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Biomedical subjects

Marta L Render

Publications and source records attributed to Marta L Render.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Evidence-based practice to reduce central line infections.

BACKGROUND: In 2003, through the Greater Cincinnati Health Council nine health care systems agreed to participate and fund 50% of a two-year project to reduce hospital-acquired infections among patients in intensive care units (ICU) and following surgery (SIP). METHODS: Hospitals were randomized to either the CR-BSI or SIP project in the first year, adding the alternative project in year 2. Project leaders, often the infection control professionals, implemented evidence-based practices to reduce catheter-related blood stream infections (CR-BSIs; maximal sterile barriers, chlorhexidine) at their hospitals using a collaborative approach. Team leaders entered process information in a secure deidentifled Web-based database. RESULTS: Of the four initial sites randomized to CR-BSI reduction, all reduced central line infections by 50% (CR-BSI, 1.7 to 0.4/1000 line days, p < .05). At the project midpoint (3 quarters of 2004), adherence to evidence-based practices increased from 30% to nearly 95%. DISCUSSION: The direct role of hospital leadership and development of a local community of practice, facilitated cooperation of physicians, problem solving, and success. Use of forcing functions (removal of betadine in kits, creation of an accessory pack and a checklist for line insertion) improved reliability. The appropriate floor for central line infections in ICUs is < 1 infection /1,000 line days.

Awards and Prizes↗
PubMed2006

Compliance with intended use of Bar Code Medication Administration in acute and long-term care: an observational study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the types and extent of workaround strategies with the use of Bar Code Medication Administration (BCMA) in acute care and long-term care settings. BACKGROUND: Medication errors are the most commonly documented cause of adverse events in hospital settings. Scanning of bar codes to verify patient and medication information may reduce medication errors. METHOD: A prospective ethnographic study was conducted using targeted observation. Fifteen acute care and 13 long-term care nurses were directly observed during medication administration at small, medium, and large Veterans Administration hospitals to detect workaround strategies. RESULTS: Noncompliance with recommended practices was observed in all settings and facilities. A larger proportion of acute care nurses than long-term care nurses scanned bar-coded wristbands to identify patients (53% vs. 8%, p = .016). A larger proportion of acute care nurses than long-term care nurses administered bar-coded medications immediately after scanning (93% vs. 23%, p < .001). CONCLUSION: Workaround strategies were employed with BCMA that increased efficiency but created new potential paths to adverse events. There was a significant difference in the rate of use of workaround strategies between acute and long-term care. APPLICATION: The extent of workaround strategies varied by care setting and facility. BCMA should be tailored to the long-term care setting, including increasing the efficiency of use. Hospitals implementing bar coding should facilitate the intended use through equipment procurement, implementation, and quality improvement strategies.

Electronic Data Processing↗
PubMed2005

Exploring barriers and facilitators to the use of computerized clinical reminders.

OBJECTIVE: Evidence-based practices in preventive care and chronic disease management are inconsistently implemented. Computerized clinical reminders (CRs) can improve compliance with these practices in outpatient settings. However, since clinician adherence to CR recommendations is quite variable and declines over time, we conducted observations to determine barriers and facilitators to the effective use of CRs. DESIGN: We conducted an observational study of nurses and providers interacting with CRs in outpatient primary care clinics for two days in each of four geographically distributed Veterans Administration (VA) medical centers. MEASUREMENTS: Three observers recorded interactions of 35 nurses and 55 physicians and mid-level practitioners with the CRs, which function as part of an electronic medical record. Field notes were typed, coded in a spreadsheet, and then sorted into logical categories. We then integrated findings across observations into meaningful patterns and abstracted the data into themes, such as recurrent strategies. Several of these themes translated directly to barriers and facilitators to effective CR use. RESULTS: Optimally using the CR system for its intended purpose was impeded by (1) lack of coordination between nurses and providers; (2) using the reminders while not with the patient, impairing data acquisition and/or implementation of recommended actions; (3) workload; (4) lack of CR flexibility; and (5) poor interface usability. Facilitators included (1) limiting the number of reminders at a site; (2) strategic location of the computer workstations; (3) integration of reminders into workflow; and (4) the ability to document system problems and receive prompt administrator feedback. CONCLUSION: We identified barriers that might explain some of the variability in the use of CRs. Although these barriers may be difficult to overcome, some strategies may increase user acceptance and therefore the effectiveness of the CRs. These include explicitly assigning responsibility for each CR to nurses or providers, improving visibility of positive results from CRs in the electronic medical record, creating a feedback mechanism about CR use, and limiting the overall number of CRs.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2005

An irreplaceable safety culture.

Intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians are sources of errors and of resilience. When they learn how to juggle many competing goals, remain vigilant, and tell safety stories--all in the context of changing technologies and demand--they can create safe settings of care. Other strategies (eg, using computerized tools and implementing safety procedures) are important, but alone they are not sufficient. An ICU needs a safety culture that is rooted in a committed leadership, the acknowledgment that error is inevitable, a reporting system, and continuous learning. The all too common norm, "no harm no foul," is an obstacle. ICU leaders can use a campaign strategy to spread the safety practices that sustain a safety culture. They should attend to the political, marketing, and military aspects of such campaigns and recognize that people's time and attention are limited and built projects from existing ongoing pilots. Pilots can compete for people's attention; it has pull when it exemplifies a moral idea, simplifies work, and gives the health care professional more control and feedback. Under these conditions, the campaign will release individuals' passions and add energy and insight to the campaign itself.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Variation in outcomes in Veterans Affairs intensive care units with a computerized severity measure.

OBJECTIVE: To quantify the variability in risk-adjusted mortality and length of stay of Veterans Affairs intensive care units using a computer-based severity of illness measure. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: A stratified random sample of 34 intensive care units in 17 Veterans Affairs hospitals. PARTICIPANTS: A consecutive sample of 29,377 first intensive care unit admissions from February 1996 through July 1997. INTERVENTIONS: Standardized mortality ratio (observed/expected deaths) and observed minus expected length of stay (OMELOS) with 95% confidence intervals were estimated for each unit using a hierarchical logistic (standardized mortality ratio) or linear (OMELOS) regression model with Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation. We adjusted for patient characteristics including age, admission diagnosis, comorbid disease, physiology at admission (from laboratory data), and transfer status. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Mortality across the intensive care units for the 12,088 surgical and 17,289 medical cases averaged 11% (range, 2-30%). Length of stay in the intensive care units averaged 4.0 days (range, mean unit length of stay 3.0-5.9). Standardized mortality ratio of the intensive care units varied from 0.62 to 1.27; the standardized mortality ratio and 95% confidence interval were <1 for four intensive care units and >1.0 for seven intensive care units. OMELOS of the intensive care units ranged from -0.89 to 1.34 days. In a random slope hierarchical model, variation in standardized mortality ratio among intensive care units was similar across the range of severity, whereas variation in length of stay increased with severity. Standardized mortality ratio was not associated with OMELOS (Pearson's r = .13). CONCLUSIONS: We identified intensive care units whose indicators for mortality and length of stay differ substantially using a conservative statistical approach with a severity adjustment model based on data available in computerized clinical databases. Computerized risk adjustment employing routinely available data may facilitate research on the utility of intensive care unit profiling and analysis of natural experiments to understand process and outcome links and quality efforts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Fifteen best practice recommendations for bar-code medication administration in the Veterans Health Administration.

BACKGROUND: Since 2000, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has pioneered the development and deployment of a bar-code medication administration (BCMA) system. Based on VHA experience, 15 "best practices" for BCMA implementation, integration, and maintenance are recommended. METHODS: Data were collected on potential barriers to the effectiveness of BCMA to improve patient safety by direct observation of medication administration, simulated BCMA use in a laboratory setting, a survey of nursing informatics specialists regarding policies and procedures, and 30 unstructured interviews with diverse stakeholders. RECOMMENDATIONS: Fifteen practices were proposed, categorized by implementation and continuous improvement, training, troubleshooting, contingency planning, equipment maintenance, medication administration, and maintenance of paper patient wristbands. For example, Recommendation 15 ("Periodic replacement of wristbands") advises weekly bar-coded wristband replacement in long term care settings to improve the scanning reliability. DISCUSSION: Lessons learned about best practices to address challenges may offer insight to others considering implementation of bar-code technology.

