Friday, June 09, 2006 – MeritCare named a recipient of the 2006 Gallup Award for Healthcare Excellence
MeritCare has been named a recipient of the 2006 Gallup Award for Healthcare Excellence. The Gallup Healthcare Group honors best-practice innovators with an award that celebrates ingenuity, improvement and accomplishment from which the rest of the industry may learn. The Gallup Award for Healthcare Excellence 2006 is presented to those who are making a measurable difference in the quality of healthcare in today's demanding environment.
MeritCare won the award for a project led by Karey Stirling, R.N., coordinator, OB/GYN clinic and Becky Moch, manager, Day Unit. The project was developed due to challenges experienced with the increasing growth in the demand for operating room (OR) availability. This caused many problems, including:
- Average number of surgicals daily: 35-40
- Average number of History and Physical's missing daily: 3
- Average number of EKGs needed day of surgery: 3
- Average number of Lab tests needed day of surgery: 10-15
- Average percentage of pre-operative checklists completed: 0-13 percent
Not only did these problems decrease patient and staff satisfaction, engagement and throughput, but the financial loss was considerable as well with the OR downtime.
An interdisciplinary team of MeritCare associates was gathered to address the issues of MeritCare having an in consistent pre-admission process for surgical patients, numerous delays in the operating room while waiting for lab results the day of surgery and paperwork from providers' clinic offices being incomplete. After developing a new and improved pre-operation checklist, a three-month pilot study began May 3, 2005. During the pilot study, the pre-operation checklist went electronic, enhancing the level of safety provided to the patient by eliminating margins for error. Going electronic also allowed for hyperlinks to be built into the checklist for diabetes and Coumadin treatment.
In August of 2005, the results of an audit after three months of electronic pre-admissions process for usage showed:
- Average number of History and Physical's missing daily: 1
- Average number of EKG needed for the day of surgery: 0
- Average number of Lab tests needed day of surgery: 3-5
- Average percentage of pre-admission forms completed: 70-80 percent
With the pilot's success, MeritCare began training other departments in September of 2005 and completed education in February 2006. Throughout this process, many unexpected positive outcomes were achieved.
Job satisfaction increased as evidenced by the comments from clinic staff regarding their ability to ensure patients a safe journey through their surgical experience. Also, from there not having to call clinic or providers for missing information.
- Improvement in safety and quality of care was evident by the decrease in number of incomplete documents after the project.
- The OB/GYN department saw improved associate/physician satisfaction scores.
MeritCare's mission is to improve the health and quality of life of the people we serve. Through constant improvements and accomplishments like the implementation of a pre-admission checklist, we are making a positive difference in the quality of our health care.
Project leaders will attend the annual Healthcare Forum on October 10th-12th, 2006 in Omaha, Nebraska where they will receive the award and present the winning case study to other health care leaders. MeritCare will also be featured in the 2006 Journal of Health Excellence best practice publication later this year as a recipient of the award.