Coding, Tracking and Trending Injury Data to Improve Practice and Safety for Caregivers and Their Patients 1145

Abstract

Objectives

(1) To describe how an employee injury coding project led to improved safety for caregivers and patients throughout a large hospital system. (2) To accurately investigate the underlying causes of employee injuries in order to implement effective injury prevention action plans including for rehabilitation units. (3) To understand the link between employee injury data, patient outcomes/NDNQI data and safe patient handling and mobility (SPHM) programs.

Design

Developed an injury coding system in order to accurately track data for 11 hospitals using over 15 years of workers’ compensation data. Accurate data led to implementing effective plans based on each category of cause of injury. Effective action plans led to significant decreases in frequency and severity of injuries, positive trending and sustainable programs. In addition to impacting caregiver safety, patient outcomes (eg, falls, pressure injuries) were positively impacted by improved mobility practices.

Setting

Acute care/hospital settings both rural and large urban hospitals with impact on associated outpatient/ambulatory care settings.

Participants

Employee injury data from 11 hospitals collected over a period of 15 years.

Interventions

Use of accurate coding of injuries to allow for accurate tracking of causes, and implementing injury prevention programs, including SPHM practices that also focused on patient initiatives and outcomes (eg, falls, pressure injuries).

Main Outcome Measures

Decrease in frequency and severity of caregiver injuries associated with unit-specific and cause-specific SPHM interventions.

Results

(1) Accurate coding and tracking of employee injuries led to (2) focused action plans and (3) implementing effective injury prevention programs and practices, which led to (4) significant and sustainable decreases in both frequency and severity of employee injuries and (5) improved patient outcomes through early and often mobilization using SPHM practices.

Conclusions

Obtaining enough information to accurately code and track the underlying causes of employee injuries leads to improved practice and safety for both caregivers and patients. More research is needed directly linking SPHM practices to improved patient outcomes.

Disclosures

Teresa Boynton worked for Banner Health for 26+ years as the Ergonomics and Injury Prevention Specialist, and Safe Patient Handling and Mobility lead. She developed the Banner Bedside Mobility Assessment Tool linked to SPHM practices. She then worked for Hill-Rom as a Clinical Consultant and developed Banner Bedside Mobility Assessment Tool 2.0. She worked with hospital systems to implement SPHM practices that are unit-specific focused on caregiver and patient safety and avoiding complications of immobility and the negative effects of bedrest. She is currently an independent clinical consultant focused on these same issues.