The CDC says that 2 million patients develop infections each year during hospital stays and 100,000 of those patients die as a result of Healthcare Associate Infections (HAIs). Did infection cross your mind the last time you were poked or went under the knife? It didn’t cross mine. But it should have.
Though specific medical error cannot be identified in most cases of HAIs, inadequate policies and procedures, or inconsistent follow-through, can make you sick – or even kill you. Sleep on that tidbit of information before your next surgery.
Consistent and correct application of evidence based preventative measures doesn’t mean that none of us will ever get an HAI, but they can greatly reduce HAI rates within the healthcare system. Evidence based means that the processes have been studied, they do no harm, and that data demonstrates positive results. Basically, they work and they work well. Focusing on patient safety and a culture of teamwork as a foundation for these measures makes perfect sense. But is anyone leading the charge?
Fortunately, since 2001 the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has funded over 100 programs like the evidence based Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program designed to prevent Healthcare-Associated infections (HAI) or CUSP. These programs include toolkits are specifically designed with patient safety in mind. I feel better already.
But are these toolkits actually successful in making that a reality?
The first time a program like this was applied on a large scale basis occurred in 2003, involving more than 100 intensive care units across Michigan. The results? A staggering savings of more than 1,500 lives and nearly $200 million in the program’s first 18 months. The success of that project to reduce Healthcare Associated Infections quickly led to additional AHRQ funding and the program now encompasses hospitals in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and even Puerto Rico.
Contrast Creative is proud to have ten years of experience collaborating with AHRQ and the Department of Defense (DoD) on developing a series of videos for a variety of toolkits concentrating on patient safety.
Recently our team worked alongside AHRQ and a group of project partners, including the Health, Education and Research Trust (HRET) and the University of Michigan – Kidney Epidemiology Cost Center (UM-KECC), to write and produce videos for a toolkit that will help End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) clinics prevent HAIs in dialysis patients.
In 2008, the CDC estimated that 37,000 bloodstream infections occurred among hemodialysis patients with central lines – and one in four of those infected patients may have died as a result of the infection. Patients who undergo dialysis treatment have a higher risk for getting an HAI, and hemodialysis patients are at an increased risk for infection due to the use of catheters or insertion of needles necessary for the procedure. As if dialysis patients didn’t have enough to worry about. Add to that a weakened immune system’s susceptibility for infection and you can begin to see why these toolkits are so vital to hospitals, facilities, and the patients who entrust their care to them.
The ESRD video modules Contrast Creative developed demonstrate the use of evidence-based infection control practices that historically had not been uniformly performed in U.S. dialysis facilities. Who wants sloppy infection control procedures? Not me. The encouraging news is that when HRET evaluated the new toolkit, a majority of participants were able to immediately recall content specific questions about reducing HAIS, showing the information is being digested, retained, and hopefully will be utilized consistently in hospitals and centers. Decreasing HAIs will increase the comfort levels of patients everywhere, including mine.
So what makes video training modules so effective for these toolkits?
Consistency. What you see is what you get, every time. There aren’t discrepancies from one trainer to the next because the techniques demonstrated in these toolkits are performed under direct supervision of a trained professional during the video production process. We capture the technique in its perfection in a way that can be stopped and rewound to watch over and over again. Imagine asking your boss to repeatedly demonstrate the same process. Video education training tools offer exactly that option, allowing lessons to be viewed anytime, anywhere on virtually any device.
Unfortunately, medical complications like HAIS will always occur, and are disturbing to both healthcare workers and the patient. But video training modules can produce great results, providing tools to dramatically reduce HAIs. It’s hard to imagine a more worthwhile production. But the follow-through still falls to the healthcare worker, each and every time. There isn’t a video made that can force someone to wash their hands. But video can reinforce how crucial these HAI reduction procedures are in a memorable, cost-effective way.
Consider this. Instead of watching the facility TV the next time you have a surgery or procedure, perhaps you should be watching whether your healthcare worker is washing up or disinfecting the equipment instead. They literally hold your life in their anti-septic, soaked hands.