Implementing delirium screening in the emergency department: a quality improvement project

BMJ Open Quality

article

Conor Deasy¹  Louise Martin²  Marian Lyons³  Andrew Patton¹  Maighread O Driscoll⁴  Kara McLoughlin³  Evelyn Hannon⁶ 

[1] Department of Emergency Medicine , Cork University Hospital;Department of Physiotherapy , Cork University Hospital;Department of Occupational Therapy , Cork University Hospital;Department of Nursing , Cork University Hospital;Department of Occupational Therapy , Beaumont Hospital;Department of Geriatric Medicine , Cork University Hospital

关键词: Quality improvement;    Emergency department;    Healthcare quality improvement;   

DOI  :  10.1136/bmjoq-2021-001676

学科分类：药学

来源: BMJ Publishing Group

【 摘 要 】

Introduction Delirium is a serious medical condition that is common in older adults in acute settings. Clinical practice guidelines recommend that all older patients in acute care settings should be screened for delirium using standardised outcome measures.Problem In our institution, an audit showed that only 16% of older adults presenting to the emergency department were screened for delirium. The goal of this project was to increase the number of patients being screened for delirium using Lean Six Sigma (LSS) methodology and tools and a multidisciplinary approach.Method A multidisciplinary team in the emergency department used LSS tools and methodology over a 12-week period to first identify why patients were not being screened for delirium using root cause analysis and second to implement a multifaceted intervention including education, audits and feedback, documentation changes and team huddles. An audit was performed at the 11th week of the project to measure how many patients were being screened for delirium post project intervention.Results Results at 5 weeks post intervention (11th week of project) showed that the percentage of patients being screened for delirium had increased from 16% to 82%. A follow-up audit at 17 weeks post intervention showed a further improvement in delirium screening to 92%.Conclusion Applying LSS tools and methodology resulted in a healthcare quality improvement. Delirium screening in an emergency department can be improved through multifaceted interventions including education, documentation changes and team huddle changes.

【 授权许可】

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