PROJECT NAME:Patient Readiness
Institution: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Primary Author: Pamela Douglas-Ntagha
Secondary Author: Angela Hayes-Rodgers
Project Category: Timeliness (registered this way)
Please complete all of the following sections.
Submission is limited to a maximum word count of 1500 (not including text in
graphs).
Overview: Describe 1) where the work was completed (in what type of
department/unit); 2) the reason the change was needed; 3) what
faculty/staff/patient groups were involved, and 4) the alignment to organizational
goals.
Where the work was completed:
Key departments involved included Patient Transportation, Inpatient Nursing, Off-Shift
Administrators, Interventional Radiology, Diagnostic Imaging, Patient Resources and
Clinical Application & Support.
The reason the change was needed:
The Patient Transportation department at MD Anderson completes approximately 22,000
transports a month. Devising an efficient patient transport process can be challenging.
MDACC has realized gains in efficiency with the implementation of Premise 3.0. Patient
escorts experienced job dissatisfaction with the current wait time for patients on the
inpatient nursing units. Escorts continue to report challenges with patient readiness for
transport when arrival to pick-up destination.
• Increasing patient readiness for transport is critical because:
 Increases patient satisfaction
 Increases employees satisfaction with work environment
 MDACC loses revenue when a patient fails to arrive timely for a procedure
 Patient Transportation policy allows an escort to wait only 5 minutes before
moving on to the next patient ready for transport.
Baseline data collected over a three month period indicated escorts spent 17.4 hours per
day waiting for patient to “get ready for transport”. The number of delays during this same
period indicated an average of 59 delays per day. With an average escort transport time of
30 minutes per transport, significant number of additional transport could be realized
without additional FTEs if the number of delays and time spent by escorts waiting for
patients to “be ready for transport” were decreased. A multidisciplinary Nursing
Professional Action Council (PACT) was approved by MD Anderson’s Nursing Practice
Council. Phase I (FY11) of the project showed limited improvement institution-wide.
Phase II (FY12) of the project was piloted on two units with additional interventions;
significant improvements resulted. Gains have been sustained and plans are to roll out
program hospital-wide in FY13.
What faculty/staff/patient groups were involved?
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The alignment to organizational goals:
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Aim Statement (max points 150): Describe the problem that you sought to
address.
Describe the problem that you sought to address.
FY11 Aim:
To increase patient readiness by decreasing escort wait times* on inpatient transports from
17.85 minutes to 16.96 minutes (5%) from February 1, 2011 to November 30, 2011.
FY12 Aim:
 To increase patient readiness by decreasing escort wait times on P10A inpatient
transports from 19.49 to 18.51 (5%) from September 1, 2011 to February 29, 2012

To increase patient readiness by decreasing escort wait times on P10B inpatient
transports from 16.99 minutes to 16.15 minutes (5%) from September 1, 2011 to
February 29, 2012.

To increase Employee Workplace Satisfaction by decreasing escort’s dissatisfaction
with current wait time for patients on Inpatient Nursing Units by 20%.
Measures of Success: How did you measure the impact of your proposed
change?
How did you measure the impact of your proposed change?
A report measuring transport delays were generated monthly and pushed out to
the project lead. The report measured the number of delays of each inpatient unit,
the length of time of each delay and reason codes for delays. Data was analyzed
and shared with the project team and key stakeholders.
A post survey measuring escort satisfaction with current wait time for patient on the
inpatient nursing unit was administered one year after project implementation.
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Use of Quality Tools (max points 250): What quality tools did you use to
identify and monitor progress and solve the problem? Provide sample QI tools,
such as fishbone diagram or progress map.
What quality tools did you use to identify and monitor progress and solve the
problem? Provide sample QI tools, such as fishbone diagram or progress map.
Through brain storming, cause and effect analysis, focus groups, employee surveys,
fishbone analysis and prioritization, we were able to identify two main causes of delay of
inpatient readiness for transports.
Interventions (max points 150 includes points for innovation): What was
your overall improvement plan? How did you implement the proposed change?
Who was involved in implementing the change? How did you communicate the
change to all key stakeholders? What was the timeline for the change? Describe
any features you feel were especially innovative.
What was your overall improvement plan?
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How did you implement the proposed change? Who was involved in implementing
the change? How did you communicate the change to all key stakeholders? What
was the timeline for the change?
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Results (max points 250):
Include all results, using control charts, graphs or tables as appropriate.
Results:
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Revenue Enhancement /Cost Avoidance / Generalizability (max
points 200): What is the revenue enhancement /cost avoidance and/or savings
for your project? Did you implement this project in multiple sites after determining
that your change was successful?
What is the revenue enhancement /cost avoidance and/or savings
for your project?
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Did you implement this project in multiple sites after determining that your change
was successful?
The project team is currently developing FY13 interventions for project with a rolling
intervention on Nursing Unit. The project team is also working on developing education
and communication for key stakeholders.
Conclusions and Next Steps: Describe your conclusions drawn from this
project and any recommendations for future work. How does this project align with
organizational goals? Describe, as applicable, how you plan to move ahead with
this project.
Describe your conclusions drawn from this project and any recommendations for
future work.
The following recommendations were accepted by the Nursing Practice Council.
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Describe, as applicable, how you plan to move ahead with this project.
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