Implementing an emergency department EMR trigger tool for palliative medicine consultation and its effect on length of stay and health care costs: A retrospective study.

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (26_suppl) ◽  
pp. 167-167
Author(s):  
Dmitry Kozhevnikov ◽  
Felix Rivera ◽  
Wendy Edwards

167 Background: Several studies have shown that palliative medicine consultation can improve multiple patient-centered outcomes, especially when provided early. Our goal is to show that our electronic health record (EHR) trigger tool is a cost-effective way for hospitals to identify patients who may benefit from early consultation, improving outcomes such as hospital length of stay and facilitating appropriate disposition for patients with metastatic cancer. Methods: Retrospective chart review of 721 patients at an urban community hospital who were identified by a trigger system integrated into the Emergency Department (ED) EHR. Patients who met criteria for a palliative consultation as determined by ED physicians at the time of inpatient admission were tracked by the palliative medicine department as part of a pilot phase. Those that were triggered and received usual care made up the control group. The intervention group was made up of patients who were triggered and seen in consultation. Results: Patients who were seen within 3 days of trigger were found to have a mean length of stay of 7.57 days, while those seen after 3 days had a mean length of stay 10.61 days. Patients who were triggered for metastatic cancer were found to have differences in final disposition between the two groups. Discharge to subacute rehabilitation facilities (SAR) in these patients decreased from 24% in the control group to 12% in the intervention group, while use of home hospice more than doubled to 11%. The percentage of these patients dying in the hospital decreased from 18% to 12%. Conclusions: Our study showed that earlier consultation was associated with shorter hospital length of stays if patients were seen within 3 days of being flagged as having palliative care needs in the ED. We also found that our EHR trigger doubled home hospice utilization in patients with metastatic cancer, decreased the proportion of discharges to SAR, and decreased in-hospital death in these patients.

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Lustbader ◽  
Renee Pekmezaris ◽  
Michael Frankenthaler ◽  
Rajni Walia ◽  
Frederick Smith ◽  
...  

AbstractObjective:The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a palliative medicine consultation on medical intensive care unit (MICU) and hospital length of stay, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) designation, and location of death for MICU patients who died during hospitalization.Method:A comparison of two retrospective cohorts in a 17-bed MICU in a tertiary care university-affiliated hospital was conducted. Patients admitted to the MICU between January 1, 2003 and June 30, 2004 (N = 515) were compared to MICU patients who had had a palliative medicine consultation between January 1, 2005 and June 1, 2009 (N = 693). To control for disease severity, only patients in both cohorts who died during their hospitalization were considered for this study.Results:Palliative medicine consultation reduced time until death during the entire hospitalization (log-rank test,p < 0.01). Time from MICU admission until death was also reduced (log-rank test,p < 0.01), further demonstrating the impact of the palliative care consultation on the duration of dying for hospitalized patients. The intervention group contained a significantly higher percentage of patients with a DNR designation at death than did the control group (86% vs. 68%, χ2test,p < 0.0001).Significance of results:Palliative medicine consultation is associated with an increased rate of DNR designation and reduced time until death. Patients in the intervention group were also more likely to die outside the MICU as compared to controls in the usual care group.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 237437352110114
Author(s):  
Andrew Nyce ◽  
Snehal Gandhi ◽  
Brian Freeze ◽  
Joshua Bosire ◽  
Terry Ricca ◽  
...  

Prolonged waiting times are associated with worse patient experience in patients discharged from the emergency department (ED). However, it is unclear which component of the waiting times is most impactful to the patient experience and the impact on hospitalized patients. We performed a retrospective analysis of ED patients between July 2018 and March 30, 2020. In all, 3278 patients were included: 1477 patients were discharged from the ED, and 1680 were admitted. Discharged patients had a longer door-to-first provider and door-to-doctor time, but a shorter doctor-to-disposition, disposition-to-departure, and total ED time when compared to admitted patients. Some, but not all, components of waiting times were significantly higher in patients with suboptimal experience (<100th percentile). Prolonged door-to-doctor time was significantly associated with worse patient experience in discharged patients and in patients with hospital length of stay ≤4 days. Prolonged ED waiting times were significantly associated with worse patient experience in patients who were discharged from the ED and in inpatients with short length of stay. Door-to-doctor time seems to have the highest impact on the patient’s experience of these 2 groups.