Electronic Data Processing↗
PubMed2004

Value for taxpayers' dollars: what VA care would cost at medicare prices.

Critics charge that Veterans Health Administration (VA) medical centers are inefficient and the cost of veteran health care would be reduced if VA purchased care for its patients directly from private-sector providers. This analysis compares VA medical care expenditures with estimates of total payments under a hypothetical Medicare fee-for-service payment system reimbursing providers for the same counts of each service VA medical centers provided in fiscal 1999. At six study sites, hypothetical payments were more than 20 percent greater than actual budgets. Nationally, this represented more than 3 billion US dollars in 1999 and more than 5 billion US dollars in 2003. Data limitations suggest the estimate is conservative. Less than half of the difference is due to VA's low pharmacy costs. The study demonstrates the potential savings to patients and taxpayers of the VA health care system.

Health Care Costs↗
PubMed2003

Understanding the complexity of registered nurse work in acute care settings.

Nursing shortages and patient safety mandates require nursing managers and administrators to consider new ways of understanding the complexity of healthcare provider work in actual situations. The authors report findings from a study guided by an innovative research approach to explore factors affecting registered nurse performance during real work on acute care medical-surgical units. Our findings suggest beginning targets for interventions to improve patient safety, as well as recruitment and retention, through support for registered nurse work.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2003

Automated intensive care unit risk adjustment: results from a National Veterans Affairs study.

CONTEXT: Comparison of outcome among intensive care units (ICUs) requires risk adjustment for differences in severity of illness and risk of death at admission to the ICU, historically obtained by costly chart review and manual data entry. OBJECTIVE: To accurately estimate patient risk of death in the ICU using data easily available in hospital electronic databases to permit automation. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cohort study to develop and validate a model to predict mortality at hospital discharge using multivariate logistic regression with a split derivation (17,731) and validation (11,646) sample formed from 29,377 consecutive first ICU admissions to medical, cardiac, and surgical ICUs in 17 Veterans' Health Administration hospitals between February 1996 and July 1997. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality at hospital discharge adjusted for age, laboratory data, diagnosis, source of ICU admission, and comorbid illness. RESULTS: The overall hospital death rate was 11.3%. In the validation sample, the model separated well between survivors and nonsurvivors (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.885). Examination of the observed vs. the predicted mortality across the range of mortality showed the model was well calibrated. CONCLUSIONS: Automation could broaden access to risk adjustment of ICU outcomes with only a small trade-off in discrimination. Broader use might promote valid evaluation of ICU outcomes, encouraging effective practices and improving ICU quality.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Methods for estimating private sector payments for VA acute inpatient stays.

OBJECTIVES: To describe methods for estimating hypothetical private sector payments for Veterans Health Administration (VA) acute inpatient stays. METHODS: We assumed all VA hospitalizations would have occurred under a hypothetical VA system that paid private sector providers but had the current benefit package for VA patients. We compared aggregate budgets for VA inpatient care (less physician salaries) at six VA hospitals over federal fiscal year 1999 to aggregated hypothetical private sector payments developed using VA diagnosis-related groups matched to metropolitan-based average Medicare payments. Counts of care came from the VA's statistical analysis system (SAS) inpatient files. Inpatient stays with both medical or surgical and psychiatric or rehabilitation care were counted as two stays. An external auditor conducted three reviews of VA coding practices during the study year, and the appropriateness of admissions was examined using a commercial utilization review tool. RESULTS: For 30,518 inpatient discharges, hypothetical payments were $188 million, compared with the VA budget of $171 million. Fifteen of the 25 most frequent diagnosis-related groups in the VA were also in the top 25 for Medicare in 1998 and 1999. Audits established that the overall financial impact of VA coding problems was similar to that in the private sector. DISCUSSION: Differences in organization, practice, and incentives limit estimates of the financial impact of shifting VA acute inpatient care to the private sector.

