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- Title
Use of an Electronic Alert Tool to Prevent Readmissions Following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery.
- Authors
Smith, Stephanie D.; Turrise, Stephanie L.; Jordan, Larry; Robertson, Anne Marie; Kane, Peter
- Abstract
Objective: Cardiothoracic (CT) surgeons at our medical center were not receiving timely notification when their coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery patients were admitted to the medical center or to other hospitals. The CT surgical team worked with a health alliance in southeastern North Carolina to implement health information exchange (HIE) real-time electronic notifications for their CABG patients who presented to the hospital's emergency department (ED) or any ED affiliated with the medical center. The alert tool notifies team members about patient encounters, driving timely clinical engagement. Methods: The CT team provided the HIE team with the names of CABG surgery patients, which were loaded into the alert tool. When a patient on the list presented to the hospital ED or its affiliates, the alert tool sent a real-time electronic notification to the Cardiac Surgical Services nurse coordinator. This intervention prompted the assessment and disposition of CABG patients, while in the ED, by the CT surgical team. payResults: Over a 16-month period (September 2017-December 2018), the names of 614 post-CABG patients were input into the HIE for tracking. Of these patients, 47 were treated and discharged from the ED; 31 were admitted for observation; 44 were readmitted for inpatient care; and 492 did not have a qualifying event requiring a notification alert. Following implementation of this practice change, the 30-day readmission rate for patients who underwent CABG at our institution decreased from 10% to 7.2%. Conclusion: Utilizing a real-time alert tool resulted in immediate notification of the CT team when 1 of their patients presented to the ED. This afforded the CT surgical team an opportunity to intervene in the care of their patients, which in turn led to improved quality of care, physician communication and collaboration, and patient outcomes, such as preventable 30-day readmissions.
- Subjects
NORTH Carolina; COMMUNICATION; CORONARY artery bypass; DECISION support systems; ELECTRONIC data interchange; HOSPITAL emergency services; INFORMATION storage &; retrieval systems; MEDICAL databases; MEDICAL quality control; MEDICAL informatics; PATIENTS; QUALITY assurance; SURGEONS; SURGERY; PATIENT readmissions; ELECTRONIC health records; DESCRIPTIVE statistics
- Publication
Journal of Clinical Outcomes Management, 2020, Vol 27, Issue 2, p80
- ISSN
1079-6533
- Publication type
Article