Lack of Patient Medication Education and the use of the Get-Well Network

Noor Tamari, NS, University of South Florida

Purpose
To increase patient medication education through the use of the Get-Well Network at St. Joseph's hospital Intensive care unit. To educate staff members and patients on how to properly use the Get-Well Network.

Results

Measures
Education completed through the Get-Well Network can be tracked through documentation in the education tab in results. Nurses can also track videos watched by patients.

Background
In 2013, the HCAHPS scores for St. Josephs ICU regarding communication on hospital medications was reported to be 61%. Nurses' role in educating patients about medications is vital for positive patient outcomes. However, lack of time and a high workload can have a negative effect on patient medication education (Latter, Yerrell, Rycroft-Malone & Shaw, 2000). Nurses current contribution to medication education was frequently found to be limited to simple information giving about the name, purpose, color, number of tablets and the time and frequency of their administration. As a result, patients dont end up receiving proper education on their medications that is truly needed. When conducting a survey among nurses in the ICU at St. Josephs hospital, I have found that many were unfamiliar with the new Get-Well network and how to properly use it to educate their patients. According to a recent pilot study at the University of San Francisco, tablets and other devices have a significant potential to improve patients' education and engagement in their hospital care. Inpatients were highly satisfied with the use of tablets to complete health education modules with minimal time required for patient training and device management by hospital staff (Greysen, Khanna, Jacolbia, Lee, Auterbach, 2014). Patients and family members will benefit from the Get-Well Network, specifically the section designed to educate patients on their current medications. The GetWellNetwork will empower patients and their family members to take an active role in their care. It contains hundreds of videos and content on specific health conditions, medications and tests. Recently, the Chandler Regional Medical Center has increased their HCAHPS scores for Medication Teaching by 10.6 percent by utilizing the GetWellNetwork. When used properly, nurses will be able to give a more detailed explanation to their patients regarding their current medication list and possible side effects.

Process Improvement
Nurses will provide detailed education to their patients on their medications prior to administering. Nurses will educate patients on how to look at their medication list using the Get-Well Network and learn more including each side effect. Nurses will also explain to patients how to access and watch ordered videos using the GetWell Network.

Limitations / Lessons Learned

A limitation when presenting this project is time constraints. I will need to present this project during morning huddle. The charge nurse will first need to address any topics he/she has to the staff and then I will be able to present my project. This process cannot be too time consuming as the staff need to leave for report. Also, there is not a huddle done every morning. Another limitation is the patient population in the ICU. The severity of illness in some patients will be a barrier to education and comprehension of instructions. However, when patients are unable to benefit from education, family members can be provided valuable education to benefit from and stay informed.

Team Members
Registered Nurses Patient Care Technicians Nurse Manager Nurse Educator

Improvement Tools/Methods
Plan, Do, Study ,Act method Cause and effect analysis (fishbone diagram)

References
Latter, S., Yerrell, P., Rycroft-Malone, J., & Shaw, D. (2000). Nursing, medication education and the new policy agenda: the evidence base. International Journal of Nursing Studies, (37), 469-479. Getwellnetwork. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.getwellnetwork.com/success/outcomes Greysen, R., Khanna, R., Jacolbia, R., Lee, h., & Auerbach, A. (2014). Tablet computers for hospitalized patients: A pilot study to improve inpatient engagement.. Journal of Hospital Medicine, . Tamura-Lis, W. (2013). Teach-Back for Quality Education And Patient Safety. Urologic Nursing,33(6), 267-298

St. Joseph's Hospital, Intensive Care Unit