Abstract WP40: Enhanced Team Communication Improves Door to Device Times

Abstract

Background: Patients experiencing acute ischemic stroke benefit from early reperfusion. The American Heart Association set a goal for hospitals performing mechanical thrombectomy to achieve ‘door to device’ (DTD) time of less than 90 minutes for 50% of eligible patients. In 2021, only 23% of patients were meeting this time target. These patients require complex care and timely communication between various practitioners. It was noted that these practitioners were working in silos, which resulted in unnecessary delays. The need for enhanced communication was identified as an intervention to improve performance. Methods: Key team members are equipped with a dedicated phone using an artificial intelligence application, which provides an early signal when large vessel occlusion is detected. This allows for earlier mobilization of resources. This is particularly important for emergency department and interventional radiology nurses who are the ones driving transition of care between departments. In addition, the anesthesia department uses closed loop communication to notify the team of their readiness to receive the patient. Lastly, timely debriefs for all practitioners involved in the case provide a forum for constructive, thoughtful feedback about ways to be more efficient. Results: After enhanced communication strategies were implemented in quarter 2 of 2022, DTD times improved to 43% in quarter 3 of 2022, 50% in quarter 4 of 2022, 67% in quarter 1 of 2023 and 75% in quarter 2 of 2023. Conclusions: Providing tools to enhance communication amongst various practitioners has resulted in sustained improvement in DTD times. Future data collection should focus on associating these improved DTD times with long term functional outcomes.