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Quality improvement initiatives decreased endoscopy delays
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Pediatric endoscopy timeliness and delays can be decreased by applying quality improvement methods and tools, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.
Gitit Tomer, MD, and colleagues from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, N.Y., evaluated 1,747 pediatric endoscopic procedures among 1,348 patients to determine if improvement methods and tools can improve the timeliness of pediatric endoscopy procedures.
Thirty-three percent of endoscopy cases did not have a specific cause of delay. Eleven percent of the delays were caused by late arrival of the gastroenterology physician. The delay decreased to 4% in the post-intervention period. Fifty percent of the delays in the pre-intervention period were caused by anesthesia-related causes, which decreased to 28% during the post-intervention period.
First case endoscopy delay went from an average of 17 to 10 minutes; second case delay from 39 to 25 minutes; third case delay from 61 to 45 minutes; and fourth case delay from 79 to 51 minutes. Total delay time was reduced by 65 minutes per day (P=.02).
During the post-intervention period the percentage of cases starting within 5, 10, and 15 minutes increased.
“We found a significant improvement in timeliness of pediatric endoscopic procedures,” the researchers wrote. “Our [quality improvement] efforts have reduced delays and improved care delivery processes. We are confident that are pediatric endoscopy [quality improvement] experience will allow pediatric endoscopists to assess their own ongoing performance and will encourage similar [quality improvement] initiatives aimed at improving efficiency throughout the hospital.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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