Interventions Can Improve Administration of VTE Prophylaxis

MONDAY, Oct. 3, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- An electronic alert-triggered, patient-centered education bundle intervention or a nurse feedback intervention can improve administration of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis, according to a study published in the Sept. 20 issue of the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Elliott R. Haut, M.D., Ph.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a cluster-randomized trial in which all adult non-intensive care units (10 medical and six surgical) from an academic hospital were randomly assigned to a real-time, electronic alert-triggered, patient-centered education bundle intervention or nurse feedback intervention to examine their effectiveness for reducing nonadministration of prophylaxis for venous thromboembolism. Outcomes were compared preintervention versus postintervention in each cohort.

The researchers found that the overall dose nonadministration declined significantly after the interventions among 11,098 patient visits (13.4 to 9.2 percent). In both arms, nonadministration decreased significantly (12.2 to 7.4 percent for the patient-centered education bundle; 14.7 to 11.2 percent for nurse feedback). In both arms, patient refusal decreased significantly (7.3 to 3.7 percent and 9.5 to 7.1 percent for the patient-centered education bundle and nurse feedback, respectively). Compared with nurse feedback, the patient-centered education bundle was significantly more effective in reducing all nonadministered and refused doses.

"Our study provides clear evidence that supports the use of information technology strategies combined with targeted patient-centered education to bolster best practices of VTE prophylaxis medication administration," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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