Pharmacist-Led Transition of Care Pilot Targeting Older People After Emergency Department Discharge

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 273-282
Author(s):  
Scott M. Pearson ◽  
Anushka Tandon ◽  
Danielle R. Fixen ◽  
Sunny A. Linnebur ◽  
Gretchen M. Orosz ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-led transitional care intervention targeting high-risk older people after an emergency department (ED) visit.<br/> DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of older people with ED visits prior to and during a pharmacist-led intervention.<br/> SETTING: Patients receiving primary care from the University of Colorado Health Seniors Clinic.<br/> PARTICIPANTS: The intervention cohort comprised 170 patients with an ED visit between August 18, 2018, and February 19, 2019, and the historical cohort included 166 patients with an ED visit between August 18, 2017, and February 19, 2018. All included patients either had a historical diagnosis of heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or they had an additional ED visit in the previous six months.<br/> INTERVENTIONS: The pilot intervention involved postED discharge telephonic outreach and assessment by a clinical pharmacist, with triaging to other staff if necessary.<br/> MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with at least one repeat ED visit, hospitalization, or death within 30 days of ED discharge. Outcome rates were also assessed at 90 days postdischarge.<br/> RESULTS: The primary outcome occurred in 21% of the historical cohort and 25% of the intervention cohort (adjusted P-value = 0.48). The incidence of the composite outcome within 90 days of ED discharge was 43% in the historical group compared with 38% in the intervention group (adjusted P-value = 0.29).<br/> CONCLUSION: A pharmacist-led telephonic intervention pilot targeting older people did not appear to have a significant effect on the composite of repeat ED visit, hospitalization, or death within 30 or 90 days of ED discharge. A limited sample size may hinder the ability to make definitive conclusions based on these findings.

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 273-282
Author(s):  
Scott M. Pearson ◽  
Anushka Tandon ◽  
Danielle R. Fixen ◽  
Sunny A. Linnebur ◽  
Gretchen M. Orosz ◽  
...  

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist-led transitional care intervention targeting high-risk older people after an emergency department (ED) visit.<br/> DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study of older people with ED visits prior to and during a pharmacist-led intervention.<br/> SETTING: Patients receiving primary care from the University of Colorado Health Seniors Clinic.<br/> PARTICIPANTS: The intervention cohort comprised 170 patients with an ED visit between August 18, 2018, and February 19, 2019, and the historical cohort included 166 patients with an ED visit between August 18, 2017, and February 19, 2018. All included patients either had a historical diagnosis of heart failure or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or they had an additional ED visit in the previous six months.<br/> INTERVENTIONS: The pilot intervention involved postED discharge telephonic outreach and assessment by a clinical pharmacist, with triaging to other staff if necessary.<br/> MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with at least one repeat ED visit, hospitalization, or death within 30 days of ED discharge. Outcome rates were also assessed at 90 days postdischarge.<br/> RESULTS: The primary outcome occurred in 21% of the historical cohort and 25% of the intervention cohort (adjusted P-value = 0.48). The incidence of the composite outcome within 90 days of ED discharge was 43% in the historical group compared with 38% in the intervention group (adjusted P-value = 0.29).<br/> CONCLUSION: A pharmacist-led telephonic intervention pilot targeting older people did not appear to have a significant effect on the composite of repeat ED visit, hospitalization, or death within 30 or 90 days of ED discharge. A limited sample size may hinder the ability to make definitive conclusions based on these findings.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Socias ◽  
Guillem Frontera ◽  
Catalina Rubert ◽  
Joan Torres ◽  
Tomas Ripoll ◽  
...  

Abstract Background. The patients who attend a hospital without a hemodynamic laboratory may have differences in health outcomes, treatment, reperfusion times, the rate of cardiovascular complications, hospital stay, mortality or costs may be affected. The study aimed to analyze the prognostic of patients with STEMI treated in the Emergency Department (ED) and the impact prognostic of the delayed reperfusion time in a Hospital General without hemodynamic laboratory. Methods. After ethics review board approval, this retrospective observational cohort study of patients included acute coronary syndrome with ST elevation of ≤ 24 h in the Illes Balears infarction code registry (CI-IB) between May 2008 and December 2018. The information recorded were age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors, site of AMI, time delays, reperfusion therapy with fibrinolysis and primary angioplasty (PA). Cardiovascular Event (CE) was defined the combined variable: Killip class progression, malignant arrhythmias, Re-infarction, cerebrovascular disease and mortality. Results.605 patients were analyzed. The reperfusion treatment was 83,1% (80,8% with PA). 19% presented some CE. Hospital and monthly mortality was 6.8% and 7.8% respectively. The main differences between patients with and without CE were: age (66 vs 59 years); Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); previous infarction; anterior location; Door-To-Needle Time and FPC-PA time. The risk factors of CE were: age, COPD, anterior location, fibrinolysis and patients without reperfusion treatment. In the group with PA, the risk of mortality was higher in COPD (p=0.012), Symptom start –FPC time with (p = 0,084) and FPC-PA time > 90 minutes (p= 0.107). FCM-AP> 90 minutes had a higher mortality (10 vs 4.4%;HR 1,79; IC 95% 1,15-2,78; log-rank:p=0,013)Conclussions. In our cohort, most patients received reperfusion treatment and were performed within the recommended time. In ED, the pacients with a FCM-PA time longer than recommended in the guidelines and COPD had higher CE y mortality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1713
Author(s):  
Lourdes Vicent ◽  
Jose Guerra ◽  
Rafael Vazquez-García ◽  
José R. Gonzalez-Juanatey ◽  
Luis Martínez Dolz ◽  
...  