2021 ◽  
pp. 102490792110009
Author(s):  
Howard Tat Chun Chan ◽  
Ling Yan Leung ◽  
Alex Kwok Keung Law ◽  
Chi Hung Cheng ◽  
Colin A Graham

Background: Acute pyelonephritis is a bacterial infection of the upper urinary tract. Patients can be admitted to a variety of wards for treatment. However, at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, they are managed initially in the emergency medicine ward. The aim of the study is to identify the risk factors that are associated with a prolonged hospital length of stay. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted in Prince of Wales Hospital. The study recruited patients who were admitted to the emergency medicine ward between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2017. These patients presented with clinical features of pyelonephritis, received antibiotic treatment and had a discharge diagnosis of pyelonephritis. The length of stay was measured and any length of stay over 72 h was considered to be prolonged. Results: There were 271 patients admitted to the emergency medicine ward, and 118 (44%) had a prolonged hospital length of stay. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that the only statistically significant predictor of prolonged length of stay was a raised C-reactive protein (odds ratio 1.01; 95% confidence 1.01–1.02; p < 0.0001). Out of 271 patients, 261 received antibiotics in the emergency department. All 10 patients (8.5%) who did not receive antibiotics in emergency department had a prolonged length of stay (p = 0.0002). Conclusion: In this series of acute pyelonephritis treated in the emergency medicine ward, raised C-reactive protein levels were predictive for prolonged length of stay. Patients who did not receive antibiotics in the emergency department prior to emergency medicine ward admission had prolonged length of stay.


Diagnosis ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Eames ◽  
Arie Eisenman ◽  
Richard J. Schuster

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that changes in diagnoses from admission to discharge are associated with poorer outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate how diagnostic discordance affects patient outcomes.: The first three digits of ICD-9-CM codes at admission and discharge were compared for concordance. The study involved 6281 patients admitted to the Western Galilee Medical Center, Naharyia, Israel from the emergency department (ED) between 01 November 2012 and 21 January 2013. Concordant and discordant diagnoses were compared in terms of, length of stay, number of transfers, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, readmission, and mortality.: Discordant diagnoses was associated with increases in patient mortality rate (5.1% vs. 1.5%; RR 3.35, 95% CI 2.43, 4.62; p<0.001), the number of ICU admissions (6.7% vs. 2.7%; RR 2.58, 95% CI 2.07, 3.32; p<0.001), hospital length of stay (3.8 vs. 2.5 days; difference 1.3 days, 95% CI 1.2, 1.4; p<0.001), ICU length of stay (5.2 vs. 3.8 days; difference 1.4 days, 95% CI 1.0, 1.9; p<0.001), and 30 days readmission (14.11% vs. 12.38%; RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.00, 1.30; p=0.0418). ED length of stay was also greater for the discordant group (3.0 vs. 2.9 h; difference 8.8 min; 95% CI 0.1, 0.2; p<0.001): These findings indicate discordant admission and discharge diagnoses are associated with increases in morbidity and mortality. Further research should identify modifiable causes of discordance.


Author(s):  
Yvelynne Kelly ◽  
Kavita Mistry ◽  
Salman Ahmed ◽  
Shimon Shaykevich ◽  
Sonali Desai ◽  
...  

Background: Acute kidney injury (AKI) requiring kidney replacement therapy (KRT) is associated with high mortality and utilization. We evaluated the use of an AKI-Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plan (SCAMP) on patient outcomes including mortality, hospital and ICU length of stay. Methods: We conducted a 12-month controlled study in the ICUs of a large academic tertiary medical center. We alternated use of the AKI-SCAMP with use of a "sham" control form in 4-6-week blocks. The primary outcome was risk of inpatient mortality. Pre-specified secondary outcomes included 30-day mortality, 60-day mortality and hospital and ICU length of stay. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate the impact of the AKI-SCAMP on mortality and length of stay. Results: There were 122 patients in the AKI-SCAMP group and 102 patients in the control group. There was no significant difference in inpatient mortality associated with AKI-SCAMP use (41% vs 47% control). AKI-SCAMP use was associated with significantly reduced ICU length of stay (mean 8 (95% CI 8-9) vs 12 (95% CI 10-13) days; p = <0.0001) and hospital length of stay (mean 25 (95% CI 22-29) vs 30 (95% CI 27-34) days; p = 0.02). Patients in the AKI-SCAMP group less likely to receive KRT in the context of physician-perceived treatment futility than those in the control group (2% vs 7%, p=0.003). Conclusions: Use of the AKI-SCAMP tool for AKI-KRT was not significantly associated with inpatient mortality but was associated with reduced ICU and hospital length of stay and use of KRT in cases of physician-perceived treatment futility.


Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy ◽  
Nguyem Thanh Hai ◽  
Nguyem Xuan Bach ◽  
Hoang Thi Thu Huong ◽  
Nguyem Chi Cuong ◽  
...  

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of antibiotic prophylaxis in cesarean section at Thai Nguyen National Hospital as a first pilot activity of a surgical prophylaxis program. In the study, a randomized controlled trial was designed with two groups: intervention group and control group. Patients characteristics and effectiveness of prophylactic antibiotics for caesarean section were compared. The study results show that the patients’ ages ranged from 18 to 44 years; most of the patients had ASA score of 1; and mean hospital length of stay was statistically significant between the two groups (p<0.05). Regarding the indication of caesarean section, the reason of genital tract abnormalities accounted for the highest proportion. The percentage of the patients switching from prophylactic antibiotic regimens to therapeutic antibiotics in the intervention group was 2%. There was no patient with superficial and/or deep incisional surgical site infections in both groups. The difference in mean number of injections in the two groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). The average cost of antibiotics for each patient in the intervention group and control group were 267.720 VND and 543.871 VND, respectively. The study concludes that the effectiveness of antibiotics prophylaxis for caesarean section: 99% of the patients were without wound infection; hospital length of stay in the intervention group was shorter than the control group; and using prophylactic antibiotics was not only more economical but could also reduce the workload of medical staff, costs of antibiotics and medical supplies. Keywords  Antibiotics prophylaxis, caesarean section, Thai Nguyen National Hospital. References [1] Viet Nam Ministry of Health, National guideline on prevention of surgical site infection, issued with Decision No. 3671/QD-BYT, September 27, 2012 of Viet Nam Ministry of Health, Ha Noi, 2012 (in Vietnamese).[2] Viet Nam Ministry of Health, National guideline on antibiotics use, issued with Decision No.708/QD-BYT, March 2, 2015 of Viet Nam Ministry of Health, Ha Noi, 2015 (in Vietnamese).[3] D.W. Bratzler, K.M. Olsen, et al., Clinical Practice Guidelines for Antimicrobial Prophylaxis in Surgery, American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy 70 (2013) 195 – 283. https://doi.org/10.2146/ajhp120568.[4] R.F. Lamont, J.D. Sobel, et al., Current debate on the use of antibiotic prophylaxis for caesarean section, BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology 118 (2011) 193-201. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14710528.2010.02729.x.[5] T.V. Khai, Infection rate of surgical incisions and associated factors on women after cesarean section at Dong Nai General Hospital, Scientific Research Project of Dong Nai Hospital, 2015 (in Vietnamese).[6] N.H. Tuan, Study on the use of cefazolin to prevent infection after cesarean section or uterine fibroids surgery at the Institute of maternal and neonatal protection, Master’s thesis, Hanoi University of Pharmacy, 2002 (in Vietnamese).[7] F.M. Smaill, R.M. Grivell, Antibiotic prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis for preventing infection after cesarean section, Cochrane Database Syst Rev 10 (2014) CD007482. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd007482.pub3.    


