Night Talks and Nocturnists: New Interventions for the Hospital at Night
December 1, 2011, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time
December 1, 2011, 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern Time
Guests:
David Gozzard, FRCP, FRCPath, MBA, Consultant in Quality Improvement, North Wales, UK; Former Consultant Haematologist
Christine White, MD, MAT, Assistant Professor, Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Winthrop Whitcomb, MD, MHM, Medical Director of Healthcare Quality, Baystate Health
Although most hospitals are open for business 24/7, patients are well aware that days, nights, weekends, and holidays are not created equally in hospitals. There’s a history of assigning fewer medical and nursing staff during these times, creating a host of challenges for improvement leaders seeking to ensure safe and reliable care regardless of what the clock says. And there are real consequences: a study published in JAMA in 2008 found that patients who had heart attacks in the hospital at night and on weekends were less likely to survive than if they’d arrested during “normal business hours.”
Innovative solutions to close this gap in care are cropping up in several corners. In the US, the growing number of and reliance on hospitalists is giving rise to a particular type of hospitalist, known as a “nocturnist,” who specializes in after-hours care. In the UK, attention to patient safety as well as work hours for medical staff have spawned an increasingly widespread practice of interdisciplinary “night teams.” And, many hospitals are focusing on night times and weekends as part of their overall efforts to improve communication and handoffs among nurses and medical residents, the latter of whom in the US now have shifts of their own to comply with ACGME regulations.
So, the road to ensuring that patients get the same kind of care, no matter the time of day or night, is definitely still under development. But, each of the guests and experts on the December 1 WIHI are contributing to the solutions and they’re eager to find out what innovations are underway in your own organizations. WIHI host Madge Kaplan and Drs. David Gozzard, Christine White, and Win Whitcomb all hope you’ll tune in to share what you know and to learn more. Any one of us, for any number of reasons, can wind up being admitted to a hospital on a weekday morning, in the middle of the night, or over a major holiday. The quality of care should be the same. Please join us!
To enroll, please click here.
Christine White, MD, MAT, Assistant Professor, Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Winthrop Whitcomb, MD, MHM, Medical Director of Healthcare Quality, Baystate Health
Although most hospitals are open for business 24/7, patients are well aware that days, nights, weekends, and holidays are not created equally in hospitals. There’s a history of assigning fewer medical and nursing staff during these times, creating a host of challenges for improvement leaders seeking to ensure safe and reliable care regardless of what the clock says. And there are real consequences: a study published in JAMA in 2008 found that patients who had heart attacks in the hospital at night and on weekends were less likely to survive than if they’d arrested during “normal business hours.”
Innovative solutions to close this gap in care are cropping up in several corners. In the US, the growing number of and reliance on hospitalists is giving rise to a particular type of hospitalist, known as a “nocturnist,” who specializes in after-hours care. In the UK, attention to patient safety as well as work hours for medical staff have spawned an increasingly widespread practice of interdisciplinary “night teams.” And, many hospitals are focusing on night times and weekends as part of their overall efforts to improve communication and handoffs among nurses and medical residents, the latter of whom in the US now have shifts of their own to comply with ACGME regulations.
So, the road to ensuring that patients get the same kind of care, no matter the time of day or night, is definitely still under development. But, each of the guests and experts on the December 1 WIHI are contributing to the solutions and they’re eager to find out what innovations are underway in your own organizations. WIHI host Madge Kaplan and Drs. David Gozzard, Christine White, and Win Whitcomb all hope you’ll tune in to share what you know and to learn more. Any one of us, for any number of reasons, can wind up being admitted to a hospital on a weekday morning, in the middle of the night, or over a major holiday. The quality of care should be the same. Please join us!
To enroll, please click here.
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