Transcript Document

SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
How UBTs are getting results
Examples of operational success
January - September 2012
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Inpatient Transportation, Southern California
Transporting patients on the fast track
WHAT THEY DO
This team moves patients around and out of the
San Diego Medical Center faster and easier by:
» positioning gurneys and wheelchairs where
needed on various floors
» cleaning and preparing equipment immediately
after each use
» using downtime to check the equipment and
put fresh sheets and blankets on gurneys
» designating a staff member to ensure equipment
is in its proper place
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Landscape Maintenance, Northern California
Team overcomes barriers to complete
KP’s health assessment
WHAT THEY DID
This Oakland Medical Center UBT overcame
barriers by:
» helping team members with limited English
language and computer skills sign up at KP.org
» highlighting the health benefits of completing KP’s
total health assessment (THA)
» emphasizing that completing the THA is a
wellness goal of Northern California’s Performance
Sharing Program (PSP)
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
Primary Care, Mid-Atlantic
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Better workflow helps control blood pressures
WHAT THEY DID
This UBT in Largo, Md., got more hypertensive
patients’ blood pressure under control by:
• developing specialized scripts for the clinical nursing
assistants (CNAs), who manage the schedule for blood
pressure checks and make outreach calls to patients
with hypertension
• developing scripts for the receptionists, who make
appointment reminder calls
• sending patients with elevated blood pressure to nurse
practitioners for management
• referring patients with complex blood pressure
medication management for additional consultation
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Lab, Vancouver, Northwest
Saving money one needle at a time
WHAT THEY DO
Phlebotomists at the Orchards Medical Office
are monitoring themselves to reduce the use of
butterfly needles. They used to use the needle—
which costs nearly $1 more than a standard one—on
most patients. Two other labs in the region have
followed suit.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Medicare Risk Business Services, Colorado
Team nets $10 million in Medicare reimbursement
WHAT THEY DID
Members of this UBT discovered a technical issue
with Kaiser Permanente’s partner hospitals in the
region that resulted in incomplete physician
signatures on patient charts. This glitch prevented
KP from submitting bills for hospital stays and
procedures to Medicare for reimbursement.
After the error was corrected, the team reviewed
26,000 hospital inpatient notes for 2010. Since then,
the team has captured more than $10 million in
reimbursements.
The team attributes its ongoing success to: quick
huddles, holding each other accountable and
transparent communication.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and
tools for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Santa Ana Medical Office Building UBT, Southern California
Fighting the flu face-to-face
WHAT THEY DID
This facility-wide UBT in Orange County encouraged
employees to get vaccinated by:
• distributing fliers and emails to tell employees about
the vaccines, vaccinations and where to get them
• conducting face-to-face discussions with
co-workers and physicians about the safety of the
vaccine
• providing free and easy access to vaccinations via a
mobile flu cart with an assigned LVN during all shifts
• offering the FluMist® alternative for employees who
don’t like needles
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
Clinic Pharmacy, Georgia
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Improved label printing saves money
WHAT THEY DID
Pharmacy technicians in Cumberland, Ga.,
now get the medication off the shelf before typing
in the prescription or passing the prescription on
to a pharmacist. This helps them select the right
product from the National Drug Code database
and increases the likelihood that labels will not
need reprinting. They also found a way to clearly
identify which prescription drug containers have
been opened, improving inventory control and
preventing delays.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and
tools for your team.
General Surgery, Ohio
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Communication improves patient satisfaction
WHAT THEY DO
A new whiteboard in the nurses’ station of
the Cleveland Heights surgery department in Ohio
shows which providers are on duty that
day—and any appointment delays. A nurse
communicates that information to waiting patients.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hawaii
“Shot nurse” takes the pain out of waiting
WHAT THEY DID
Members of this team at the Honolulu Clinic
shortened the average wait time for injections by:
• Designating a “shot nurse,” whose main duty for
the day is to give patients injections.
• Using a whiteboard to communicate who is the
day’s shot nurse and who is the floor nurse (who
directs patients to the shot nurse and helps with
shots when needed).
• Using Lotus Notes Sametime instant messaging to
alert clinic nurses when a patient checks in.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and
tools for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Frederick Medical Center UBT, Mid-Atlantic
Clinic makes KP.org sign-ups easy for members
WHAT THEY DO
Instead of having receptionists, clinical assistants and
providers all taking time to register members on
KP.org during appointments, this Mid-Atlantic States
team has receptionists or clinical assistants collect
member email addresses. Then they begin the on-line
registration process for members during their
downtime, thus avoiding long lines and clinical delays.
Members who use kp.org are more satisfied with
their care and more likely to stay with KP.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Clinical Nutrition, Northern California
Bolder communication helps diagnose malnutrition
WHAT THEY DO
To improve the identification and diagnosis of
hospital patients who are clinically malnourished so they
can receive treatment, this Roseville, Calif.,
unit-based team:
• uses key phrases in their patient assessments
and bolds the recommended diagnosis, to better
catch the physician’s attention
• sends messages with the dietitian’s evaluation and
recommendation directly to physician
• verbally communicates with physicians when clinical
dietitians see they are available
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Environmental Services, Northern California
Teams spread successful practices via webinars
WHAT THEY DO
EVS workers in the Northern California region
connect bimonthly up via webinars to keep with the
region’s goals and to share practices. Some of the
practices that have been adopted as a result include:
• tent cards and “right words at the right time,”
used by workers to identify themselves and better
communicate with the patients whose rooms they
clean
• standardized room and cart set-ups
• new ways of communicating, identifying and
recognizing safe work practices
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
Ophthalmology, Southern California
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Team takes on health assessment goal with
workshops and Zumba
WHAT THEY DO
This Fontana, Calif., unit-based team:
• provides onsite Healthy Workforce training on
how to take the total health assessment (THA)
• provides a healthy activity—a monthly Zumba-style
exercise class, for example—and in conjunction with
the activity, provides time to complete the
assessment
RESULTS
Healthy living is catching on! Employees are wearing
pedometers to see how many steps they can take in a
day as they work, and they now are taking quick walks
together every day during lunch.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Women and Newborn Care, Northwest
Collaboration gets teams top patient satisfaction
WHAT THEY DID
UBTs in two Sunnyside Medical Center departments
—Labor & Delivery and Women & Newborn Care—
worked together on the same service goals. They
focused on key drivers of overall satisfaction,
including hospital quiet and good communication.
