A new Northwestern Medicine study showed intensive care unit mortality rates plummeted by 50 percent when the attending physician had a checklist and a colleague prompting him to address issues on the checklist if they were being overlooked, according to a Northwestern University news release.
For the study, researchers developed a checklist to be used by physicians in the ICU. The checklist included testing whether a patient can be taken off a ventilator and the duration of empiric antibiotics and central venous catheters. In addition, physicians were randomized to participate in a group that would use the checklist without face-to-face prompting and a group that would use the checklist with face-to-face prompting.
Results showed prompting by a physician not actively involved in the patient's care reduced mortality by 50 percent over three months. Prompting also cut patients’ intensive care unit length of stay, on average, by more than one day. On the other hand, a checklist alone did not improve mortality or reduce the length of stay.
Read the news release about prompting.
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For the study, researchers developed a checklist to be used by physicians in the ICU. The checklist included testing whether a patient can be taken off a ventilator and the duration of empiric antibiotics and central venous catheters. In addition, physicians were randomized to participate in a group that would use the checklist without face-to-face prompting and a group that would use the checklist with face-to-face prompting.
Results showed prompting by a physician not actively involved in the patient's care reduced mortality by 50 percent over three months. Prompting also cut patients’ intensive care unit length of stay, on average, by more than one day. On the other hand, a checklist alone did not improve mortality or reduce the length of stay.
Read the news release about prompting.
Related Articles on Patient Safety:
Nevada Governor Signs 5 Healthcare Transparency Bills Into Law
5 Keys to Implementing Patient Safety Programs
Struggling California Hospital to Improve Quality by Better Addressing Patient Complaints