The implementation of a technology-based intervention focused on improving communication and patient engagement in the intensive care unit may help reduce adverse events, according to a study published in the journal Critical Care Medicine.
The intervention was implemented at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston over the course of two intervals — from July 2013 to May 2014 and July 2014 to May 2015 — and included a 60-minute patient engagement training program. The intervention also provided clinicians with a web-based toolkit featuring an ICU safety checklist populated with real-time data from the patient's electronic health record. The toolkit was also equipped with care planning and messaging applications accessible to clinicians through the EHR and patients through an iPad.
Patients treated under the intervention experienced a 29 percent decrease in adverse events, largely driven by a drop in catheter-associated urinary tract infections and pressure ulcers.
"Our goal was to shift our clinical thinking from 'What is the matter?' to discovering 'What matters to you?'" said Patricia Dykes, PhD, RN, a senior nurse scientist in the Center for Patient Safety, Research and Practice at BWH and lead author of the paper. "If we can effectively collaborate with our patients and their care partners and engage them in their care, then we have the potential to enhance the care, improve adherence to care plans, positively impact satisfaction rates and reduce healthcare costs."
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