The CV Nurse Director recognizes that she needs to form an interdisciplinary team to create a method to fill P2Y12 inhibitor prescriptions prior to discharge. Which disciplines need to be included on the team to successfully implement this change in processes and workflow?

Using Information Technology to Improve Workflow

The Cardiovascular (CV) Nurse Director reviewed the American College of Cardiology (ACC) guidelines for recertification of the Chest Pain Center. The new guidelines indicate that for all patients in whom a stent has been placed, the patient must be discharged with P2Y12 medication(s) in hand prior to discharge, regardless of time of day or day of week. Only establishing a process for daytime hours during the workweek will not meet the intent of the standard because the same level of care must be delivered. Providing patients with a prescription or prescription coupons at the time of discharge, which is the current process, will no longer meet the requirements. Policies, processes, and workflows need to be revised to come into compliance with this standard.

Case Study Questions

1. The CV Nurse Director recognizes that she needs to form an interdisciplinary team to create a method to fill P2Y12 inhibitor prescriptions prior to discharge. Which disciplines need to be included on the team to successfully implement this change in processes and workflow?

2. How can information technology be utilized to ensure that the P2Y12 inhibitor is ordered by the interventional cardiologist and dispensed by the pharmacist to the patient without delaying patient discharge?

3. Create a flow diagram that represents the new workflow for the nursing staff since patients are now required to be discharged with the P2Y12 medication in hand as opposed to being discharged with a prescription for the medication.

4. What adjustments, if any, would need to be made to the flow diagram based on a patient’s limited resources or lack of resources for obtaining discharge medications, or if a patient declines the hospital’s meds to bed program because the patient prefers to use their pharmacy of choice. Also, would there be any changes in the workflow/processes between Monday and Friday versus after hours, weekends, and holidays?