Alternatives to Opioid Education and a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Cumulatively Decreased Outpatient Opioid Prescriptions.

INTRODUCTION: Deaths have increased, and prescription medications are involved in a significant percentage of deaths. Emergency department (ED) changes to managing acute pain and prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) can impact the potential for abuse. METHODS: We analyzed the impact of a series of quality improvement initiatives on the opioid prescribing habits of emergency department physicians and advanced practice providers. We compared historical prescribing patterns with those after three interventions: 1) the implementation of a PDMP, 2) clinician education on alternatives to opioids (ALTOs), and 3) electronic health record (EHR) process changes. RESULTS: There was a 61.8% decrease in the percentage of opioid-eligible ED discharges that received a prescription for an opioid from 19.4% during the baseline period to 7.4% during the final intervention period. Among these discharges, the cumulative effect of the interventions resulted in a 17.3% decrease in the amount of morphine milligram equivalents (MME) prescribed per discharge from a mean of 104.9 MME/discharge during the baseline period to 86.8 MME/discharge. In addition, the average amount of MME prescribed per discharge became aligned with recommended guidelines over the intervention periods. CONCLUSIONS: Initiating a PDMP and instituting an aggressive ALTO program along with EHR-modified process flows have cumulative benefits in decreasing MME prescribed in an acute ED setting.

A Novel Use of Prehospital Telemedicine to Decrease Door to Computed Tomography Results in Acute Strokes.

INTRODUCTION: Timely emergency department (ED) recognition of acute strokes reduces morbidity and mortality and improves outcomes. Prehospital telehealth evaluation rapidly assesses patients with stroke symptoms and mobilizes resources before ED arrival, decreasing ED arrival to computed tomography (CT) result times. Expediting CT results reduces the decision time to determining thrombolytic therapy eligibility. METHODS: Seventeen ambulances in our region were supplied with equipment to perform a nonrecordable video examination with an ED physician. Emergency Medical Service requested a physician video examination on patients with a positive prehospital Cincinnati Stroke Scale. The physician and paramedic conducted an NIH-8 scale, and, based on the assessment, the patients were placed directly on the CT scanner table. RESULTS: Four time intervals that impact CT acquisition and thrombolytic decision-making were measured. There was improvement in all time intervals. Time from ED arrival to CT order decreased 1.7 minutes. Time from arrival to study start decreased 5.7 minutes. Time from CT order to result decreased 3.89 minutes and time from ED arrival to CT result decreased 5.6 minutes. DISCUSSION: Prehospital telehealth consults with paramedics, and the receiving hospital for acute strokes significantly decreased times for all metrics studied including the time from ED arrival to CT result.

Success Of An Expedited Emergency Department Triage Evaluation System For Geriatric Trauma Patients Not Meeting Trauma Activation Criteria.

BACKGROUND: Geriatric patients are at increased risk of injury following low-energy mechanisms and are less tolerant of injury. Current criteria for trauma team activation (TTA) often miss these injuries. We evaluated a novel triage process for an expedited Emergency Medicine Physician evaluation protocol (T3) for at-risk geriatric sub-populations not meeting trauma team activation (TTA) criteria. METHODS: Retrospective review of injured patients (≥65 years) from a Level II Trauma Center with an Injury Severity Score (ISS < 16), prior to (Pre-T3, Jan 2007-Oct 2009), and after (Post-T3, Jan 2010-Oct 2012), implementation of T3, as well as a contemporary period (CP, Jan 2013-Oct 2015). Demographics, physiologic variables, and timeliness of care were measured. Rates of ICU admission, operative procedures and lengths of stay and in-hospital mortality were compared for all periods. Logistic regression analysis determined variables independently associated with mortality. RESULTS: Post-T3, 49.2% of geriatric registry patients underwent T3 with a reduction in key time intervals. Median time to evaluation (42.1 mins vs 61.7 min, p<0.001), median time to CT (161.3 mins vs 212.9 mins, p<0.001) and EDLOS (364.6 mins vs 451.5 mins, p=0.023) were all reduced compared to non-expedited evaluations. There was no change in mortality after the implementation of the protocol. CONCLUSION: The T3 protocol expedited patient evaluation of at-risk geriatric patients that would not otherwise meet TTA criteria. The new process met the goals of the American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program while conserving resources.