Author(s):  
Michael Wolfe ◽  
Daniel Saddawi-Konefka

Schweickert et al. studied effects of early physical and occupational therapy in mechanically ventilated patients. 109 mechanically ventilated medical ICU patients (with independent functional status prior to hospitalization) were randomized to receive physical and occupational therapy initiated at time of enrollment (intervention group) vs. physical and occupational therapy ordered at the discretion of the primary team (control group), with both groups receiving daily interruptions of sedation. The primary outcome, independent functional status at time of discharge, was met in 59% of the intervention group vs. 35% of the control group (p = 0.02). Lower rates of ICU and hospital delirium were observed in the intervention group. Hospital length of stay and mortality were unaffected. This study demonstrated that physical and occupational therapy can be safely accomplished in critically ill, mechanically ventilated medical ICU patients, and that early implementation of therapy may improve return to independent functional status at hospital discharge.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. S449-S449
Author(s):  
Túlio Alves Jeangregório Rodrigues ◽  
Guilherme Fernandes de Oliveira ◽  
Júlia G C Dias ◽  
Laís Souza Campos ◽  
Letícia Rodrigues ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Exploratory laparotomy surgery is abdominal operations not involving the gastrointestinal tract or biliary system. The objective of our study is to answer three questions: (a) What is the risk of surgical site infection (SSI) after exploratory abdominal surgery? (b) What is the impact of SSI in the hospital length of stay and hospital mortality? (c) What are risk factors for SSI after exploratory abdominal surgery? Methods A retrospective cohort study assessed meningitis and risk factors in patients undergoing exploratory laparotomy between January 2013 and December 2017 from 12 hospitals at Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Data were gathered by standardized methods defined by the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN)/CDC procedure-associated protocols for routine SSI surveillance. 26 preoperative and operative categorical and continuous variables were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis (logistic regression). Outcome variables: Surgical site infection (SSI), hospital death, hospital length of stay. Variables were analyzed using Epi Info and applying statistical two-tailed test hypothesis with significance level of 5%. Results A sample of 6,591 patients submitted to exploratory laparotomy was analyzed (SSI risk = 4.3%): Hospital length of stay in noninfected patients (days): mean = 16, median = 6, std. dev. = 30; hospital stay in infected patients: mean = 32, median = 22, std. dev. = 30 (P < 0.001). The mortality rate in patients without infection was 14% while hospital death of infected patients was 20% (P = 0.009). Main risk factors for SSI: ügeneral anesthesia (SSI = 4.9%, relative risk – RR = 2.8, P < 0.001); preoperative hospital length of stay more than 4 days (SSI=3.9%, RR=1.8, P = 0.003); wound class contaminated or dirty (SSI = 5.4%, RR = 1.5, P = 0.002); duration of procedure higher than 3 hours (SSI = 7.1%, RR = 2.1, P < 0.001); after trauma laparotomy (SSI = 7.8%, RR = 1.9, P = 0.001). Conclusion We identified patients at high risk of surgical site infection after exploratory laparotomy: trauma patients from contaminated or dirty wound surgery, submitted to a procedure with general anesthesia that last more than 3 hours have 13% SSI. Patients without any of these four risk factors have only 1.2% SSI. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.


Neurosurgery ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Lu ◽  
Erica Bertoncini

Abstract INTRODUCTION Spine surgery traditionally relies on opioid analgesics for postoperative pain management. Opioids are associated with prolonged hospital stays and opioid use disorders. Opioid-focused prescribing habits in surgery have partially contributed to the opioid epidemic. METHODS A retrospective analysis was performed comparing patients receiving a multimodal analgesia regimen after lumbar fusion surgery vs control group receiving standard analgesia regimen. The multimodal regimen consisted of Acetaminophen 975 mg TID, Toradol 7.5 mg Q6 hours for 24-ho followed by Celebrex 100 mg BID for 7-d, Robaxin 500 mg Q6 hours prn for muscle spasms, Gabapentin 300 mg/100 mg TID for 4-wk, and prn narcotic. The standard regimen consisted of Acetaminophen 975 mg TID, narcotic prn, and muscle relaxant prn. There were 12 patients in the multimodal group and 26 patients in the control group evaluated over 3-mo and 6-mo time periods respectively. Primary outcomes included hospital length-of-stay, total and IV narcotic requirements in Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME), and VASS pain scores. RESULTS Study results demonstrate differences between patient populations when focusing on the opioid-naïve participants. Opioid-naïve patients in the multimodal group were found to have significantly lower IV narcotic requirement than the control (0.22+/−0.67 mg/d for multimodal vs 5.36+/−5.56 mg/d for standard group, P-value = .001). These patients also had shorter hospital stays than the control (2.78+/−0.83 d for multimodal vs 3.53+/−1.17 d for standard group) but the difference was just below our threshold for significance (P-value = .066). Including both opioid-naïve and opioid-tolerant patients, no significant differences were found in hospital length-of-stay, MME, IV narcotic requirement nor VASS score between the multimodal group and the control groups (P-values of .46, .81, .36, and .91, respectively). CONCLUSION Overall, the study favors using multimodal analgesia in those undergoing lumbar spinal fusion surgeries as evident by considerably reduced IV narcotic requirement and nearly significant shortened hospital length-of-stay in opioid-naïve patients compared to control.


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