Abstract WP55: Enhancing the Stroke Patient Education Experience: A Focus on Stroke Procedure Education

Abstract

Background and Issue: Providing stroke patient education is a fundamental core measure for all levels of stroke centers with a generalized focus of topics including activation of emergency medical services, need for follow up after discharge, medications prescribed at discharge, risk factors for stroke, warning signs and stroke symptoms. A gap exists in patient education focusing on advanced stroke treatment procedures such as thrombolytic administration and mechanical thrombectomy. Available educational topics in the electronic medical record are often too generic and do not address the post procedural stroke patient population. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to develop a standardized set of post stroke procedural education topics and design a method of documentation to enhance and augment the stroke patients’ educational experience. Methods: Using Lean Six-Sigma methods, a multidisciplinary workgroup reviewed current literature on education topics, examined the existing EMR post procedure topics available, and queried other stroke centers for best practices in stroke post procedural patient education. Based on the results of findings, we created new procedural education topics focusing on thrombolytic administration, mechanical thrombectomy, aneurysm repair procedures, diagnostic angiogram, and carotid procedures. We developed an automated process to pre-populate the topics, specific to the procedural order set into the EMR. Results: In 2021, procedural stroke patient education documentation compliance was 63% (n=191); through improvement efforts compliance increased to 77% (n=210), year to date 2023. Conclusion: Creating a standardized set of education topics focusing on stroke treatment procedures and embedding education into procedural order sets helps to minimize education omission, increase education documentation compliance, and enhance the stroke patient’s educational experience overall.