VTE Prevention Collaborative off to a Great Start
The VTE Prevention Collaborative (VTE PC) is the latest SHM initiative to support hospitalist-led efforts to reduce the incidence of preventable, hospital-acquired VTE. Launched in January 2007, the program offers individualized assistance to hospitalists who want to take the lead on this critical quality and patient safety issue.
Hospital-Acquired Venous Thromboembolism
The problem of hospital-acquired VTE is huge. More than 2 million Americans suffer from VTE each year. Most hospitalized patients have at least one risk factor for VTE. In a large registry trial capturing more than 5,451 patients at 183 sites in a six-month period, 50% (2,726) developed their VTE during hospitalization.1 A 400-bed hospital with an average rate of VTE prophylaxis can expect that 200 patients will suffer from hospital-acquired VTE each year; around half of these cases are potentially preventable.1,2
The good news is that effective and safe measures to prevent hospital-acquired VTE exist. Pharmacologic prophylaxis reduces the incidence of asymptomatic and symptomatic DVT and pulmonary embolism (PE) by 50%-65%.3, 4-11 Prevention of DVT also prevents PE and fatalities from PE. The chief concern of prophylaxis is bleeding, but bleeding risk secondary to pharmacologic prophylaxis is a rare event, as is shown in abundant data from meta-analyses and placebo-controlled, randomized controlled trials.3,4
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Close the Gap
Reliably preventing VTE in the hospital is inherently complex. VTE risk and bleeding risks vary within patient populations, and these risks may change for an individual patient several times in the course of the hospital stay. Weight, age, renal function, medication changes, and recent or impending invasive interventions may all influence decisions about the best VTE prevention options. Transitions across care providers and locations translate into multiple opportunities for breakdown in the delivery of optimal VTE prophylaxis. Thoughtful, evidence-based protocols, multidisciplinary system changes, and comprehensive educational efforts are required to achieve optimal VTE prophylaxis in the complex hospital setting.
How the VTE PC Can Help
The VTE PC program builds on and complements the VTE prevention materials and educational resources that SHM has produced in recent years. “Our Quality Improvement Resource Rooms have the information and resources needed to tackle a number of key quality issues,” says SHM CEO Larry Wellikson. “The VTE PC project takes this one step further by providing individualized mentorship. SHM is committed to supporting these forward-thinking, unique strategies that will allow hospitalists to lead their hospitals into a better future.”
VTE PC participants can choose the type of support that best fits their needs: a full year of distance mentoring or a one-day evaluation and consultation visit to their site.
The mentoring program presents a perfect option for individuals interested in ongoing support for their planned or active VTE prevention projects. Through the project, SHM mentors with VTE and QI experts who work with participants during eight telephone calls scheduled throughout a yearlong mentoring period. During the calls, mentors offer individualized assistance on any topics, tasks, and barriers that are encountered in the course of designing, implementing, and evaluating a VTE prevention project. Instruction and assistance are tailored to participant needs and commonly focus on:
- Working with medical center administration;
- Using practical methods to assess institutional performance in VTE prophylaxis;
- Identifying and tracking patients with hospital-acquired VTE;
- Constructing a VTE risk-assessment model and integrating it into workflow, order sets, and protocols;
- Enhancing selection of appropriate prophylaxis by linking the VTE risk assessment to a corresponding menu of proven options; and
- Bolstering your chances of success by utilizing high-reliability design features and effective implementation techniques.