Abstract 16785: Student Abstractors Reduce the Cost of Registry Use Without Compromising Quality

Abstract

Introduction: Accurate data abstraction is the cornerstone of successful implementation of Get With The Guidelines-Heart Failure, but abstraction costs are the single largest barrier to participation. Objective: The Heart Failure Abstraction Internship was established to test the efficacy of part-time, graduate students as GWTG-HF abstractors in comparison to a registered nurse using an acceptable Data Element Agreement Rate (DEAR). Methods: The selection criteria for the pilot hospital, Ben Taub Hospital, Houston Texas was: not a GWTG-HF participant; serving diverse populations; administrative and physician support and available supervision for interns. Intern abstractors were recruited and paid as American Heart Association (AHA) employees. For the pilot term, the interns were onboarded as volunteers for the pilot hospital. They met the onboarding requirements of AHA and the pilot institution’s requirements for hospital volunteers. The interns; worked on-site at the pilot institution; were given computer access to EPIC electronic medical records and GWTG-HF; were trained by AHA Quality staff and the pilot hospital Cardiology Program Manager; and abstracted all patients with a primary diagnosis of heart failure from October 2017 to December 2018. An AHA nurse auditor virtually re-abstracted 5 records with the pilot, Cardiology Program Manager. The audit was conducted using the July 2018 Clinical Registry Form (CRF) that was also used during the pilot. Results: The intern abstractors matched the re-abstractor at a DEAR of 86.4% with 340 total elements and 46 mismatches. Conclusions: The hypothesis was proven with a DEAR of 86.4%, suggesting hospitals can be successful participants in GWTG utilizing student abstractors for data collection needs. The median payrate for a nurse abstractor is $24.50 per hour, not including benefits*. The rate for part time employment for the abstraction interns was $10.00 per hour. In addition to financial savings for the pilot organization, the interns worked efficiently as they focused on one task allowing the clinical team to focus on process improvement based on the data collected. This PI focus led to other outcome improvements including reduced readmission and increased compliance with GDMT. *Payscale.com