Background, Rationale and Suggested Implementation Strategies
- Educate providers, including hospitalists, internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine physicians, residents, advanced practice professionals(APPs), and nursing staff regarding the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia(CAP) vs. questionable pneumonia (QPNA)
- Educate patients and family members regarding the diagnosis of community acquired pneumonia(CAP) vs. questionable pneumonia(QPNA)
- Review QPNA cases identified by HMS to direct high-yield intervention for recurrent problems.
- Evaluate and understand differences in provider groups(e.g., hospitalists, emergency department physicians). Target interventions to specific provider groups as necessary.
- Identify a hospitalist and ED champion
- Require documentation of dose and indication of antibiotics prescribed in the antibiotic order. Consider adding documentation of respiratory symptom(s) necessitating treatment.
- Encourage documentation of dose, indication, and duration of antibiotics in the progress note.
- Encourage documentation of the total duration of antibiotics in discharge summary, potentially incorporating an area for antibiotic duration to be filled out in an automated discharge process.
- Provide audit and feedback directly to individual providers regarding their rates of treatment for QPNA
- Consider implementing a diagnostic stewardship intervention.
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