Case Study

Tennessee Medical Center Uses AHRQ Tools to Reduce Infections, Medical Errors

 

            Tennessee Medical Center is a large health care organization composed of 109 beds. In 2012 and previous years, they struggled with medication errors and hospital associated infections (HAI) related to pressure ulcers. The leadership team identified and recognized that many issues that stem from these human errors were due to lack of employee safety training and education. The medical center adopted the Comprehensive Unit-based System Program (CSUP) in order to reduce catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), medication errors and other patient safety problems. CSUP is widely used amongst health care professionals to reduce HAIs and medical errors through evidence-based practices.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (2017), “the goals of the CSUP implementation projects are to promote the adoption of evidence-based practices to prevent HAIs and thereby improve the safety of healthcare.” The focus of the case study was to determine how useful and effective the CSUP method was in order to reduce catheter associated urinary tract infections and medication errors. The organization decided to adopt and implement CSUP after they had a major success reducing pressure ulcers under the implementation of CSUP. The organization noted major improvements after three weeks of implementing CSUP and saw a reduction of pressure ulcers amongst patients.

Contrast The Outcomes of the Study with Current Industry Standards

According to the case study, Tennessee Medical Center only had one case of CAUTI after adopting and implementing CSUP. This successful improvement differs strikingly with current industry standards because leadership recognized that frontline staff need to proper training, education, support and resources from leadership in order to accomplish this goal. Engagement between front line staff and providers created a foundation of teamwork in order to improve safety culture in the work environment.

Evaluation

            According to John Hopkins Medicine (n.d.), “the five-step program has been used to target a wide range of hazards, including patient falls, hospital-acquired infections, medication administration errors, specimen labeling errors and teamwork and communication breakdowns. Notably, CUSP has been used in national and international quality improvement projects that have drastically reduced hospital-acquired infections.” The adoption and implementation of CSUP can be applied to any health care organizations that want to reduce HAIs, medical errors and medication errors. CSUP is a proven method that can provide staff the necessary training, education and safety practices to lessen errors and augment patient care and treatment to the highest standards.

Conclusion

            To conclude, the Tennessee Medical Center has noted drastic, major improvements in regards to patient care such as CAUTI and medication errors. The organization provided the front line staff with the necessary education, training and resources to support them as they transition into CSUP from their previously trained workflow. The organization has implemented CSUP as it is a proven method to reduce HAIs and it is solely supported by evidence-based practice.

0 likes, 0 replies