Browsing by Author "Corman, Stacey"

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    Right on Schedule: Improving the Rate of Clinic Appointments Scheduled Prior to Hospital Hospital Discharge
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2022-01-21) Rahim, Mahvish Q.; Griffin, Jordyn; Hege, Kerry; Mueller, Emily L.; Kauffman, Kristine; Corman, Stacey; Anderson, Kari; Woodburn, Stayce; Drayton Jackson, Meghan; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    Introduction: Children with cancer and blood disorders have many healthcare needs that often require inpatient and outpatient management. There is potential for a lapse in care when patients frequently transition between these settings. We aimed to improve the process and increase the rate of scheduled outpatient follow-up appointments at the time of inpatient discharge for all pediatric hematology-oncology patients from a baseline of 68-80%. Methods: A multidisciplinary team developed several Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles to standardize and improve the process of scheduling follow-up appointments, communication to schedulers, and discussion of discharge planning. QI Macros for Excel Version 2019.06 was used for statistical analysis. Our primary outcome was displayed over time with a p-chart. Results: Plan-Do-Study-Act interventions had a statistically significant impact in increasing the percentage of patients with follow-up outpatient appointments scheduled at the time of inpatient discharge from a baseline of 68% to consistently over 80%. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that standardization of care processes and reminders and education of healthcare providers about the new approaches can improve the rates of outpatient follow-up appointments scheduled at the time of hospital discharge from inpatient care.