Reevaluation of hospital roles and waste have improved care at Wisconsin hospital
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
April 9, 2008
Through a redefinition of doctor roles and the institution of a system better at locating waste, ThedaCare Appleton (WI) Medical Center has helped change the way patient care is delivered, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Using techniques that manufacturers have used for decades, ThedaCare is employing waste-reduction methods to target areas in which money was being lost, and poorer patient care was being delivered. Results from the first year of the program have shown a 20% decrease in the length of a patient's stay at the facility.
One new technique is updating the way rounds are conducted. Now, doctors make rounds to see patients with a nurse, pharmacist, and sometimes patient care manager. This provides for immediate feedback from many parties involved; for example, a doctor explaining to a physician why he or she ordered certain medications. Nurses have also been given more responsibility in the realm of patient care.
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