Reducing Adverse Events in the Intensive Care Unit: An Intensivist-led Multidisciplinary Approach

摘要

This capstone project is a retrospective review of prior research to determine the relationship between effectual intensivist led team performance, interpersonal communication, care delivery processes, incidence of adverse patient events, and the economic impact of those events. Central to this project are medical errors, adverse patient events, and adverse drug events. These events occur frequently in healthcare and have deleterious results for many patients. Critically ill patients, who require highly complex care, are at a higher risk of iatrogenic injury due to the acuity of their condition. Incidences of adverse patient events in the intensive care unit result in prolonged hospitalizations and increased rates of readmission. The lowest risk of death associated with an intensive care unit admission is linked to intensive care units that deploy intensivist physician staffing and multidisciplinary care teams. Interpersonal communication is a vital component of care delivery processes and is essential to reducing adverse patient events and improving care quality. The understanding of the epidemiology of adverse events can serve as the impetus for care delivery process improvement measures. 200,000 Americans die each year as a result of preventable medical errors and adverse patient events, at a cost of $19.5 billion. Of those costs, nearly 87%, or $17 billion, were directly associated with additional medical cost resultant of medical errors and adverse patient events.