Creating
Effective Communication and Coordination
Intensifying Therapy
Using Podcasts
Self-Guided Learning Podcasts
By incorporating algorithms (such
as Summa's Planned Visit Algorithm) of care and self-guided learning
podcasts (Summa's podcast modules and Podcast Technology
Fact Sheet) into the curriculum, the Summa Health System's internal medicine team was able
to avoid or overcome clinical inertia.
Developed by the team's clinical expert, this
algorithm-driven care method provides residents with evidence-based steps for
intensified care in glycemic control, hypertension, and lipid-lowering
therapy.
Podcasts accommodate
residents' busy schedules with a short and easily accessible way to review
specific topics and receive immediate feedback using a Web-based post-test that
assesses the residents' learning. This use of Web-based learning has allowed
the entire care team to gain an understanding of the clinical approach to take
for patients who have not achieved clinical goals for their disease state. This
improved "tacit team knowledge" has played a role in better patient outcomes.
Diabetes Management Algorithm
The Christ Hospital team (which joined with the University
of Cincinnati Hospital in 1994 to form the Health Alliance) developed an
easy-to-use diabetes management algorithm to immediately reduce extremely high
HbA1c levels in diabetes patients. The resulting Diabetes
Outpatient Intensification Treatment (D.O.I.T.) protocol was created to overcome specific
barriers the team identified as thwarting attempts to lower HbA1c levels.
Tools:
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