Coronary heart disease is common in heart failure (HF). Our aim was to determine the impact of ischemic etiology on prognosis among men and women with HF. This study is a prospective national multicenter registry. The primary endpoint was 12-month mortality. Patients with HF and ischemic heart disease were stratified according to sex. A total of 1830 patients were enrolled of which 756 (41.3%) were women. Ischemic etiology was more common in men (446 (41.6%)) than in women (167 (22.2%)). Among patients with ischemic HF, diabetes was more frequent in women than in men. Ischemic etiology was not associated with higher mortality risk, and this was true for women (Hazard Ratio [HR] 1.51, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.98–2.32; p = 0.61) and men (HR 1.14, 95% CI 0.81–1.61; p = 0.46), p-value for interaction: 0.067. Mortality/readmission risk in ischemic HF increased in men with previous readmissions (HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02–1.29; p = 0.022), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR1.20, 95% CI 1.02–1.41; p = 0.026) and in women with diabetes (HR 2.23, 95% CI 1.05–4.47; p = 0.035). Ischemic etiology was not associated with mortality in HF patients. In ischemic HF, the variables associated with a poor prognosis were diabetes in women and previous readmissions and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in men.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (B) ◽  
pp. 479-483
Author(s):  
Amira Permatasari Tarigan ◽  
Fannie Rizki Ananda ◽  
Pandiaman Pandia ◽  
Trisno Susilo ◽  
Maryaningsih Maryaningsih ◽  
...  

AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the impact of short-term combination of upper and lower limb training on lung functions, functional capacity, and quality of life in stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: This quasi-experimental study held in 2017 and included 20 participants diagnosed with COPD (forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced volume capacity [FEV1/FVC] ≤70%). Combination of limb training with pursed-lip breathing held twice a week for 8 weeks. Lung functions, functional capacity, dyspnea scale, and quality of life were measured before, 1 month, and 2 months after training. RESULTS: In this study, there was a significant improvement of FVC after 2 months after training (p-value: 0.04), but not in FEV1. There was a significant improvement of CAT (p-value: 0.00) and modified medical research council (p-value: 0.04) after 1 month of training. There was a significant improvement of 6-min walking test mean after 2 months of training (p-value: 0.00). CONCLUSIONS: Short-term combination of limb training and pursed-lip breathing impacted positively on FVC, functional capacity, dyspnea scale, and quality of life in patients with COPD, but not in FEV1.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
pp. 1-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen A Snooks ◽  
Rebecca Anthony ◽  
Robin Chatters ◽  
Jeremy Dale ◽  
Rachael Fothergill ◽  
...  

