Many ICU patients require sedation, mechanical ventilation, and other life-saving interventions that can lead to complications. Oversedation, immobility, and delirium are separate yet reinforcing complications that can lead to long-term patient harm. They are also strong predictors of length of stay, increased morbidity and mortality, long-term cognitive impairment, and high cost of care.
Proactive methods that can help to minimize or avoid these harmful complications can be put into practice. Successfully reducing oversedation and delirium can be accomplished via monitoring for unsafe use of sedative medication, thus decreasing time on mechanical ventilators and increasing opportunities for patient mobility. Closer monitoring of patient sedation, immobility, and delirium — along with timely modifications in medication and care management — can lead to better physical and cognitive function at discharge, helping to reduce the chance of readmission.
In the tradition of “all teach, all learn,” the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is pleased to partner with Intermountain Health System and Vanderbilt University to offer a new on-site program that will reveal ways to reduce patient harm from sedation, immobility, and delirium. Intermountain and Vanderbilt have achieved exceptional outcomes and substantial reductions in complications and length of stay for their ICU patients via novel screening tools, early removal of heavy sedation, and aggressive mobility.
Participants in this live case study program will learn first-hand how to implement innovative evidence-based procedures and policies to monitor and prevent patient harm from sedation, immobility, and delirium. During a live visit to a hospital in the Intermountain Health System in Salt Lake City, Utah, participants will interact with ICU staff and expert faculty in a clinical setting. Attendees will benefit from a collaborative learning approach and return to their home organization able to execute practical screening tools and lead department-wide initiatives that will reduce patient harm and positively impact their organization’s bottom line.
