ABSTRACT
Objectives: Evidence demonstrates that when hospitals focus on the discharge process patient safety improves and overall costs decline. Hospital discharge requires care coordination of multiple disciplines, often leading to fragmented care, and adverse outcomes after discharge include emergency department visits and hospital readmissions. The Re-Engineered Discharge (RED) process was developed as an evidence-based strategy to improve the hospital discharge. We evaluated perspectives and priorities of physicians, health care workers, and patients involved in the vascular discharge process using RED as a framework. Method(s): A single-center qualitative analysis using a semi-structured focus groups and an interview guide based on the RED process. Focus groups were Zoom platform recorded, transcribed into text files, independently coded, and analyzed with Dedoose qualitative software using a directed content analysis approach. Thematic concepts were created, and comparisons between groups were analyzed by coding frequency. Researchers independently thematically coded each transcript;prior to analysis, all redundancy of codes was resolved;and all team members agreed on text categorization and coding frequency. Result(s): Eight focus groups with 38 participants were performed. Participants included: physicians (n = 13), nursing and ancillary staff (n = 19), and patients/caregivers (n = 6). Transcript analyses revealed facilitators and barriers to discharge. Overarching themes identified from the qualitative analysis frequencies are displayed by stakeholder role (Fig 1). Themes identified with the greatest coding frequencies included helpfulness of discharge instructions, patient health literacy, patient medical complexity, poor interdisciplinary team communication, time constraints during discharge, technology literacy of patients, barriers to obtaining medications for patients, barriers to organizing outpatient services for health care workers, barriers for patients to obtain help after discharge, and the impact of COVID-19. Conclusion(s): These findings identify the need to strengthen efforts to overcome stakeholder barriers to improve patient safety at the interface of the hospital to create a well-organized discharge. Physicians were most concerned with low patient health literacy, patient understanding of discharge instructions, organizing outpatient services, and overall patient medical complexity hindering a smooth discharge. Health care staff identified time constraints, obtaining medications and, and inter-team communication as their greatest obstacles to an organized discharge. Patients found the complexity and amount of discharge instructions, the impact of COVID-19 on support systems, and technology utilization after discharge most challenging. Modifications to address individual stakeholder barriers within the discharge process are needed to develop a national standardized discharge specific for vascular surgery patients to improve patient safety and satisfaction. [Formula presented]Copyright © 2023
ABSTRACT
Background. Data on COVID-19 related nursing home infections and mortality accumulated at a rapid pace;yet little is known about the impact of nursing homes' response to COVID-19 on resident clinical, functional, and psychosocial outcomes. Methods. We examined aggregated Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments to describe resident outcomes using an interrupted times series methodology for three timeframes: pre-COVID (1/2019 to 2/2020), pandemic (3/2020-12/2021), and vaccination (1/2021-6/2021). Data included 307,558 federally mandated resident MDS assessments from 60,846 resident in 489 nursing homes in a Mid-Western state. We calculated MDS based quality measures (QM) using definitions available from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Each QM-based outcome was fit to a logistic regression model using the method of generalized estimating equations. Results. None of the QMs displayed a statistically significant trend pre-COVID. The prevalence of excessive weight loss and ADL decline increased sharply during the pandemic and reversed that trend with vaccination. Pressure ulcers among high-risk residents followed a similar trend, although pandemic and vaccination-related regression parameters for thatQMwere only marginally significant (p = .08). Pain worsened during the pandemic and vaccination period approaching significance (p=.07). Antipsychotic medication use worsened in the pandemic (p< .001) and did not improve in the vaccination period. Other QMs including any fall, fall with major injury, and incontinence did not exhibit statistically significant change in trend. Prevalence Profiles Circles: Observed proportions, Dashed Line: Model expected value, Solid Lines: 95% confidence limits for expected values Conclusion. We noted significant changes in QMs for antipsychotic use, ADL loss, andweight loss, with the latter two improving in the vaccination period. Isolation, disease outbreaks, and staffing issues in facilities could have affected theseQMs. Data variability may have limited our ability to detect other changes. Antipsychotics may have increased with the need to reduce wandering and other behaviors common in the nursing home population;behaviors high risk for spreading COVID-19. Why antipsychotic use did not improve during the vaccination period is less clear. Data beyond June of 2021 may help clarify the pattern of antipsychotic use. (Figure Presented).
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of US nursing homes to manage widespread viral outbreaks including an ill prepared/under-resourced workforce, a physical environment not conducive to infection prevention or management, and isolation from community emergency response planning. In this session, we will share real-life, real-time experiences of diverse Missouri nursing homes as they responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will also report on emerging data about the impact of nursing homes' pandemic response on resident outcomes. Strategies such as community-based efforts to respond to resource scarcity, and creative workforce solutions to address staffing needs, will be shared. Critical next steps should focus on the implementation of community coalitions to create sustainable healthcare partnerships at the local and state level and enhanced workforce solutions that include registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses working within nursing homes to guide clinical care and infection prevention and management strategies.
ABSTRACT
Show-Me ECHO, a state-funded project, provides access to education within a community of learners in order to optimize healthcare for the citizens of Missouri. Through videoconferencing and case-based review, ECHO shifts professional development from learning about medical problems in isolation to experiential learning as part of a multidisciplinary team. The establishment of a statewide COVID-19 ECHO is allowing a rapid response to this novel, unprecedented, and unanticipated health care crisis. There are many ongoing opportunities for clinicians from across the state to join a Show-Me ECHO learning community as a means to elevate their practice and improve ability to respond amidst a constantly evolving health care environment. Copyright 2020 by the Missouri State Medical Association.