Arjun Teotia, Brent D Fulton, Dan R Arnold, Richard M Scheffler
{"title":"State-Level Hospital Quality in the United States: Analyzing Variation and Trends From 2013 to 2021.","authors":"Arjun Teotia, Brent D Fulton, Dan R Arnold, Richard M Scheffler","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000462","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000462","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study develops a hospital quality index to analyze state-level variations in hospital quality in the United States from 2013 to 2021, using data from 3,000 hospitals from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Hospital Compare data set.</p><p><strong>Design: </strong>The quality index combines three risk-adjusted measures from the CMS Hospital Compare: 30-day readmission rate, 30-day mortality rate, and patient experience. Each measure is converted into a z-score, weighted by hospital beds, and averaged to form the final index, which has a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In 2021, the average U.S. hospital quality measures were 15.1% for readmissions, 11.2% for mortality, and 69.7% for patient experience. There was significant state-level heterogeneity. The quality index ranged from -0.54 to 0.57. Eight states notably outperformed the U.S. average, with Utah leading. Conversely, 14 states underperformed. From 2013 to 2021, there was an average annual improvement in readmissions (0.08pp) and mortality (0.12pp), but a decline in patient experience (0.27pp).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study highlights improvements in hospital quality over time but underscores disparities at the state level. The quality index provides a valuable tool for understanding and addressing these variations in hospital care quality.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143460328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pharmacist-Led Population Health Initiative to Address Statin Care Gaps: A Quality Improvement Project.","authors":"Danielle Raymer, Anna Everhart, Danielle Baker","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000465","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000465","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Evidence-based guidelines recommend statins as first-line therapy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in patients with cardiovascular disease and/or diabetes. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services assess compliance with these guidelines through performance and process quality measures.</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>To describe innovative practices to address statin use care gaps, to identify successes and challenges of a pharmacist-led statin initiative, and share quality improvement opportunities related to statin quality metrics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A retrospective review was conducted in 2023 of patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage value-based care contracts in a large health system. The primary outcome measures were the percentage of patients identified with statin care gaps who met the criteria for statin treatment and the percentage of patients who accepted pharmacist-led recommendations to initiate statin therapy. Outcomes were analyzed using descriptive statistics.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Among those with statin care gaps, 42% met criteria for pharmacist-led statin initiation. Of those who met criteria, 22% accepted pharmacist's recommendation to initiate statin therapy.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Pharmacist-led statin initiation is effective; however, systematic barriers remain to improve statin quality performance. These results can help others adopt innovative practices that target statin care gaps and assess opportunities for quality improvement.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.1,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143460323","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nathan Robert Luzum, Anna Beckius, Thomas W Heinrich, Kimberly Stoner
{"title":"Implementation of an Evidence-Based Treatment Protocol and Order Set for Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome.","authors":"Nathan Robert Luzum, Anna Beckius, Thomas W Heinrich, Kimberly Stoner","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000452","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000452","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is highly prevalent in hospital inpatients. Recent evidence supports use of phenobarbital and gabapentin in certain patients, and screening tools for severe withdrawal risk can be used to guide care. Inpatients with AWS should also be considered for evidence-based treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD).</p><p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The purpose of this quality improvement study was to monitor clinical outcomes and prescribing habits after updating an electronic order set for inpatient AWS management at a large, academic hospital.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Protocol updates included use of the Prediction of Alcohol Withdrawal Severity Scale, phenobarbital and gabapentin protocols, and linkage to treatment resources. Data were collected for 10 months before and 14 months after implementation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Intensive care unit (ICU) transfer rate decreased by 2.3%, whereas length of stay and readmissions were not significantly different. In patients treated with the order set, ICU transfer and length of stay outcomes were superior. Patients treated through the order set were more likely to receive evidence-based treatment for AWS and AUD.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Electronic order sets can promote evidence-based practice for AWS. The updated protocol will remain in place at the study institution, with future efforts focused on education and ease of use to increase order set utilization.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":" ","pages":"340-347"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141761927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Increasing Diabetic Retinopathy Screening in Resident-Run Clinic Through Partnership With Ophthalmology Clinic: A Pilot Study.","authors":"Catherine Mahoney, Caitlin Toomey","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000455","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000455","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Despite the importance of early detection of diabetic retinopathy, many diabetic patients fail to receive the recommended screening. The objective of this quality-improvement initiative was to increase diabetic retinopathy screening through a partnership between primary care and ophthalmology, where primary care clinic staff may schedule patients directly for screening appointments at point of referral. To our knowledge, this intervention is the first described to use an interspecialty partnership to increase screening. We implemented the intervention at a resident-run primary care clinic with a medically underserved patient population. The pilot intervention took place over a 6-month time frame. The completion rate of diabetic retinopathy screening examinations was compared before and after intervention and was found to increase in a statistically significant manner from 34.7% to 40.5% ( p = .01). The no-show rate did improve from 66.7% preintervention to 46.0% postintervention; however, this change was not statistically significant ( p = .44). During this pilot, the intervention was able to increase diabetic retinopathy screening completion rate; however, further efforts should be aimed at addressing no-shows. Overall, this initiative was a positive step toward the goal of every diabetic patient undergoing the appropriate screening examinations.