In a stroke-certified 500-bed acute care hospital, the 30-day readmission rates for patients discharged to rehabilitation centers or skilled nursing facilities were higher than the rates for patients discharged to home. A review of data by the stroke team showed 44 patients readmitted within 30 days of initial stroke discharge between October 2016 and January 2017. The rate of re-admission for those discharged home was 41% (18 patients), whereas the rate for those discharged to acute inpatient rehabilitation, long-term acute care, or skilled nursing facilities was 59% (26 patients). The practice-focused question for this project assessed whether using a re-admission risk-assessment tool and implementing interventions during the initial acute-care admission, would help to identify and improve risk for 30-day re-admissions for patients diagnosed with stroke. The goal of this research project was to adopt, test, and recommend the implementation of a readmission risk assessment tool to enable discharge planners to identify stroke patients at risk for readmission and implement interventions to help reduce this risk. Lewin’s theory of change was used to inform the project. A stroke re-admission risk-assessment tool in use at a similar hospital was adopted and tested for 1 week on the hospital’s 28-bed stroke unit by nurse case managers. The test was conducted among 5 patients with confirmed diagnosis of stroke. A re-admission data review was performed 30 days after their discharge, which showed no readmissions for the 5 patients involved in the trial. The tool helped to improve case manager awareness of increased risk for readmissions, guide interventions, and improve patient transition and outcomes. The implications of this project for positive change include the potential to improve risk for patients with stroke in the acute-care facility.

Health information technology (HIT), which includes electronic health record (EHR) systems and clinical data analytics, has become a major component of all health care delivery and care management. The adoption of HIT by physicians, hospitals, post-acute care organizations, pharmacies and other health care providers has been accepted as a necessary (and recently, a government required) step toward improved quality, care coordination and reduced costs: “Better coordination of care provides a path to improving communication, improving quality of care, and reducing unnecessary emergency room use and hospital readmissions. LTPAC providers play a critical role in achieving these goals” (HealthIT.gov, 2013). Though some of the impacts of evolving HIT and EHRs have been studied in acute care hospitals and physician office settings, a dearth of information exists about the deployment and effectiveness of HIT and EHRs in long-term and post-acute care facilities, places where they are becoming more essential. This dissertation examines how and to what extent health information technology and electronic health record implementation and use affects certain measurable outcomes in long term and post-acute care facilities. Monthly data were obtained for the period beginning January 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, a total of 18 months. The level of EHR adoption was found to positively impact hospital readmission rates, employee engagement, complaint deficiencies, failed revisit surveys, staff overtime (partial EHR), staff turnover rate (full EHR) and United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Five Star Quality score. The level of EHR adoption was found to negatively impact CMS Five Star Total score, staff retention rate (full EHR) and staff overtime (full EHR group higher than partial EHR).

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Andelen äldre personer ökar i Sverige och världen vilket innebär att efterfrågan av vård ökar, men all vård behöver inte ske på sjukhus. Insatser som kan förhindra undvikbar slutenvård bör vara viktiga att arbeta fram dels ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv, men även viktigt för att minska den påfrestning, förvirring och försämrad hälsostatus en sjukhusvistelse kan innebära för den äldre sköra patienten. Mobila närsjuksvårdsteam som utgår från sjukhusen är en relativt ny vårdform i Sverige och introducerades i Västra Götalandsregionen för ungefär 10 år sedan. Mobila närsjukvårdsteam gör insatser för sköra patienter med komplexa behov i hemmet och i teamen arbetar bland annat sjuksköterskor. Inom sjuksköterskans kompetensområde ingår att självständigt kunna ansvara för omvårdnad av patienter, inneha förmågan att se hela patientens livsvärld samt arbeta för en säker vård.  Syftet med den här studien är att belysa sjuksköterskans arbete med sköra patienter i mobila närsjukvårdsteam. Denna studie har genomförts som kvalitativ metod med induktiv ansats och bygger på intervjuer som datainsamlingsmetod. Vi har intervjuat sjuksköterskor verksamma på tre olika mobila närsjukvårdsteam. Resultatet av vår studie har visat att sjuksköterskan i mobila närsjukvårdsteam har en viktig roll då de utför avancerad vård i hemmet genom samverkan i team och med andra vårdaktörer. Sjuksköterskan har ett helhetsperspektiv med patienten i fokus och på så sätt kan andelen onödiga sjukhusinläggningar minska. Vår studie visar att snabb uppföljning i hemmet av sköra patienter som skrivs ut från sjukhus skapar trygghet samt minskar återinläggningar. Dessutom är rätt vård av sköra äldre patienter en organisatorisk fråga och vården behöver bedrivas av rätt kompetens. Sjuksköterskans arbete i mobila närsjukvårdsteam innebär att arbeta med hållbar utveckling genom att konsumtion av slutenvård minskar. / The proportion of older people is increasing in Sweden and the world, which means that the demand for care is increasing, but all care need not executed in hospitals. Efforts that can prevent avoidable outpatient care should be important to work on from a sustainability perspective, but also important to reduce the stress, confusion and deteriorating health status a hospital stay can cause for the older fragile patient. Mobile local health care teams executed from the local hospital are a relatively new form of care in Sweden. Mobile local health care teams were introduced in the Västra Götaland region about 10 years ago. Mobile local health care teams makes efforts for fragile patients with complex needs in their home.  The registered nurse’s expertise includes being able to independently be responsible for the care of patients, having the ability to see the entire patient's needs and working for patient's safety. The aim of this study is to illustrate the nurse's work with fragile older patients in mobile local health care teams. This study has been conducted as a qualitative method with an inductive approach and is based on interviews as a data collection method. We have interviewed nurses working on three different mobile local health care teams. The result has shown that the registered nurse in mobile local health care teams plays an important role as they carry out advanced care in the home through collaboration in teams and with other healthcare players. The registered nurse has a holistic perspective with the patient in focus, unnecessary hospitalizations and re-admission can be reduced. This study shows that fast follow-up in the home of fragile patients who are discharged from hospitals creates security and reduces re-admissions. In addition, proper care of fragile elderly patients is an organizational issue and care needs to be conducted by the right expertise. Registered nurse's work in mobile local health care teams means working with sustainable development by reducing the consumption of inpatient care.

MCur / Department of Advanced Nursing Science