Advanced units: quality measures in urgency and emergency care / Unidades avançadas: medidas de qualidade no atendimento de urgência e emergência

Objective : To evaluate, through care indicators, the quality of services rendered to patients considered urgency and emergency cases at an advanced emergency care unit. Methods : We analyzed data from managerial reports of 64,891 medical visits performed in the Emergency Care Unit of the Ibirapuera Unit at Care during the period from June 1st, 2012 through May 31st, 2013. The proposed indicators for the assessment of care were rate of death in the emergency care unit; average length of stay of patients in the unit; rate of unplanned return visits; admission rate for patients screened as level 1 according to the Emergency Severity Index; rate of non-finalized medical consultations; rate of complaints; and door-to-electrocardiogram time. Results : The rate of death in the emergency care unit was zero. Five of the 22 patients classified as Emergency Severity Index 1 (22.7%) arrived presenting cardiac arrest. All were treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and reestablishment of vital functions. The average length of stay of patients in the unit was 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 7 seconds. The rate of unscheduled return visits at the emergency care unit of the Ibirapuera unit was 13.64%. Rate of complaints was 2.8/1,000 patients seen during the period Conclusion . : The model of urgency and emergency care in advanced units provides an efficient and efficaious service to patients. Both critically ill patients and those considered less complex can receive proper treatment for their needs. .

Objetivo : Avaliar, por meio de indicadores assistenciais, a qualidade do atendimento prestado aos pacientes considerados de urgência e emergência em uma Unidade Avançada de Pronto Atendimento. Métodos : Foram analisados os dados de relatórios gerenciais das 64.891 consultas (passagens) realizadas na Unidade de Pronto Atendimento da Unidade Ibirapuera do Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein no período de 1o de junho de 2012 até 31 de maio de 2013. Os indicadores propostos para a avaliação do atendimento foram: taxa de óbito no pronto atendimento; tempo médio de permanência dos pacientes dentro da unidade; taxa de consulta de retorno não programado; taxa de internação dos pacientes com triagem 1 segundo o Índice de Severidade de Emergência; taxa de atendimento médico não finalizado; taxa de reclamações; e tempo porta-eletrocardiograma. Resultados A taxa de óbito no pronto atendimento foi zero. Cinco dos 22 pacientes triados como 1 segundo o Índice de Severidade de Emergência (22,7%) chegaram em situação de parada cardiorrespiratória. Todos foram submetidos ao tratamento de reanimação cardiopulmonar com o reestabelecimento de suas funções vitais. O tempo médio de permanência dos pacientes dentro da unidade foi de 3 horas, 33 minutos e 7 segundos. A taxa de retornos em consulta médica não programados no Pronto Atendimento da Unidade Ibirapuera foi de 13,64%. Foi observada taxa de reclamações de 2,8/1.000 atendimentos realizados (183 reclamações) no período analisado. Conclusão O modelo de atendimento de urgência e emergência de unidades avançadas ...

Advanced units: quality measures in urgency and emergency care.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate, through care indicators, the quality of services rendered to patients considered urgency and emergency cases at an advanced emergency care unit. METHODS: We analyzed data from managerial reports of 64,891 medical visits performed in the Emergency Care Unit of the Ibirapuera Unit at Care during the period from June 1st, 2012 through May 31st, 2013. The proposed indicators for the assessment of care were rate of death in the emergency care unit; average length of stay of patients in the unit; rate of unplanned return visits; admission rate for patients screened as level 1 according to the Emergency Severity Index; rate of non-finalized medical consultations; rate of complaints; and door-to-electrocardiogram time. RESULTS: The rate of death in the emergency care unit was zero. Five of the 22 patients classified as Emergency Severity Index 1 (22.7%) arrived presenting cardiac arrest. All were treated with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and reestablishment of vital functions. The average length of stay of patients in the unit was 3 hours, 33 minutes, and 7 seconds. The rate of unscheduled return visits at the emergency care unit of the Ibirapuera unit was 13.64%. Rate of complaints was 2.8/1,000 patients seen during the period. CONCLUSION: The model of urgency and emergency care in advanced units provides an efficient and efficaious service to patients. Both critically ill patients and those considered less complex can receive proper treatment for their needs.

A program for sustained improvement in preventing ventilator associated pneumonia in an intensive care setting.

BACKGROUND: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common infection in the intensive care unit (ICU) and associated with a high mortality. METHODS: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in a medical-surgical ICU. Multiple interventions to optimize VAP prevention were performed from October 2008 to December 2010. All of these processes, including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) ventilator bundle plus oral decontamination with chlorhexidine and continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions (CASS), were adopted for patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. RESULTS: We evaluated a total of 21,984 patient-days, and a total of 6,052 ventilator-days (ventilator utilization rate of 0.27). We found VAP rates of 1.3 and 2.0 per 1,000 ventilator days respectively in 2009 and 2010, achieving zero incidence of VAP several times during 12 months, whenever VAP bundle compliance was over 90%. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that it is possible to reduce VAP rates to near zero and sustain these rates, but it requires a complex process involving multiple performance measures and interventions that must be permanently monitored.