Behavioral Health/Opioid Stewardship
Advancing Opioid Stewardship Strategies to Save Lives
The opioid epidemic has been challenging the public health crisis in communities across our country, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated those challenges. It is critically important for hospitals to develop a Naloxone education and distribution program. With this type of program, hospital staff can provide Naloxone prescriptions and education to all patients, families, caregivers and friends discharged with an opioid prescription or at risk of overdose. Actively measuring and developing strategies to improve access to Naloxone could save lives. Additionally, hospitals should work with physicians and staff to address possible stigma towards opioid use disorder (OUD) patients. View AHA Opioid Epidemic Resources
Battling the Stigma of Addiction: On-Demand Learning for Substance Use Disorder
Stigma continues to be one of the strongest negative influences on how we see and treat people with addiction. This four-part learning series from Superior Health Quality Alliance describes addiction as a chronic medical condition, offers strategies for combatting stigma, describes resources for treatment and discusses prevention strategies. While the intended audience is nursing assistants and caregivers for patients and residents in nursing homes, the material is relevant to everyone. Watch the Learning Series
Pain Assessment and Management Initiative (PAMI) at UF College of Medicine-Jacksonville
The overall goal of PAMI is advancement of multimodal, safe pain management in healthcare systems to improve outcomes and reduce opioid risk. Multimodal management includes a variety of pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions to address opioid stewardship, discharge planning and safe pain management.
Free educational materials on safe pain management practices for clinicians and patients are available on the PAMI website. These materials include:
- Pain Management and Dosing Guide
- Discharge Planning Toolkit for Pain
- Patient Educational Videos
- Non-pharmacologic & Distraction Toolkit/Toolbox
- Communication cards in Spanish and Creole with pain terms
Access Educational Materials
Patient Safety
Adverse Drug Events
Study Shows Prevalence of Adverse Drug Events in Mental Health Settings
Adverse drug events (ADE) can occur in any healthcare setting. Using retrospective record reviews from three mental health hospitals, clinical pharmacists confirmed that ADEs were common and nearly one-fifth of those were considered preventable. Read the Article
Venous Thromboembolism
Trends in Venous Thromboembolism Anticoagulation in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19
A COVID-19 study addresses the frequency with which patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are treated with venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylactic- and treatment-dose anticoagulation and the association of anticoagulation with in-hospital and 60-day mortality. Read the Article
Antibiotic Stewardship
The Role of Oral Antibiotics in Bacterial Bloodstream Infections
IV antibiotics are generally the mainstay of treatment for bloodstream infections due to their high bioavailability and fast peak plasma levels. However, the ideal administration route of any medication achieves serum concentrations sufficient to produce the desired result without any unwanted effects. Oral therapy offers several benefits with similar outcomes, and the decision to treat a patient with oral antibiotics should be based on current evidence and patient, pathogen and drug characteristics. Read the Article
StAT Learning Series
StAT Learning Series for Hospital Clinical Staff and Leaders
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), with input from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other stakeholders, developed the StAT Learning Series for hospital clinical staff and leaders. StAT stands for Standards, Approaches and Tactics for Infection Control & Prevention. This online, mobile-friendly, self-paced training is intended for hospital infection control leaders, frontline hospital staff and hospital administrators. The StAT Learning Series offers the latest tools and techniques, along with refreshed best practices for a new era of infection prevention and control. Each self-paced learning module is approximately 15 minutes long. Access the StAT Learning Series for Hospital Clinical Staff and Leaders
FDA Recall
FDA Expands Recall of Eco-Med Ultrasound Gels and Lotions
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued updated information regarding Eco-Med ultrasound gels and lotions, expanding the limited voluntary recall issued on August 4, 2021, to include all ultrasound gels and lotions manufactured by Eco-Med Pharmaceutical, Inc. The FDA requests healthcare providers and healthcare facilities to immediately stop using and discard all Eco-Med manufactured ultrasound gels and lotions due to the concern for contamination with Burkholderia cepacia complex bacteria. Email amy.ward@allianthealth.org with any questions or concerns. Read More
Sepsis
Patient Surveillance System Helps Reduce Sepsis-Related Mortality by 53%
As with many hospital, for Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton, Ga., the incidence of sepsis is much higher in the intensive care unit and the emergency department than in other parts of the hospital. The hospital found a way to re-energize its attack on sepsis in these areas to improve its nurse protocols and overall bundle compliance, and reduce the human and financial costs. Read the Article
NHSN Reporting
Report Healthcare Associated Infection Data to NHSN Every Month
All enrolled hospitals are highly encouraged to report Healthcare Associated Infection data to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) database every month so meaningful data analysis and opportunities for improvement can be identified. Contact Alliant Quality’s Infection Prevention Specialist, Amy Ward, at Amy.Ward@Allianthealth.org with any questions or technical assistance needs. NHSN Monthly Reporting Checklist
Patient and Family Engagement
Video Highlights the Signs and Symptoms of Sepsis
Every two minutes, someone in the United States dies of sepsis. But, if caught early, sepsis is highly treatable. MedStar Health, based in Maryland, developed a short video with patient and family advisors about the signs of sepsis. Watch Here
Health Equity
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in the Incidence and Mortality of Sepsis
There are many racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities related to sepsis. The Sepsis Alliance created a fact sheet that includes the following sepsis disparities:
- Black and other nonwhite people have nearly twice the incidence of sepsis as whites.
- Non-Hispanic black children admitted to an emergency room are less likely to be treated for sepsis than non-Hispanic white children.
- Native Hawaiians have almost twice the burden of sepsis mortality compared to whites.
- Black children are 30% more likely than white children to develop sepsis after surgery.
- Children with severe sepsis or septic shock who are black or Hispanic are about 25% more likely to die than non-Hispanic white children.
- Adults below the poverty line have more than three to four times the risk of dying of sepsis compared to adults whose family income is at least five times the poverty line.
Download the Fact Sheet
How to Proactively Address Health Equity Issues
Proactively addressing health equity involves leveraging social determinants of health (SDoH) which requires proper measurement and interpretation of available SDoH data. It is a complex problem due to the variety of structured/semi-structured/unstructured data sets coming from multiple sources, the lack of standardization in data collection and processing, and the need to capture a large number of demographic, environmental and socioeconomic metrics. Read More
Readmissions/Care Transitions
Sepsis Survivors are at High Risk for Readmission
Sepsis is the second highest reason for readmission in Medicare patients. When readmission rates for pneumonia are combined with sepsis, it is the most common reason for readmission in Medicare patients. Review your sepsis survivors for readmission risk. Co-morbidities such as malignancy, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, heart failure, chronic lung, liver or kidney disease and management of those conditions, as well as inadequate discharge follow-up and access to healthcare, are all associated with increased risk of 30-day readmission. For more information and details on sepsis readmission risk factors and prevention see:
AHRQ Guide Helps Patients Care for Themselves After Discharge
The AHRQ created the "Taking Care of Myself: A Guide for When I Leave the Hospital" that providers can give to patients at discharge to help them care for themselves when they leave the hospital. Download the Guide
While most hospitals lament that
their infection rates, particularly CLABSI, have gone up during the pandemic, one hospital in south Alabama has had no infections (CAUTI or CLABSI) even though they tripled their line days.
