Leading Practice: Reduction or Elimination of CAUTI - Blue.Point Supply Chain Solutions

AHRMM is offering a repository for leading and proven supply chain practices, case studies, and toolkits that are developed from a Cost, Quality, and Outcomes (CQO) perspective. The following Catheter Acquired Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) leading practice was submitted by:

Blue.Point Supply Chain Solutions, Andover, MA

Problem Statement: Rising costs, overuse of catheters compared to benchmarks, and higher than expected CAUTI rates led Southcoast Hospitals Group to embrace the Cost, Quality, Outcomes (CQO) Movement to look for a solution. 

Method: Southcoast Hospitals Group approached the entire category from a cost and quality perspective to implement a solution. Combining clinical product utilization, benchmarking, data analytics, and trending with nurse education and protocol review.

Means:

• Blue.Point benchmarking identified the overuse of catheters.
• Blue.Point best practice research led to an action plan focused on cost and clinical usage suggesting areas of improvement.
• Southcoast Hospitals Group had strong administrative support to approach the entire category from a CQO perspective to implement.
• Southcoast Hospitals Group’s focus on nurse-driven protocols allowed for clinical changes to positively impact outcomes.

Date Implemented: 2011 - ongoing

Outcomes:

Clinical:

• Developed nurse-driven protocols for catheter removal.
• Decrease CAUTI rate from nearly 5 to 2.8!

Financial:

• $200k achieved savings by making product changes based on results of clinical product utilization study.

Tools:

• Utilization benchmarking
• Action plan/checklist
• Interdisciplinary work group – clinicians, supply chain, finance, executive sponsorship
• CAUTI algorithm
• Nurse education

Attachments:

• Action Plan (checklist)
• CAUTI Algorithm
• CAUTI Rate

How Does Your Example Address the Issue from a CQO Perspective?

The cost avoidance, patient centered care, clinical outcomes, and the creation of new nurse-driven protocols has led to the creation of ‘Leading Practices’ as defined by the CQO Movement.