Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) provide reliable central vascular access for hospitalized patients, but PICCs are associated with morbid and potentially lethal complications. To curb these outcomes, IHQSE Faculty Dr. Tyler Anstett and team developed a decision support tool in the EHR to help hospital-based providers utilize more appropriate catheter devices for their patients.

The transfusion of blood is a life-saving measure but is sometimes overused leading to worse outcomes for patients and excess costs for health systems. A team including IHQSE Faculty member Dr. Tyler Anstett engaged clinicians from different specialties to rethink the design of blood transfusion orders in the EHR at University of Colorado Hospital.

IHQSE Certificate Training Program Graduates Dr. Norman Friedman, Renee Crowder and Sarah Derieg developed a set of screening criteria to predict children who would need overnight monitoring after surgery for sleep-disordered breathing. They report that 75% of patients did not have a prolonged oxygen requirement making them candidates for same day surgery. The probability of a prolonged oxygen requirement was only 18% if patients did not have a diagnosis of asthma or a resting pulse oxygen measurement of < 96%. They conclude that all patients who are off oxygen within 3 hours of surgery and pass a sleep room air challenge are safe for discharge to home.

Among the myriad impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic had on medicine and patient care, restrictions on face-to-face interactions among practitioners are often overlooked. In a commentary written for The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, IHQSE alum, Dr. Sarah Parker, explores how collaborative processes like “handshake” antimicrobial stewardship have adapted to the challenge posed by social distancing and increased virtual communication.