Right on Schedule: Improving the Rate of Clinic Appointments Scheduled Prior to Hospital Hospital Discharge.
- Resource Type
- Academic Journal
- Authors
- Rahim MQ; Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Ind.; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.; Griffin J; Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Children's Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.; Hege K; Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Ind.; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.; Mueller EL; Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Ind.; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.; Kauffman K; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.; Corman S; Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Ind.; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.; Anderson K; Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Ind.; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.; Woodburn S; Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Ind.; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.; Jackson MD; Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, Ind.; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Ind.
- Source
- Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101702480 Publication Model: eCollection Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2472-0054 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 24720054 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Pediatr Qual Saf Subsets: PubMed not MEDLINE
- Subject
- Language
- English
Introduction: Children with cancer and blood disorders have many healthcare needs that often require inpatient and outpatient management. There is potential for a lapse in care when patients frequently transition between these settings. We aimed to improve the process and increase the rate of scheduled outpatient follow-up appointments at the time of inpatient discharge for all pediatric hematology-oncology patients from a baseline of 68-80%.
Methods: A multidisciplinary team developed several Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to standardize and improve the process of scheduling follow-up appointments, communication to schedulers, and discussion of discharge planning. QI Macros for Excel Version 2019.06 was used for statistical analysis. Our primary outcome was displayed over time with a p-chart.
Results: Plan-Do-Study-Act interventions had a statistically significant impact in increasing the percentage of patients with follow-up outpatient appointments scheduled at the time of inpatient discharge from a baseline of 68% to consistently over 80%.
Conclusions: This study demonstrates that standardization of care processes and reminders and education of healthcare providers about the new approaches can improve the rates of outpatient follow-up appointments scheduled at the time of hospital discharge from inpatient care.
(Copyright © 2022 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)