Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32540948›Full record

ArticleBMJ open quality2020

Improving VTE risk assessment and prophylaxis prescribing rate in medical patients: integrating risk assessment tool into the workflow.

Hannah Preston, Iain Swan, Lauren Davies, Simon Dummer, Veiraiah Aravindan, Yuan Ye Beh, Ann Lockman

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open quality, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 21% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Observational
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Hannah PrestonAcute and General Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK hannah.preston@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk.ORCID 0000-0001-8020-0800
Iain SwanAcute and General Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Lauren DaviesAcute and General Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Simon DummerAcute and General Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Veiraiah AravindanSPSP Medicines, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, Edinburgh, UK.
Yuan Ye BehAcute and General Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Ann LockmanAcute and General Medicine, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Edinburgh Royal Infirmary · GBHealthcare Improvement Scotland · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Medical inpatients often have important risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE). In our institution, VTE prophylaxis in this group was underused. The main barriers identified were inattention to VTE prophylaxis, competing priorities and lack of confidence in the decision-making. We aimed to improve the rate of VTE prophylaxis use by introducing a paper-based risk assessment tool, with actionable management recommendations within the prescription chart. The rationale was that an assessment tool at the point of prescribing can reduce steps between decision-making and prescribing process, thus promoting confidence and acting as a reminder. A total of 552 prescription charts completed over a period of 29 weeks were examined during the baseline period. In the postintervention period, 871 charts completed over 40 weeks period were examined. The risk assessment tool was completed in 51% of the cases examined in the postintervention period. The introduction of the risk assessment tool was associated with a significant change in the pattern of VTE pharmacological prophylaxis use. The change occurred when the form was made highly visible and enclosed in the prescription chart. The pharmacological prophylaxis use was higher with a completed assessment form than without (mean (SD) 97.5% (7.6%) vs 70.1% (19.4%); p<0.0001). The rate of appropriate prophylaxis decision was 98.2% (SD 5.2%) with a completed assessment form, and 80.7% (SD 17.9%) when it was not used. The qualitative interviews revealed positive themes; many users found it useful, easy and convenient to use. Our data have shown that a paper-based VTE risk assessment tool placed within the prescription chart could substantially improve the rate of appropriate assessment and VTE prophylaxis implementation. This suggests that tool clearly needs to be a seamless integration into the workflow to capture users' attention and mitigate the influence of time perception.

Indexed as

WorkflowAnticoagulantsDrug PrescriptionsGuideline AdherenceHumansPulmonary EmbolismRisk AssessmentRisk FactorsVenous ThromboembolismAnticoagulantsclinical practice guidelinesmedication safetypatient safetyquality improvementvenous thromboembolism

Identifiers

PMID32540948
PMCPMC7295437
OpenAlexW3034211729

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.