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":" ","pages":"365-369"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142394395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Streamlining Atrial Fibrillation Care: Building a Comprehensive Program to Provide High-Quality, Individualized Care.","authors":"David Lam, Jen Farrell, Bob Fletcher, Adam Zivin","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000450","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000450","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Atrial fibrillation is the most common sustained arrhythmia with a variable presentation ranging from asymptomatic incidental diagnosis by physical examination or electrocardiogram screening, to severely symptomatic requiring emergent treatment. The variation in care represents an opportunity to build a comprehensive center of excellence within a hospital system. We present our experience building the Swedish Comprehensive AFib Network and a dedicated AFib clinic at a large quaternary urban medical center. We focused on patient and referral engagement, standardized protocols to promote best practices, data collection to improve quality of care, and broad evaluation of a single but multidisciplinary disease process. We hope this can offer insight into how other programs can be started for atrial fibrillation or other disease-focused clinics. We report our experience in the first 2 years, having evaluated over 700 new patients, and demonstrated an improvement in the rate of anticoagulation usage and a reduction in hospitalizations among patients included in our program.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":"46 6","pages":"333-339"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142584600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Samita M Heslin, Candice King, Robert Schwaner, James Vosswinkel, Adam Singer, Eric J Morley
{"title":"Improving Time to Antibiotics for Long-Bone Open Fractures: A Quality Improvement Initiative.","authors":"Samita M Heslin, Candice King, Robert Schwaner, James Vosswinkel, Adam Singer, Eric J Morley","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000451","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000451","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Open fractures, which are exposed to the external environment, are at a high risk of infection. Administering antibiotics within 60 minutes of emergency department (ED) arrival is crucial to prevent infection. However, this is difficult to achieve due to high ED patient volumes. The purpose of our project was to improve time to antibiotics for patients presenting with long-bone open fractures at a Level 1 trauma center ED. We used the Lean Six Sigma Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control project framework to guide our efforts. Our interventions composed of developing educational initiatives, creating an electronic medical record order set, and restructuring the ED workflow to prioritize long-bone open fractures for immediate evaluation and antibiotic administration in our critical care zone. After our intervention, the time to antibiotics for long-bone open fractures improved significantly, decreasing from 76 to 40 minutes ( p < .001), with the percentage of patients receiving antibiotics within 60 minutes of ED arrival increasing from 64% to 92% ( p < .001). Age, sex, mechanism of injury, antibiotic choice, and location of the open fracture remained consistent between the two groups. Our results highlight the successful application of process improvement methodologies in improving antibiotic administration time for long-bone open fractures.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":" ","pages":"326-332"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141761928","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Process Evaluation Approach to Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection Reduction in a Neonatal Population.","authors":"Soraya Riley, Erin Osterholm, Emily Vadner, Julianne Cramer","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000453","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000453","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To reduce the rate of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in the M Health Fairview Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) from 2.15 infections per 1,000 central line days to less than one per 1,000 line days using process evaluation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An interdisciplinary team used process mapping and Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) to identify root causes and improvement opportunities in central line maintenance. The focus was on neonates born at <32 weeks of gestational age and weighing less than 750 g. Interventions included standardized clean space, algorithms to reduce line access, and standardized kits for line maintenance.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Over 4 years, the project achieved an 86.6% reduction in CLABSI events, decreasing from 15 events in 2019 to two in 2023. The CLABSI rate dropped by 85%, from 2.15 to 0.32 per 1,000 line days. Statistical analysis indicated a significant reduction in FMEA risk scores for the identified failure modes, with an average reduction of 33%.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The process-focused approach and interdisciplinary collaboration significantly reduced CLABSI rates in the NICU. Future efforts should aim to maintain these improvements and achieve a target of zero CLABSI events.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":"46 6","pages":"348-358"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142584597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Thank You to Reviewers.","authors":"Cathy E Duquette","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000459","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000459","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":"46 6","pages":"380"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142584607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Note from the Editor-in-Chief.","authors":"Cathy E Duquette","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000458","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000458","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":"46 6","pages":"325"},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142584595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Erwin Wang, Aditya Samaroo, Joseph Weisstuch, Bret Rudy
{"title":"The Use of a Single Risk Assessment Tool for Mortality and Numerous Hospital-Acquired Conditions.","authors":"Erwin Wang, Aditya Samaroo, Joseph Weisstuch, Bret Rudy","doi":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000456","DOIUrl":"10.1097/JHQ.0000000000000456","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Abstract: </strong>Quality assessment organizations leverage numerous patient safety measures to evaluate hospital performance, resulting in significant financial, administrative, and operational burdens on health systems. Low-intensity approaches that allow for reliable risk stratification of patients can reduce the required investment. The Braden score is a routinely performed bedside nursing evaluation validated to assess risk for hospital-acquired pressure injury. We hypothesized that the tool can be used to evaluate risk for other hospital-related adverse outcomes, including mortality, catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), and central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI). We found that abnormal Braden scores have significant association with numerous adverse outcome measures, including mortality, CLABSI, CAUTI, and iatrogenic hypoglycemia. Because of its frequency of reevaluation, we have found preliminary evidence that leveraging this tool can reduce harm by quickly identifying the most at-risk patients for various types of iatrogenic harm. We conclude that in the face of increasing automation and technical applications, for example, artificial intelligence-driven tools, highly reliable clinician bedside physical examination and evaluation can still have significant, low-cost, and high-value impact in improving patient safety.</p>","PeriodicalId":48801,"journal":{"name":"Journal for Healthcare Quality","volume":" ","pages":"370-379"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142478390","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}