Connecting Practice to Data: Implementation Strategies to Increase Collection of Core Outcome Measures in an Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility.
Stacey Zalanowski, Erin Riley, Abigail Spaulding and 4 others
PMID 39038092WHAT IT FOUND
A quality improvement project increased the collection of core functional outcome measures for brain injury patients from 86.5% to 100% of admissions.
This was achieved through staff training, environmental changes, and regular feedback. The improvement was sustained for up to four years.
Key findings
01The proportion of brain injury admissions with at least one core outcome measure completed increased significantly from 86.5% before the program to 100% after implementation.
02Completion rates for all individual outcome measures increased significantly, except for the Function in Sitting test, which did not show a significant change.
03The increased collection of outcome measures was maintained over four years, though completion rates for some measures declined in the later years of the project.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The project did not use a systematic, theory-driven approach to select strategies, relying instead on local consensus. Input was primarily from the physical therapy department, potentially overlooking barriers faced by other disciplines. Completion of all measures remained low, with only 15.1% of admissions having all measures completed at admission. Some outcome measures showed declining completion rates in later years, suggesting challenges in long-term sustainment. The study was conducted in a single facility, which may limit the generalizability of the specific strategies to other contexts.
Declared interests
The paper does not report specific funding sources or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the 100% adoption rate as evidence that all patients completed all measures. The study found that only 15.1% of admissions had all measures completed at admission, and the '100%' figure refers to the proportion of admissions with at least one measure completed.