The hospital sought innovative ways to engage patients and families in decision-making and communicate clearly and consistently its commitment to manage pain.
As part of its commitment to both patient- and family-centered care and comprehensive pain management, the hospital created a core project team of administrative leadership, IT, pharmacy, nursing and education experts, as well as self-identified unit-level nurse pain champions. The project team selected two inpatient units to pilot a Pain Pathway to enhance patient-focused education and communication, incorporating new workflows for personalized interventions and follow-up. The team integrated GetWell Inpatient™, a powerful Interactive Patient Care™ (IPC) solution, with its automated medication dispensing (AMD) and electronic health record (EHR) systems to facilitate this effort.
The implementation of the Pain Pathway has been an important component of Lurie Children’s pain management efforts and has helped improve patient and family satisfaction. The results of this approach are reflected in improved documentation of pain reassessment after medication administration and positive feedback from daily leadership rounding with families. Over a two-year period, a steady improvement was observed in patient experience scores around pain management, with a statistically significant improvement from baseline to year two.
75.3%
FY14
80%
FY15
83.3%
FY16
Our approach to care is to keep patients and families at the center of the conversation and actively involved in decision-making. GetWell Inpatient helped us strengthen the clarity and consistency of communications with families, achieving positive gains in satisfaction around pain management.”
Suma Rao-Gupta, MPH, Director, Pedersen Family Learning Center & Health Sciences Library, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is one of the top pediatric hospitals in the nation, offering more than 70 sub-specialties in pediatric medicine and providing care for more than 198,000 patients. The mission of Lurie Children’s is to enhance the health and well-being of children through patient care, research, education and advocacy.