.0001). Median processing time decreased from 14min to 9min (p < 0.0001). The decrease in processing time realized annual cost savings of approximately $11,000. CONCLUSIONS: Collaborative leadership and multidisciplinary training in Lean methods allowed the CCC staff to incorporate common sense, standardize practices, and adapt their work environment to improve the timely and reliable provision of equipment and supplies that are essential for their patients. IMPLICATIONS: The application of Lean methodologies to processing requests for DME and supplies could also result in a natural spread to other paperwork and requests, thus avoiding delays and potential risk for clinical instability or deterioration.

Variation inflation factor-based regression modeling of anthropometric measures and temporal-spatial performance: Modeling approach and implications for clinical utility.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the relationship of underlying anthropometry to temporal-spatial performance is critical to appropriate assessment of patients with ambulatory dysfunction. The current body of literature has established the importance of limb length in this relationship. This study sought to re-examine these relationships in light of recent trends in body habitus and obesity, using Variation Inflation Factor analysis to optimize the model. METHODS: Elementary school children (n=452; ages 5-13) were tested during walking at a self-selected speed across an instrumented walkway. Temporal-spatial and anthropometric measures were compiled for all children. The relationship between temporal-spatial and anthropometric measures was assessed using regression modeling with Variation Inflation Factor optimization. FINDINGS: Body weight was identified as a significant predictor of cycle duration, stride length, stance duration, and step width during initial modeling. However, it did not meet the constraints imposed during Variation Inflation Factor optimization and was removed from the final models. The final optimized models identified significant relationships between both temporal-spatial parameters of interest and other temporal-spatial measures, with the best fit identified for walking speed (R2=0.6148). INTERPRETATION: The use of the Variation Inflation Factor constraint during the regression modeling process ensured final models composed of truly independent predictor variables. The resulting models are highly robust and highlight the complex relationships between body structure, functional conditions, and walking performance. These models have value for routine clinical assessment of ambulatory dysfunction, and may provide a foundation for classifying temporal-spatial performance in the context of multiple contributing parameters.