Budgets↗
PubMed2003

Estimating private sector professional fees for VA providers.

OBJECTIVES: To describe new methods used to estimate inpatient and outpatient Medicare-based professional fees for Veterans Health Administration (VA) services. METHODS: National VA utilization files provided estimates of inpatient physician services, whereas local provider and utilization files gave counts of outpatient services by physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistant, clinical psychologists, and clinical social workers. Services from ambulatory surgery, emergency room, and clinics (eg, dermatology and gastroenterology) were coded by study health information management staff (coders). VA-based billing information was edited against Medicare guidelines. Estimates for VA services without comparable Medicare fees were obtained from other commercial sources. RESULTS: Hypothetical professional fees for VA services were 17% more ($109 million vs. $93 million) than the VA budget for physicians over 1 fiscal year at six sites. Total payments of nearly $21 million were generated for VA inpatient care. In fiscal year 1999, there were 30,209 admissions (of which 4549 were psychiatric) to the study sites; 30,518 discharges; 229,783 inpatient days, including 27,235 in critical care units; and 38,348 surgical days of care. DISCUSSION: Differences between the VA and the private sector maybe overstated because VA salaries of nonphysicians were not included in the VA budgets. Conversely, the extent to which VA professional services were undercounted in VA information systems used in this study may understate the difference. Future research may consider additional data collection approaches or information systems enhancements to enumerate more accurately all provider services that are reimbursable in the private sector.

Budgets↗
PubMed2003

Methods to determine private sector payment for VA outpatient services: institutional payments to providers.

OBJECTIVES: To describe methods used to estimate hospital institutional (facility) payments for providing Veterans Health Administration (VA) outpatient services. METHODS: A series of audits compared the accuracy of outpatient coding at six VA medical centers in federal fiscal year 1999 with private sector standards. Outpatient records were processed through industry standard software to determine validity and remove inappropriate services. Private sector payments were estimated by applying average payment data from Medicare cost reports and Medicare outpatient prospective payment schedules to counts of VA services. RESULTS: Coding audits found little difference in accuracy between VA and the community. Physician visits generated the most estimated payments and deviated most from Medicare payment experience. Radiology and laboratory services were the next highest expenditure categories for both the VA and Medicare. The proportion of radiology payments in VA data was notably lower and ambulatory surgery notably higher than Medicare's experience. Within major categories, the relative rankings of VA and Medicare services were consistent. DISCUSSION: Differences in payment criteria make exact cost comparisons of hospital-based and office-based settings difficult, particularly physician visits. Two VA clinical software applications, radiology and laboratory, provide information not readily convertible to a claims format; these applications need significant changes to be used for these purposes. They understate radiology services and overstate laboratory services compared with private sector standards. In addition, the laboratory application contains inappropriate or unspecified codes that cannot be accurately valued for many reasons.

Health Care Costs↗
PubMed2003

Methods for estimating and comparing VA outpatient drug benefits with the private sector.

