Clinical trial NCT03153722: Pediatric Ward Discharge Quality Improvement
Official title: Pediatric Ward Discharge Quality Improvement
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Pediatric Hospitalization
Keywords: pediatric
hospital discharge
quality improvement
transition of care
Lead sponsor: University of California, Davis
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2017-05-15
Enrollment: 5478
Sex: ALL
Maximum age (years): 21
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: This study will utilize an iterative quality improvement process to identify and address delays in the pediatric hospital discharge process.

Detailed description: Hospital crowding has been associated with increased hospital length of stay in pediatric populations and adverse outcomes in adult populations. This study focuses on a 36-bed general pediatric inpatient care unit whose occupancy has seen exponential growth over the past several years. With the growth in patient population, the study hospital is experiencing increasing difficulty with hospital crowding, particularly during key times of year, such as the winter viral respiratory season. During these times, pediatric patients may experience high emergency room wait times, and admitted patients may be required to board in the emergency room or post-anesthesia care unit while they await an inpatient bed. Lack of inpatient bed availability has also, at times, required cancellation of surgical cases and denial of outside hospital patient transfers to the institution, resulting in inconvenience to patients and delays in care.

The pediatric hospital discharge process has come under particular scrutiny as an area in which both the efficiency and the effectiveness of patient care can be improved. Currently, around 10% of patients ready for discharge in a given day from the general pediatric hospitalist service are discharged prior to noon, freeing up this bed space for a new patient. While for some patients, discharge is postponed for medical reasons, others must remain in the hospital for non-medical delays. For example, they may remain hospitalized because they have not yet been seen by a physician, their medications are not available for pick-up from the pharmacy, or they do not have transportation from hospital to home. Several studies in pediatric populations have shown that quality improvement processes can improve discharge efficiency without compromising care quality or patient/family satisfaction. The investigators aim to determine if an iterative quality improvement process can reduce barriers to discharge and therefore decrease pediatric patients' length of stay. They will simultaneously analyze several secondary outcomes to evaluate patient flow, patient/family satisfaction, and subsequent hospital utilization to evaluate for unintended consequences of the interventions.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Children or young adults less than 21 years of age admitted to the University of California Davis Children's Hospital Pediatric Hospitalist Service on the general pediatric inpatient ward

Exclusion Criteria:

* Adults greater than 21 years of age, including those unable to consent
* Pregnant women
* Prisoners
* Children admitted to other services (i.e. Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Trauma, Pediatric Nephrology, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Newborn Nursery, etc.)

Primary outcomes:
measure: Length of stay index
timeFrame: Time from admission to discharge through study completion in 1 year.
measure: Percentage of patients discharged before 1200
timeFrame: Discharge time for each patient within a 24 hour period on day of discharge.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Readmission
timeFrame: 30 days
measure: Emergency department re-visit
timeFrame: 7 and 30 days
measure: Patient satisfaction
timeFrame: Mailed to families following hospital discharge through study completion in 1 year.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Sacramento
country: United States
facility: University of California Davis
state: California
Study officials:
References:
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citation: Sauers-Ford HS, Moore JL, Guiot AB, Simpson BE, Clohessy CR, Yost D, Mayhaus DC, Simmons JM, Gosdin CH. Local Pharmacy Partnership to Prevent Pediatric Asthma Reutilization in a Satellite Hospital. Pediatrics. 2016 Apr;137(4):e20150039. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-0039. Epub 2016 Mar 16.
citation: Hamline MY, Rutman L, Tancredi DJ, Rosenthal JL; UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA DAVIS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL DISCHARGE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT WORKING GROUP. An Iterative Quality Improvement Process Improves Pediatric Ward Discharge Efficiency. Hosp Pediatr. 2020 Mar;10(3):214-221. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2019-0158. Epub 2020 Feb 12.