Talking the Talk
Best Practices in Effectively
Communicating
g Research Results
Intermountain Healthcare
Lucy Savitz, Ph.D., MBA
Director of Research & Education
Intermountain Healthcare Institute for Health Care Delivery Research
Associate Professor, Clinical Epidemiology
Adjunct Associate Professor, Nursing, Pediatrics,
Family & Preventive Medicine
University of Utah
lucy.savitz@imail.org
Intermountain Healthcare
Utah
Intermountain Healthcare
•Not-for-profit
p
hospitals,
p
,
physician group, and
health plan
$6 billi
billion organization
i ti
•Founded in 1975
24 Hospitals
•24
•130+ Clinics
•Serves about 60% of
Utah’s population off
about 2.8 million
Talking the Talk to Our Audiences
Policy Makers
Policy briefs
Testimony & visits
Media coverage
Clinicians
Care process models
Board goals
g
In-service / grand rounds
C
Community
it
Town halls
T
h ll
Targeted education/outreach
Media coverage
Critical Communication Factors
 Community engagement
 Telling stories
 Discussion Forums
Wh t is
What
i “Community
“C
it E
Engagement”?
t”?
…community engagement is a process of
inclusive participation that supports mutual
respect of values, strategies, and actions for
authentic partnership of people affiliated with
or self-identified
lf id tifi d by
b geographic
hi proximity,
i it
special interest, or similar situations to
address issues affecting the well
well-being
being
(and/or performance) of the community of
focus.
focus
NIH Council of Public Representatives, October 2008
•Clinicians
•People with X
•Parents
•etc.
•etc
The Practice Problem
Reducing variation in compliance with evidencebased g
guidelines and accelerating
g their spread.
p
• Care Process Models (CPMs) are narrative documents that
aim at representing state-of-the-art medical knowledge.
• Clinical
Cli i l Decision
D i i Support
S
t Tools
T l can include
i l d allll ways iin
which health care knowledge is represented in health information
systems.
• Advantages of computerized EB-CPM are:
• Provide readily accessible references and allow access to knowledge in
guidelines that have been selected for use in a specific clinical context
• Often improve the clarity of a guideline
• Can be tailored to a patient‘s clinical state
• Propose timel
timely decision ssupport
pport that is specific for the patient
Key components of our strategy…
• Identify problem
• Establish evidence base
• Develop, test, & implement using quality
improvement tools (e
(e.g.,
g Six Sigma—define
Sigma define,
measure, analyze, improve, control)
The University of Utah/Intermountain EB-CPM
p using
g an evidence base
was developed
derived from prospective research at our
institutions & others together with a Six
Si
Sigma
process that
th t involved
i
l d staff.
t ff
Example EB
EB-CPMs
CPMs at Intermountain
Evidence-Based
Care Process
Model*
Cost Driver(s)
Impacted
Observed
Cost Savings
Pediatrics
Avoided admissions,
reduced readmits,
avoided adverse
events
$3,000 per infant$6
million per year
system wide; $2
billion per year for
the U
U.S.
S
Multi-disciplinary
colon surgery
Surgical Services
ALOS, readmission
Management of
Elective Labor
I d ti
Induction
Women &
Newborns
Care of the Febrile
Infant
Achieving Optimal
Extubation Times for
Patients Following
Surgery
Mental Health
Integration
Clinical Program
Scope
4 hospitals
System wide
1.7% reduction in 30day readmission
rate$1.3 million
estimated savings to
system
ALOS
System wide
$600,000 per year
savings
i
system
t
wide
id
Cardiovascular
Reduction in ICU
and hospital LOS
Median time <7
hours for
CABG$20,000 per
patient
System wide
Primary Care
Reduction in ER
Visits & ALOS
Reduced ED visits,
admissions, & LOS
69 clinics;
clinics in 5
states
Evidence Based Care
Evidence-Based
of the Febrile Infant
Supporting spread
spread…
• 16+ peer reviewed publications
• In-service
I
i across th
the system
t
• Tested in 4 Intermountain facilities with
demonstrated quality & cost results
• Coverage
g in local p
papers,
p ,p
parent p
perspective
p
• www.kidsquality.org, Pediatric Quality Alliance
• Adopted by American Board of Pediatrics for
Maintenance and Certification Requirements.
Media Coverage
Brent C. James, MD, M.Stat.
Mental Health Integration, Community of
Practice Supporting Communications &
Spread
M thl calls;
Monthly
ll annual,
l in-person
i
retreat
t t