This project was intended to inform providers, patients, payers, policymakers, and the public about how these safe practice interventions can be implemented successfully in diverse health care settings, leading to safer and better health care for all Americans. Multidisciplinary clinical and research teams in partnerships among the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC), UW School of Nursing, and the Center for Health Sciences Interprofessional Education and Research have developed and implemented the VTE Safety Toolkit locally through a public Web site ( ) for providers and patients. The purpose of this project was to increase the implementation of safe practice interventions for patients at risk for or diagnosed with VTE using the evidenced-based and system-supported interactive VTE Safety Toolkit and On-line Provider Training Module on VTE Prophylaxis. Patient safety issues associated with the prevention and management of VTE continue to pose a challenge in most U.S. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 However, patient safety remains a challenge because of the difficulty in sustaining organizational change to support new initiatives. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Diverse approaches to organizational change have also been introduced. Several clinical guidelines for patient safety have been developed and implemented in health care organizations. Patient safety has been a major focus of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Given the magnitude of the problem, it is not surprising that the diagnosis and management have been better defined for VTE than for other common diseases. A fundamental understanding of prophylaxis, diagnosis, and treatment is necessary for providers throughout the continuum of patient care. 5, 6 Errors from omission of prophylaxis or objective diagnostic testing, or inadequate treatment are estimated to result in significant harm to hospitalized patients. 2, 3, 4 Approximately two-thirds of patients with symptomatic VTE manifest DVT alone, whereas one-third of patients manifest PE.Īppropriate prophylactic regimens for many different patient groups have been determined by randomized clinical trials, as has the appropriate treatment of established DVT. About 30 percent to 40 percent of postoperative patients will develop some form of DVT, and VTE is associated with more than 300,000 hospitalizations annually. 1 Approximately 2.5 million cases of DVT and 600,000 cases of PE are diagnosed per year in the United States. VTE is one of the most common clinical disorders among both inpatients and outpatients, and PE is the most common preventable cause of death among hospitalized patients in the United States. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) encompasses deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). We describe how organizations and providers can use the VTE Safety Toolkit and On-line Provider Training Module on VTE Prophylaxis to identify business process that can be changed and create a mechanism to track provider and system performance and thereby improve patient safety and accountability around VTE. In particular, we describe the use of the evidence-based, system-supported, interactive VTE Safety Toolkit-which includes diagnostic, preventive, and therapeutic algorithms-and the On-line Provider Training Module on VTE Prophylaxis, which is a mandatory Web-based VTE educational intervention for all providers. In this paper, we describe the implementation and use of safe practice interventions for patients who have been diagnosed with VTE or are at risk for VTE. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) requires coordination of care across multiple providers supported by a system that assists in the process of delivering and tracking outcomes of care. However, a culture of safety by itself cannot create change within an organization. The current culture in health care is focused on patient safety and on delivering quality health care across the continuum of care.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |