Newsletter
April 2024
Upcoming CME Events
IU Health CME Events
To attend virtual events or add to your calendar visit https://live.iuhcpe.org/
Fri, Apr. 26th, 12:30pm-5:00pm - Epilepsy "Functional" Symposium (In-person & Virtual)
Location: Neuroscience Center Conference Room
Tues, Apr. 30th, 12:00pm-1:00pm - IU Health CME/CEU Virtual Learning Event - "Building Bridges: The Vital Role of Congregations in Addressing Social Isolation in Partnership with the Healthcare System"
Shadreck Kamwendo, MBA
Deanna R. Willis, MBA, MD
Rev. Jay Foster
Thurs, May 9th, 1:00pm-3:00pm - Riley Error Prevention Training
Bri Logston, MSN, RN, NE-BC
Sarah C. Rhoads, BSN, RNC-NIC
Tues, May 14th, 12:00pm-1:00pm - IU Health CME/CEU Virtual Learning Event - Painful Truths about Pain Medications (Part 1)
Kellie Knight, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, CPEL
Wed, May 15th, 12:00pm-1:00pm - Conversations with Riley Cardiology – Preventative Cardiology
Laura M. Shopp, MD
Thurs, May 16th, 12:00pm-1:00pm - IU Health CME/CEU Virtual Learning Event - Painful Truths about Pain Medications (Part 2)
Kellie Knight, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, CPEL
Fri, May 17th, 1:00pm-2:00pm - Memory University: Health Disparities in Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias among Hispanic/Latinos: Insights from the Hispanic Community Advisory Board (CAB)
Miriam Rodriguez, PhD
Patricia Garcia, PsyD, HSPP
To view previously recorded presentations from the On Demand Videos and earn CME's Click here
To view the list of your completed CME's Click here
Visit The Center for Physician Education - Main Page (iuhcpe.org)
Announcements
CMO Updates from Michele Saysana, MD
CLABSI 21 YTD vs 20 April YTD
Unfortunately, we are still having preventable CLABSIs in the environment, and we need your help address this. Here is what we need from you as physicians and APPs seeing patients.
- Assess the need for a central line daily and remove the ones that aren’t needed. If a patient has a port that is accessed, please assess the need for de-accessing ports when applicable. We continue to see issues in both port access and central line utilization.
- Reinforce with your patients the importance of CHG bathing. We have had an uptick in patients refusing CHG bathing. This is one of the ways we can prevent CLABSI. Please help patients understand the need to do CHG bathing daily.
Inspect the lines daily for signs of infection or non-adherent dressing and let nursing know immediately.
Mortality Index 0.7771 YTD vs goal 0.7939
We appreciate everyone’s work to decrease our mortality index. We do this by both preventing death with our work to quickly identify and treat sepsis as well providing hospice for patients who are dying. We have seen a decrease in referrals to hospice in April and are working to understand what is contributing to that.
! Protect patient privacy and use the IU Health Patient PortalWe’ve recently seen an uptick in physicians accessing either their own medical record or a family member’s directly in Cerner. Please remember that if you want to look at your medical record or your family member’s, the appropriate way to do so is through the patient portal, not directly in Cerner. Because these are potential HIPPA violations, I receive a notification from the IU Health Privacy Team and have a conversation with the identified physician or APP to understand the reason for accessing the patient’s record. Please do not access Cerner to see your family’s medical records. Here is how to set up a portal account if you or your family member do not have one. It also has the instructions for how to allow others to view your portal account. My IU Health Help Guide | IU Health
New hospital operations planning underway
Project teams are currently completing operations planning, where a collaborative effort will be conducted to analyze workflows and enhance team members’ functional knowledge of the new facility. During this phase of project planning, departmental leaders will gain a better understanding of the tools and resources used to ensure a smooth transition to the new campus, evaluate workflows and much more. Review the most up-to-date information and video resources on Connect.
Building a sustainable new hospital
Sustainability goals for the new hospital aim to create a positive environmental impact for the future campus. Read about a few of the impressive initiatives below:
- Concrete injected with carbon dioxide will produce an estimated carbon savings of 3.5 million pounds for the new hospital, the equivalent of more than 2,000 acres worth of trees absorbing the chemical for one year.