BackgroundEmergency calls are frequently made to ambulance services for older people who have fallen, but ambulance crews often leave patients at the scene without any ongoing care. We evaluated a new clinical protocol which allowed paramedics to assess older people who had fallen and, if appropriate, refer them to community-based falls services.ObjectivesTo compare outcomes, processes and costs of care between intervention and control groups; and to understand factors which facilitate or hinder use.DesignCluster randomised controlled trial.ParticipantsParticipating paramedics at three ambulance services in England and Wales were based at stations randomised to intervention or control arms. Participants were aged 65 years and over, attended by a study paramedic for a fall-related emergency service call, and resident in the trial catchment areas.InterventionsIntervention paramedics received a clinical protocol with referral pathway, training and support to change practice. Control paramedics continued practice as normal.OutcomesThe primary outcome comprised subsequent emergency health-care contacts (emergency admissions, emergency department attendances, emergency service calls) or death at 1 month and 6 months. Secondary outcomes included pathway of care, ambulance service operational indicators, self-reported outcomes and costs of care. Those assessing outcomes remained blinded to group allocation.ResultsAcross sites, 3073 eligible patients attended by 105 paramedics from 14 ambulance stations were randomly allocated to the intervention group, and 2841 eligible patients attended by 110 paramedics from 11 stations were randomly allocated to the control group. After excluding dissenting and unmatched patients, 2391 intervention group patients and 2264 control group patients were included in primary outcome analyses. We did not find an effect on our overall primary outcome at 1 month or 6 months. However, further emergency service calls were reduced at both 1 month and 6 months; a smaller proportion of patients had made further emergency service calls at 1 month (18.5% vs. 21.8%) and the rate per patient-day at risk at 6 months was lower in the intervention group (0.013 vs. 0.017). Rate of conveyance to emergency department at index incident was similar between groups. Eight per cent of trial eligible patients in the intervention arm were referred to falls services by attending paramedics, compared with 1% in the control arm. The proportion of patients left at scene without further care was lower in the intervention group than in the control group (22.6% vs. 30.3%). We found no differences in duration of episode of care or job cycle. No adverse events were reported. Mean cost of the intervention was £17.30 per patient. There were no significant differences in mean resource utilisation, utilities at 1 month or 6 months or quality-adjusted life-years. In total, 58 patients, 25 paramedics and 31 stakeholders participated in focus groups or interviews. Patients were very satisfied with assessments carried out by paramedics. Paramedics reported that the intervention had increased their confidence to leave patients at home, but barriers to referral included patients’ social situations and autonomy.ConclusionsFindings indicate that this new pathway may be introduced by ambulance services at modest cost, without risk of harm and with some reductions in further emergency calls. However, we did not find evidence of improved health outcomes or reductions in overall NHS emergency workload. Further research is necessary to understand issues in implementation, the costs and benefits of e-trials and the performance of the modified Falls Efficacy Scale.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN60481756 and PROSPERO CRD42013006418.FundingThis project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme and will be published in full inHealth Technology Assessment; Vol. 21, No. 13. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 235-236
Author(s):  
Mary Naylor ◽  
Karen Hirschman ◽  
Brianna Morgan ◽  
Molly McHugh ◽  
Elizabeth Shaid ◽  
...  

Abstract Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) have demonstrated that the multicomponent Transitional Care Model (TCM), an advanced practice registered nurse-led, team-based, care management strategy improves outcomes for older adults transitioning from hospital to home. However, healthcare systems’ adoption of the model has been limited. A multi-system, replication RCT (MIRROR-TCM) enrolling older adults hospitalized with heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or pneumonia began in February 2020 just as the outbreak of COVID-19 in the U.S. dramatically changed the healthcare and research landscape. The goal of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore the impact of COVID-19 on fidelity to the TCM intervention during this clinical trial. Using directed content analysis, recorded monthly meetings with health system leaders and staff were coded to identify challenges and strategies to maintaining fidelity to the intervention in the context of the pandemic. Analyses showed that COVID-19 impacted all 10 TCM components. The components with the most challenges were delivering services from hospital-to-home due to quarantining, restrictive facility policies, lack of personal protective equipment and limited telehealth availability; coordinating care due reduced availability of services, and screening at risk individuals because of fewer eligible patients. Strategies for addressing challenges included: exploring alternatives (e.g., increasing reliance on telehealth, expanding study eligibility), building and engaging networks (e.g., direct outreach to skilled nursing facility staff) and anticipating needs (e.g., preparing for shorter hospital stays). Findings highlight the importance of monitoring the contextual challenges to implementing an evidence-based intervention and actively engaging partners in identifying strategies to achieve fidelity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Lorenzo ◽  
Lindsay MacConaghy ◽  
Christopher D. Miller ◽  
Gregory Meola ◽  
Luke A. Probst ◽  
...  

Background: Severe sepsis and septic shock represent common presentations in the emergency department (ED) and have high rates of mortality. Guideline-recommended goals of care have been shown to benefit these patients, but can be difficult to provide. Objective: To determine whether the use of a premixed bag consisting of 2 g cefepime and 1 g vancomycin in 1000 mL of normal saline increases the probability of patients receiving Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC) recommendations for the initiation of antimicrobials and fluid challenge. Methods: This was a 6-month retrospective analysis conducted to determine the impact of an intervention on time to antimicrobials and fluid administration in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Patients presenting to the ED who received a diagnosis of severe sepsis or septic shock and were administered 2 antibiotics were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome assessed was compliance with SSC recommendations for antibiotic and fluid goals within 3 hours of ED arrival. Results: A total of 160 patients were included. In the intervention group, 63.8% of patients met the primary outcome compared with 22.5% in the historical group (odds ratio = 2.32; 95% CI = 1.67-3.23). Time to administration of antibiotics was less with the combination antibiotic bag (CAB: median (IQR) = 72 (48-115) minutes; non-CAB: median (IQR) = 135 (102-244) minutes; P ≤ 0.001). Conclusion: This intervention significantly increased the proportion of patients provided with SSC goals of care. Such interventions have not been reported previously and could be meaningful in the management of severe sepsis and septic shock.


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