Midwest Alliance for Patient Safety

IANs

Improvement Action Networks (IANs)

The purpose of the improvement action network (IAN) was to provide a cohort of HIIN hospitals with an opportunity to receive intensive coaching and feedback on quality improvement initiatives.
 
Below, you will find presentations and recordings from the IANs that occurred during the HIIN program.  The IANs have focused on:
  • Adverse Drug Events (ADEs)
  • Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs)
  • Clostridiodies difficile (C. diff)
  • Falls
  • Readmissions
  • Social Determinants of Health 
  • Sepsis
  • Venous Thromboembolisms (VTEs)  
 

Social Determinants of Health IAN

The purpose of this SDOH improvement action network (IAN) was to provide a cohort of HIIN hospitals with an opportunity to receive intensive coaching and feedback on a step by step approach to implementing SDOH screening in the Emergency Department over a ten week period.
Hospitals who participated in this IAN learned key steps to establish partnerships and identify resources within the community, integrate and design a screening workflow, and screen and refer patients.
 
Program Timeline:  

Preventing Sepsis IAN

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.5 million people get sepsis each year in the United Sates. And at least 250,000 Americans die of sepsis each year.  Anyone can get an infection and almost any infection can lead to sepsis. It’ is important for healthcare professionals to know the risks, spot the signs, and act quickly to prevent sepsis in patients.  
 
Program Timeline:  

Falls IAN

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), falls are a common and devastating complication of hospital care.  Elderly and frail patients are vulnerable to falling, but any patient of any age or physical ability can be at risk for a fall due to physiological changes due to their medical condition, medications, surgery, procedures or diagnostic testing that can leave them weak and confused.  AHRQ estimates that 700,000 to 1 million hospitalized patients fall each year, with more than one-third of in hospital falls resulting in serious injury.
 
Program Timeline:  

C. difficile Infection IAN

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, close to half of a million cases of C. difficile infection (CDI) occur annually.  In patients over 65, one in eleven died of a healthcare-associated case of CDI within a month of receiving their CDI diagnosis.  Increased antibiotic use, noncompliance with hand hygiene and personal protective equipment use, and breakdowns in clinical communication lead to increased risk of transmission of C. difficile in healthcare facilities. 
 
Program Timeline:

Adverse Drug Events - Enhancing Medication Safety  IAN

This IAN discussed how to avoid the common pitfalls with common medications and provided tools to help organizations identify gaps in care processes and key strategies to improve medication reconciliation and attain better physical engagement in this work.
 
Program Timeline:


Readmissions  IAN

Readmissions are perhaps the most complex hospital-associated condition addressed by the HIIN.  Arising from a condition of complex social factors, such as mental illness, poverty and poor social support, as well as clinical prognosis and sufficient care across the continuum, readmissions require a multi-factorial and highly coordinated prevention effort.  Though patients and their families are most directly affected by a readmission, these events pass on significant cost and strain to an already tenuous healthcare system.
 
Program Timeline:  

Venous Thromboembolism IAN

As many as 350,000 to 650,000 venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) occur annually in the US, and an estimated 100,000 affected patients die as a result. VTE represents one of the most common causes of preventable hospital deaths.  Effective means exist to reduce VTEs, but they are not routinely or systematically applied.  This IAN focused on guidelines, organizations must focus on changing both staff behavior and improving their culture of safety to prevent VTEs.
 
 
Program Timeline:

Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection IAN

Catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are the most commonly reported healthcare acquired infection (HAI) in US hospitals, and lead to increased patient morbidity and mortality. .  The majority of CAUTIs are considered to be avoidable. Recommended infection-prevention practices and technical guidelines for CAUTI include: appropriate use, aseptic insertion, proper maintenance and timely removal of indwelling urinary catheters. In addition to these guidelines, organizations must focus on changing both staff behavior and the culture of safety.



If you have any questions, please email the HIIN team.