OBJECTIVES: To estimate and compare Veterans Health Administration (VA) expenditures for outpatient pharmaceuticals for veterans at six VA facilities with hypothetical private sector costs. METHODS: Using the VA Pharmacy Benefits Management Strategic Health Care Group (PBM) database, we extracted data for all dispensed outpatient prescriptions from the six study sites over federal fiscal year 1999. After extensive data validation, we converted prescriptions to the same units and merged relevant VA pricing information by National Drug Code to Redbook listed average wholesale price and the Medicaid maximal allowable charge, where available. We added total VA drug expenditures to personnel cost from the pharmacy portion of that medical center's cost distribution report. RESULTS: Hypothetical private sector payments were $200.8 million compared with an aggregate VA budget of $118.8 million. Using National Drug Code numbers, 97% of all items dispensed from the six facilities were matched to private sector price data. Nonmatched pharmaceuticals were largely generic over-the-counter pain relievers and commodities like alcohol swabs. The most commonly prescribed medications reflect the diseases and complaints of an older male population: pain, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and depression or other psychiatric disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Use of the VA PBM database permits researchers to merge expenditure and prescription data to patient diagnoses and sentinel events. A critical element in its use is creating similar units among the systems. Such data sets permit a deeper view of the variability in drug expenditures, an important sector of health care whose inflation has been disproportionate to that of the economy and even health care.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Methods to estimate and compare VA expenditures for assistive devices to Medicare payments.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the methods used to estimate and compare Veterans Health Administration (VA) annual expenditures for assistive devices and their repair at six VA hospitals with payments for those same devices in the private sector. METHODS: Information about dispensed assistive devices and their costs was extracted from (1) the VA's National Prosthetic Patient Database, (2) each site's listing of the VA's Denver Distribution Center cost center in the Cost Distribution Jurisdictional Report, and (3) review of invoices for implanted prosthetics at each study site. We estimated private sector payments by applying Medicare geographically adjusted rates for purchases or rentals, where rates existed, or by inflating VA costs by 30%. RESULTS: The VA spent a total of $30.6 million for prosthetics at the six sites in fiscal year 1999, of which $14.2 million was for items captured in the National Prosthetic Patient Database, $3.4 million for the Denver Distribution Center, and more than $8.1 million for implants. Indirect VA costs were estimated at $4.8 million. Hypothetical private sector payments were estimated at $49.8 million. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike Medicare, VA both contracts to provide assistive devices (through a competitive bidding process) and dispenses devices it has purchased. This approach results in significantly lower expenditures, consistent with other reports. Generalizing these cost savings to other private or federal programs covering assistive devices requires further study.

Data Interpretation, Statistical↗
PubMed2002

The "New Look" approach to patient safety: a guide for clinical nurse specialist leadership.

This article describes a complex system model based on human performance factors that is borrowed from other industries but can be used by clinical nurse specialists for making progress in patient safety. Traditional approaches to investigation and follow-up of errors in healthcare organizations have not resulted in improvement in patient safety. The New Look approach described in this article emphasizes the complexity in which healthcare workers make decisions about patient c are every day and how increased learning about the resiliency of healthcare workers in the face of multiple system gaps and discontinuities will lead to long-lasting improvements in safety. The article describes how the clinical nurse specialist can lead efforts using the New Look human performance-based approach in 4 areas: changing to a nonpunitive culture, learning about system complexity, learning about healthcare worker resiliency, and preparing for the complexity of introducing change.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

Impact of different measures of comorbid disease on predicted mortality of intensive care unit patients.

BACKGROUND: Valid comparison of patient survival across ICUs requires adjustment for burden of chronic illness. The optimal measure of comorbidity in this setting remains uncertain. OBJECTIVES: To examine the impact of different measures of comorbid disease on predicted mortality for ICU patients. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SUBJECTS: Seventeen thousand eight hundred ninety-three veterans from 17 geographically diverse VA Medical Centers and 43 ICUs were studied, admitted between February 1, 1996 and July 31, 1997. MEASURES: ICD-9-CM codes reflecting comorbid disease from hospital stays before and including the index hospitalization from local VA computer databases were extracted, and three measures of comorbid disease were then compared: (1) an APACHE-weighted comorbidity score using comorbid diseases used in APACHE, (2) a count of conditions described by Elixhauser, and (3) Elixhauser comorbid diseases weighted independently. Univariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models were used to determine the contribution of each measure to in-hospital mortality predictions. RESULTS: Models using independently weighted Elixhauser comorbidities discriminated better than models using an APACHE-weighted score or a count of Elixhauser comorbidities. Twenty-three and 14 of the Elixhauser conditions were significant univariate and multivariable predictors of in-hospital mortality, respectively. In a multivariable model including all available predictors, comorbidity accounted for less (8.4%) of the model's uniquely attributable chi statistic than laboratory values (67.7%) and diagnosis (17.7%), but more than age (4.0%) and admission source (2.1%). Excluding codes from prior hospitalizations did not adversely affect model performance. CONCLUSIONS: Independently weighted comorbid conditions identified through computerized discharge abstracts can contribute significantly to ICU risk adjustment models.

APACHE↗