Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 12-12-2019

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is one of the most common conditions in the United States. Cases of HF has immensely contributed to the number of patients visiting the emergency departments (ED) in healthcare facilities throughout the United States. Patient experience is impacted by several aspects, which includes the length of stay ( LOS) and quality of care outcomes. Literature shows that a delay in turn around times (Ekelund, 2014) in laboratory tests affects efficiency and other parameters of quality of healthcare. This project has been completed with the objective of identifying areas in clinical process that can be optimized to keep Betanatriuretic peptide (BNP) test results under a TAT of 60 minutes. Studies done by Hutchinson , 2017 showed SOB or dyspnea as a common presenting symptoms in the ED. The problem presented in this case is that the TAT for patients with undifferentiated dyspnea is higher, especially for those possibly suffering from HF and COPD. It is crucial to make an accurate diagnosis, which is why the time taken to confirm the problem in many cases is long. The specific description of interventions that would be made to the process includes: To reduce the number of hours taken to complete the lab results, to reduce the time it takes to upload results on the EMR database, and to shorten the time taken to complete the radiological tests. Methods employed included observation of TAT before and after intervention. The project featured several stakeholders in the internal and external environment that made up the project team. The project focuses on patients that reported to the ED with chief complaints of shortness of breath (SOB) as the primary basis for conductive comprehensive diagnosis. Findings of the project are vitals towards limiting costs and expenses tied to the ED, reducing the LOS and, improving care outcomes for patients diagnosed with acute congestive heart failure and thus reducing morbidity levels.

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