A Comparison of Evidence-Based Practice Training With and Without Postimmersion Follow-up.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine best practice for evidence-based practice (EBP) education that leads to implementation. BACKGROUND: Current methods of teaching EBP do not reliably translate to implementation. METHODS: Participants in an EBP immersion were compared with participants in EBP immersion plus a follow-up EBP course. RESULTS: The EBP immersion group implemented 18% of their initiatives. The EBP immersion plus the follow-up EBP course implemented 35% of their initiatives, and an additional 22% were in the process of implementation. CONCLUSION: Evidence-based practice education may not be sufficient in promoting EBP implementation. Additional ongoing support may be needed to bring EBP initiatives through implementation.

Cardiac Telemetry Downtime and Contingency Plan Development: A Review of Downtime Events Reported in the Veterans Health Administration.

BACKGROUND: Cardiac telemetry downtime may be planned or unplanned, causing a disruption in telemetry services with a potential to impact patient safety. PROBLEM: Many cardiac telemetry units in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) have contingency plans that do not adequately address telemetry downtime. APPROACH: This is a retrospective quality improvement analysis of VHA-reported cardiac telemetry downtime events from October 1, 2014, to Mar 31, 2020. OUTCOMES: Of 98 events, no patient harm was reported; 13% (n = 13) were planned downtime, 82% (n = 80) were unplanned downtime, 18% (n = 18) reported contingency plan use, 78% (n = 76) did not specify contingency plan use, and 32% (n = 31) reported events lasting 31 minutes to 6 hours in duration. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of reported cardiac telemetry downtime events were unplanned and without documented contingency plans. A robust contingency plan with defined staff roles and responsibilities will serve to lessen anxiety during downtimes and mitigate potential risk of patient harm.

Nurse practitioner productivity measurement: An organizational focus and lessons learned.

Nurse practitioners (NPs) are valued members of the health care team, and their numbers are growing each year. The volume of literature demonstrating the impact on quality, safety, patient satisfaction, and access measures is substantial and growing. There is a significant lack of measurement methods and outcomes related to NP contributions to organizational productivity. The construction of strategy for measurement of NP productivity is a prerequisite for studies focusing on impact. Models that are being used to measure physician productivity are available to be examined in terms of their applicability to the NP work force. In 2005, the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management directed Veterans Healthcare Administration (VHA) to develop a productivity-based model for physicians using the Medicare Resource-Based Relative Value Scale, which was created in 1992 to provide guidance on determining payment for physician services. In 2015, the VHA set out to set standards for productivity measurements for NPs, physician assistants, and clinical nurse specialists, and in doing so, the physician productivity model was adapted for the NP workforce. The work of adapting the model will be presented in this article. The specific steps in the process of measurement, operational definitions for work activities, and calculations are provided. The article concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and next steps.

Proper skin preparation and electrode placement decreases alarms on a telemetry unit.

BACKGROUND: An estimated 85% to 99% of electrocardiographic (ECG) alarms are false, leading to alarm fatigue, which is associated with increased risk of death among hospitalized patients. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of proper skin preparation and electrode placement on frequency of ECG alarms on a telemetry unit. METHOD: A prospective descriptive design was used to test the effect of proper skin preparation and ECG electrode placement. Purposive sampling of patients (n = 15) admitted to a telemetry hospital in a suburban Veterans Affairs Medical Center was used. Alarms were counted for 24 hours after admission, electrodes were replaced using proper technique, and alarms were counted for 24 hours after electrode change. Bootstrapping was used to double the sample size for analysis. RESULTS: Electrocardiographic alarms decreased significantly (P < .05) after proper skin preparation and electrode placement (95% confidence interval, 1.273-82.327). DISCUSSION: Proper skin preparation and ECG electrode placement reduced alarms. Reducing alarm frequency is vital to decreasing alarm fatigue and increasing patient safety.

Development of evidence-based remote telemetry policy guidelines for a multifacility hospital system.

Over 10 years ago, the standards for cardiac monitoring were set forth by the Councils on Cardiovascular Nursing, Clinical Cardiology, and Cardiovascular Disease in the Young. The standards were endorsed by the International Society of Computerized Electrocardiology and the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The American Heart Association printed the standards as an American Heart Association Scientific Statement. The standards provided direction related to remote telemetry monitoring to acute care hospitals. Since the standards were published, remote monitoring of cardiac patients has increased dramatically prompting research and literature related to appropriate utilization. Appropriate and safe telemetry monitoring requires clearly written evidence-based facility policies. This article describes the process whereby a team of Veterans Hospital Administration nurses from across the country reviewed 70 remote telemetry policies representing 75 Veterans Hospital Administration hospitals for clarity, consistency, and congruency to existing levels of evidence found in the literature. This article describes the processes, successes, and challenges of compiling an evidence-based remote telemetry policy guideline.