As a result:
• Nurses try to respond to all call lights within three
dings, regardless of which nurse is assigned to the
patient.
• Use of the Nurse Knowledge Exchange and
patient rounding have minimized interruptions,
reduced noise levels and improved
communication.
• The unit’s report rooms, where staff noise levels
tend to be higher, now have doors that close
automatically.
57%
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and
tools for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Ambulatory Surgery Center, Colorado
Missed antibiotic orders greatly reduced
WHAT THEY DO
Before patients at the surgery center in Colorado are
sent to an operating room, a pre-operative nurse and
an OR nurse together review a checklist that includes
last-minute orders from physicians. Previously, only
one nurse reviewed the list. The team rarely misses
antibiotics orders now that two nurses review the
list.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Clinical Call Center, Mid-Atlantic
Morale and service go hand in hand at busy call center
WHAT THEY DO
This Silver Spring, Md, team manages high volumes of
anxious members seeking medical attention or
advice. To help staff members deal with their own
stress and frustrations, the team created a series
of fun, healthy diversions: “crazy hat day,” a ’70s
costume contest and lunch-time karaoke, among
other things.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
East Bay Scanning Center, Northern California
Cross-training speeds entry of medical records
WHAT THEY DO
Employees are trained to do all jobs in the
department, so any member of the team can jump in
when and where needed to prepare and review
paper records, scan and index records, and do any of
the other tasks involved in the scanning process.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Positive Choice Wellness Center, San Diego
Attendance improves with wellness campaign
WHAT THEY DO
• Hosts a monthly gourmet salad potluck
• Opens the clinic earlier so that staff members can
have more time during lunch to exercise
• Encourages staff to sign up for kpwalk.com
• Educates staff members about the Family and
Medical Leave Act and the LMP attendance
program, which includes life balance days and
vacation time.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Sleep Apnea Team, Colorado
Sleep clinic reduces rework, wait times and waste
WHAT THEY DO
By tracking sleep studies that had to be redone
and standardizing the procedures for attaching the
apnea machine to patients, team members at the
Skyline Medical Office were able to isolate the
problem: the locks that fastened the device around a
patient’s torso weren’t working properly. The
manufacturer then replaced the locks.
Fewer repeat studies means patients can get
appointments faster.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Vision Essentials Optical Center, Southern California
Optical team making fewer corrections to glasses
WHAT THEY DID
To curb the growing number of times that
members’ prescription glasses needed to be fixed
or replaced, staff members at the Optical Center in
Redlands now:
• Log each redo in a tracking book.
• Troubleshoot service gaps and address them
with a newly created “redo monitor” and lead
optician taking primary responsibility.
• Use KP HealthConnect to identify possible
factors contributing to vision problems.
• Collaborate with optometry and ophthalmology
units in problem solving.
• Counsel patients on eye health and
manufacturing warranty limits.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and
tools for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Health Information and Management, Northern California
Data helps team boost service
WHAT THEY DO
» Team members at the Fresno Medical Center regularly
review customer satisfaction survey responses
» Disability clerk now sits at the front desk to better
serve members
» Restaurant-style pagers allow members the
freedom to move around the facility while they wait
» A new sign directs members with disability
questions to one window
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Radiology, Colorado
No-show rate cut in half
WHAT THEY DO
The Ultrasound UBT at the Lakewood Medical
Office in Colorado found that when staff members
call and remind patients of their appointments, the
likelihood of them not showing up is greatly reduced.
No-shows impact patient access because when
appointments are rescheduled, other patients wait
longer.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and tools
for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Inpatient Pharmacy, Northern California
Collaboration reduces medication delays
WHAT THEY DID
Members of the Redwood City pharmacy team
worked across departments to reduce the
percentage of medications given late to hospital
patients by:
• Posting laminated cards at each med station with
information about which medications are stored
there and where to find drugs that are delivered
and stored elsewhere.
• Delivering drugs to the Med-Surg department
15 minutes before they are scheduled to be
administered to a patient.
• Giving pharmacy staff members the nurses’ cell
phone numbers, allowing them to call a nurse
when a patient’s medication is ready for pick up.
• Establishing color-coded bins to distinguish
patients’ newly prescribed medications from drugs
that the physicians have discontinued for that
patient.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and
tools for your team.
SNAPSHOTS OF CHANGE
Materials Management, Southern California
Supply team cuts annual linen costs
WHAT THEY DID
Members of this Panorama City, Calif., team
reduced annual linen costs in the Maternal Child
Health department by educating other hospital staff
about the true costs of buying and washing linens.
The team created and used storyboards, which
provided a confidence-boosting roadmap for staff
members who are inexperienced at public speaking.
Visit LMPartnership.org for ideas and
tools for your team.