Emergency Department Postdischarge Research Articles

PRACTITIONER APPLICATION: Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing of Emergency Department Postdischarge Nurse Calls.

PRACTITIONER APPLICATION: Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing of Emergency Department Postdischarge Nurse Calls.

Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing of Emergency Department Postdischarge Nurse Calls.

Postdischarge telephone calls by nurses can decrease patient return rates to healthcare systems. To date, call program costs have not been compared with patient return rates to determine cost-effectiveness. We used time-driven activity-based costing to determine the costs associated with such programs. We developed process maps for a postdischarge nurse call program in the emergency department of an urban, quaternary care, academic, Level 1 trauma center. Our primary outcome was the total cost of calls, which is based on the length of the calls (after 8 hours of observation) and the total capacity rate cost based on national registered nurse salary and space costs. Seven-day return rate differences between patients reached and those not reached from July 2018 to March 2019 were determined with a Z-test. We observed 113 postdischarge calls for 79 patients. The mean (SD) length of calls for patients reached was 4.3 minutes (1.8) compared with 2.6 minutes (0.6) for those not reached. The total capacity rate cost for calls was $1.09/minute, or $4.69 per patient reached and $2.83 per patient not reached. A retrospective analysis of 6,698 patients reached and 6,519 patients not reached showed hospital return rates of 3.5% and 6.3% (p < .0001), respectively. The study findings show that postdischarge calls were associated with decreased return rates to the emergency department and a savings of $134.89 per prevention of one return. In deciding whether to use postdischarge call programs, healthcare systems should also consider the effects on specific demographics and the potential benefits of greater patient satisfaction and increased treatment adherence.

2080. Impact of an Emergency Department Post-discharge Blood Culture Follow-up Program

BackgroundBlood cultures are the gold standard in the identification of laboratory confirmed bloodstream infections (LCBI) but contamination can lead to unnecessary interventions. This study sought to assess the number of unwarranted admissions in patients with contaminated blood cultures post-discharge and at low risk for LCBI before and after the implementation of a multidisciplinary emergency department (ED) blood culture follow-up program.MethodsThis was a two-phase retrospective cohort study at a tertiary care, 1,550-bed, academic hospital and level I trauma center in southeast Florida. Phase 1 assessed interventions made on patients 18 years of age or older discharged from the ED or a hospital observation unit with a positive blood culture result post-discharge from March 2018 to July 2018. Phase 2 assessed interventions made from December 2018 to March 2019 post-implementation of the multidisciplinary follow-up program. The criteria for low risk of LCBI were lack of risk factors for infection and < 2 positive blood cultures with a commensal bacteria with no symptoms of fever or hypotension on the date of specimen collection and 3 days before or after such date.ResultsAmong patients at low risk for LCBI (46% of 24 patients in phase 1 vs. 59% of 22 patients in phase 2), unwarranted admissions due to contaminated blood cultures occurred in 27.3% of patients in phase 1 vs. 0% of patients in phase 2 (P = 0.08). Phase 1 represented a period in which systematic reporting and evaluation of positive results and patient follow-up were not in place. Phase 2 consisted of daily pharmacist-led blood culture reviews with callback nurse follow-up and therapeutic care plan development with ED physicians. The number of contaminant isolates was relatively high (Figures 1 and 2). Pharmacist-led interventions were diverse (Figure 3). The program led to an estimated total cost avoidance of $16,410.80 in a median of 4.5 months due to unnecessary admissions.ConclusionImplementation of a multidisciplinary ED post-discharge blood culture follow-up program can be an effective strategy in improving patient care and avoiding unnecessary antibiotic therapy. Further interventions aimed at reducing blood culture contamination could have a direct impact on improving ED antimicrobial stewardship. Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.

Emergency Department Postdischarge Phone Calls: Lessons Learned

Emergency Department Postdischarge Phone Calls: Lessons Learned

Streamlined Emergency Department Post-Discharge Surveillance Reduces Rehospitalizations

Background/Objectives: This Presentation looks into the daily surveillance of positive cultures in the emergency department setting. Previous to this program the inconsistancy in which positive cultures was addressed and antibiotic stewardship was seen showed a large number of patients being placed on the incorrect antibiotic for their positive culture result as well as the lack of follow up by the hospital post discharge. it also addresses rehospitalizations related to these unaddressed issues.