Streamline Charting for General Nursing Postpartum and Newborn Visits
Summary
St. Croix County Public Health completed a quality improvement (QI) project focused on increasing efficiency of daily operations, specifically public health nurse (PHN) documentation time. The health department had recently transitioned into a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE). While examining the goals (desired results) of the General Postpartum/Newborn Home Visit Program, PHNs began questioning the program’s documentation process. Data were being entered into a system that was no longer used to measure outcomes, resulting in duplicate charting. The PHNs involved in the program organized as a QI team and set an aim statement with a goal to decrease PHN charting time for this program by 25%. The PHNs used a fishbone diagram to identify root causes and a new documentation process. This new process was found to reduce PHN documentation time by 37%. The health department adopted the proposed change and incorporated it into a new documentation policy and procedure.
Reyzer, S. Public Health Quality Improvement Exchange. Streamline Charting for General Nursing Postpartum and Newborn Visits. Fri, 03/29/2013 - 19:34. Available at https://phqix.org/content/streamline-charting-general-nursing-postpartum-and-newborn-visits. Accessed May 28, 2023.
Comments
This really gave our health
This really gave our health department some great insight as we are trying reduce documentation processes for this program as well. From state to state we differ a little in our program documentation requirements, but this provided us with a starting point that was very benficial.