By improving efficiencies of mechanical, electrical, plumbing systems and more, the new hospital is set to produce a reduction of 34,000 metric tons of carbon, the equivalent of 700 households’ worth of energy use per year.
Patient transfers for IU Health-specific insurance
The Transfer Center has had recently noticed issues with AAHC physicians who are declining patient transfers because the reason for transfer is insurance. The referring physicians indicate that the reason given for the transfer is that the patient has insurance that is only accepted at IU Health. There is a program with Anthem that offers IU Health specific insurance, and this is a legitimate reason for transfer, so we should accept the transfer. The Transfer Center does triage these patients by acuity which is the same as any other referred patient.
Nominate a colleague for IMS suite tickets
Events are ramping up at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the month of May offers some fun opportunities for AAHC team members to get involved and enjoy time at the track. Enter for a chance to win a ride in an IndyCar racecar, or nominate a standout teammate for suite tickets. See all the details on Connect.
Clinical Council Updates
Neurology
Quality/Care Variation:
- Vivistim for Stroke Rehabilitation: Richard Scheer provided an overview of a new therapy the Neuroscience Institute is exploring. The Vivistim System is a device that uses vagus nerve stimulation aimed at improving moderate to severe motor deficits resulting from chronic ischemic stroke. See the attached PowerPoint for more information.
- Action Item: The council is asked to share information with local teams for awareness.
Pharmacy
- Formulary Requests: Council approved removing Fiorinal from the inpatient medication formulary and adding Cipaglucosidase and Miglustat, restricting both to the outpatient setting.
- Enteral Route of Administration Alert for Stroke Patients: Council was made aware of an update to the previously approved alert for entering or verifying oral meds for stroke patients. Users will now have to specify the type of feeding tube used to administer medications. See the attached IS job aid for additional details.
Other Business
- Changes to ED Follow-up in Cerner: For awareness, sharing a recent system change regarding the default follow-up appointment time frame for patients discharged from the ED. Previously, the default follow-up was 3-5 days, which was challenging for most specialty services to accommodate. The new default follow-up timeframe is 1-2 weeks. ED providers will have the option to modify as needed.
- Stroke Protocol FAQ: The attached FAQ related to the new stroke algorithms was created from questions asked during recent town halls.
- Action Item: Please share with local teams.
Hospitalist
Quality/Care Variation:
- Glucose Management – Blood Glucose Checks: The council approved an SBAR presented by the AAHC Glucose Quality and Safety Committee to facilitate discontinuing unnecessary blood glucose checks. In summary, the following call order will be added to the CDA SubQ Powerplan: “Call Provider for Blood Glucose values from 70-150 mg/dL and no insulin administrations for 48 hours to discontinue CDA orders.”
Pharmacy
- Drug Shortage – Dronabinol: Dronabinol 2.5mg and 5mg is currently on backorder and in short supply with an anticipated return date of April for the 5mg but unknown for the 2.5 mg. Secondary to this shortage Dronabinol will be restricted to CINV until IU Health has an adequate supply. Megestrol is on formulary and can be used as an alternative.
Measles Cases and Outbreaks
Measles cases in 2024
As of April 26, 2024, a total of 128 measles cases were reported by 20 jurisdictions: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia. Click here for more information.
Blood Test Spots Early Pancreatic Cancers With 97% Accuracy
A blood test appears capable of detecting early-stage pancreatic cancers with up to 97% accuracy, a new study reports.
The test looks for eight small RNA particles and eight larger DNA markers shed by pancreatic cancers, which together create a genetic “signature” for the disease, researchers said.
Click here to read more.
New Drug Could Slash Blood Triglyceride Levels
A new drug can slash triglyceride levels nearly in half by targeting a genetic driver of high fat levels in the bloodstream, researchers said.
The injectable drug, olezarsen, lowered triglyceride levels by 49% at the 50 milligram (mg) dose and by 53% at the 80 mg dose compared to a placebo, researchers reported April 7 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The findings were presented simultaneously at the American College of Cardiology’s annual meeting in Atlanta. Click here to read more.
