Patient experience monitoring specialist Press Ganey has expanded its collaboration with Epic, focusing on nursing-related safety outcomes, integrating its National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) with Epic's electronic health record platform.

The NDNQI collects more than 600 measures from more than 2,000 organizations, enabling nursing leaders at hospitals and health systems to benchmark performance.

Initially, the integration will automate reporting for five key indicators: catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line bloodstream infections, inpatient falls, outpatient falls, and pressure injuries.

The collaboration aims to enhance patient care by streamlining data reporting, saving time for nursing leaders and accelerating quality improvement efforts.

Additionally, through the workshop initiative, Press Ganey and Epic have facilitated joint clients' access to patient experience insights within their workflows.

Jeff Doucette, Press Ganey's senior vice president and chief nursing officer, told Healthcare IT News the integration of nurse-sensitive indicators and outcomes from Epic into the NDNQI offers significant advantages for nursing and quality leaders within healthcare provider organizations.

"First, it automates the reporting of key safety events and outcomes, which reduces the workload associated with manual data entry and allows leaders to dedicate more time to data analysis and improvement initiatives," he explained.

Second, establishing timely, accurate data is a prerequisite to providing evidence-based, actionable insights to nurse leaders to further engage, coach and support their nursing staff, he added.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Previously, reporting key safety outcomes like catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, falls, and pressure injuries involved manual data extraction.

The NDNQI and Epic integration automates this process for these initial indicators, with the potential to include more in the future.

"This streamlines reporting, saving time and resources, and allowing staff to focus on patient care," Doucette said.

Additionally, access to accurate and timely data on these crucial safety metrics allows for earlier identification and mitigation of potential patient safety issues, he noted.

THE LARGER TREND

A year ago, Press Ganey announced a collaborative partnership with Epic under their workshop program to codevelop innovative ways to integrate the company's platforms.

The PX Connect Suite is the first feature set released under that collaboration. The workshop initiative, facilitated by the PX Connect Suite, represents an innovative approach to integrating patient experience data directly into electronic health records, Press Ganey contended.

"This initiative empowers healthcare organizations to gain deeper insights into patient experiences," Doucette said.

Clinicians can view patient feedback directly within their workflow, enabling them to personalize care and address any concerns promptly. Further, the ability to identify areas needing improvement in patient experience allows healthcare organizations to take targeted actions and enhance service recovery efforts.

"Both initiatives contribute to a more holistic understanding of patient care," he said. "By combining these insights, healthcare organizations gain a well-rounded view, allowing them to optimize care delivery for both safety and patient satisfaction."

Nathan Eddy is a healthcare and technology freelancer based in Berlin.
Email the writer: nathaneddy@gmail.com
Twitter: @dropdeaded209