COMPLETED PROJECTS
Completed 2019:
Sharing And Teaching ECGs To Minimize Infarction (STEMI)
A quality improvement project focusing on the emergency physician diagnosis of acute coronary occlusion.
Optimizing After-Hours Workflow of CT Orders from the ED
A quality improvement project to implement a new process of order entry and CT scan protocoling that removes existing legacy barriers by leveraging existing computerized provider order entry (CPOE) systems.
Reducing Coagulation Blood Sample Hemolysis in the ED
A quality improvement project to remove coagulation tests from the EPR chest pain panel and redesign IV/blood work supply carts.
Transfer Tool Between PMH and TGH Emergency Departments
A quality improvement project focusing on the creation and usage of a written handover tool to facilitate the goal of improving communication between PMH and TGH ED.
Unnecessary Calcium Testing in the ED
A quality improvement project to remove the calcium test off the provider order entry abdominal pain blood panel.
Completed 2018:
Improving Alcohol Withdrawal Care In The Emergency Department- A Quality Improvement Project to develop a sustainable CIWA-Ar education resource that will help to standardize education of this assessment tool.
Improving Patient Communication In The TGH Rapid Assessment Zone- A Quality Improvement Project to increase the patient-reported satisfaction, Decrease patient anxiety related to ED visit, and decrease the perceived RAZ clinician interruption.
Timely Analgesia In The Emergency Department-A Quality Improvement Project to reduce time to analgesia in order to improve patient satisfaction and reduce length of stay.
Completed 2017:
Checklist for Head Injury Management Evaluation Study CHIMES- A Quality Improvement Project to reduce the percentage of patients presenting with head injuries who receive a CT scan of their brain.
Febrile Neutropenia– A Quality Improvement Project to reduce the median time to antibiotic administration for high-risk febrile neutropenia patients to within 1 hour of presentation to the ED.
Reducing unnecessary LDH testing in the UHN ED– This project aims to improve the stewardship of the use of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) testing in the University Health Network (UHN) Emergency Department (ED).
Treat and Release– the improvement of Treat and Release (T&R) patients’ follow-up care. These patients are those deemed well enough to be discharged from the emergency department (ED) after their assessment, but asked to return in 12 to 72 hours for follow-up care.
Completed 2016:
Call Back for Quality Assurance – Improving the Accuracy of Medical Recommendations for Blood Culture Results with Evidence-Based Supporting Materials
Blood Cultures – A Quality Improvement Project to Improve the Adherence to Best Practices in the Order, Collection and Analysis
Clinical Referral Process Upgrade – Streamlining patient referrals from the ED through an email-based clinical referral system
Code Resus – Using a Quality Improvement Approach to Improve Health Care Provider Response During Resuscitations
Discharge Instructions – Accurate and Specific Out-patient Clinic Follow-up Instructions to Improve Communication and Presenteeism
Falls Prevention – Using audits and feedback to develop and refine a screening tool and safety bundle to prevent falls in the ED
Urine Cultures – Sending fewer urine cultures leads to decreased workload, reduced health-care costs and unnecessary use of antibiotics
TWH BED-UP – Beds in the Emergency Department Utilization Project, through Health Quality Ontario’s IDEAS Program (Improving and Driving Excellence Across Sectors)
Completed 2015:
Rapid Medical Evaluation (RME) Unit – How Improving the Flow of the Least Sick Patients in the ED Resulted in Overall Gains for All Patients