A patient-focused pathway for ambulatory anticoagulation care

Article Abstract:

A multidisciplinary team at the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, developed a clinical system designed to enhance blood monitoring for outpatients using anticoagulation medication. The system combines medical procedures, patient education and follow-up contacts to form an efficient pathway of care that is designed to increase patient satisfaction and monitoring effectiveness. While staff and patients express satisfaction with the pathway and measures show patient education has improved, achieving efficient monitoring of anticoagulant levels remains problematic.

Complications and side effects, Anticoagulants (Medicine), Anticoagulants, Patient monitoring, Physiologic monitoring

---

Consumer-focused preadmission testing: a paradigm shift

Article Abstract:

The New Jersey Orthopaedic Unit of the Hospital Center at Orange changed its preadmission testing (PAT) routine for outpatient surgery patients to a more client-centered model. Its purpose was to increase patient satisfaction while maintaining cost-effectiveness by minimizing waiting time and centralizing PAT services in one area. The new routine included free valet parking, having one registered nurse complete the entire range of procedures and providing express radiologic services to patients on their way out. Customers were satisfied and PAT time was reduced from at least 2.5 hours to less than one.

Management, Services, Hospitals, Patient satisfaction, Medical personnel and patient, Medical personnel-patient relations, Orthopedics, Surgery, Outpatient, Ambulatory surgery

---

Improving patient follow-up through implementation of an ambulatory care quality improvement program

Article Abstract:

A program to ensure quality improvement in outpatient follow-up care was implemented by the nurse practitioners and administrators of the Cancer Screening Clinic at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia, MO. The program's main goal was to decrease the time between patient testing and receipt of test results. Results showed that the program significantly increased the timeliness of receipt for follow-up, lab tests and mammogram results. The clinical and administrative staff's early involvement in the program's design and implementation was critical to its eventual success.

Ambulatory care facilities, Practice, Nurse practitioners, Clinics, Outcome and process assessment (Health Care), Outcome and process assessment (Medical care)

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Activity-based management: a tool to complement and quantify continuous quality improvement efforts. The synergistic relationship between ethics and quality improvement: thriving in managed care
• Abstracts: Responsibility matrix for clinical pathways. Benchmarks and performance indicators: two tools for evaluating organizational results and continuous quality improvement efforts
• Abstracts: Spanning organizational boundaries to improve care and service: inpatient and outpatient chronic peritoneal dialysis

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.