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Private Hospital VTE Prevention Program
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Background
In January 2008, the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care announced several important initiatives to promote the uptake of best practice VTE prophylaxis recommendations in Australian hospitals, including a program to implement VTE prevention in private hospitals.
This program follows the successful implementation of the NICS VTE Prevention Program in over 40 public hospitals during 2005-2007.
In total, 36 private hospitals throughout Australia are participating in the Private Hospital VTE Prevention Program which commenced in August 2008.
Program Progress
During August 2008 participating hospitals undertook a series of surveys to measure existing systems for best practice VTE prevention. These surveys helped teams identify areas for practice improvement.
Hospital teams underwent audit training, and throughout September and October 2008 completed a hospital-wide review of current VTE prevention practice (encompassing evaluation of risk assessment and provision of prophylaxis) to identify areas of strength as well as areas for potential improvement.
The first program workshop was held on 23-24 October 2008 in Melbourne. Almost 100 people attended this workshop representing 35 of the participating teams, along with several members of the Private Hospital VTE Prevention Program Advisory Committee. Participants found the workshop particularly valuable for networking, sharing ideas and benchmarking as well as for gaining training in change management and in the effective use of NICS implementation tools and resources. The workshop also provided an opportunity for teams to identify current barriers to VTE prevention in their organisation and evaluate whether these barriers were similar across organisations. A second workshop is scheduled for May 2009.
Common barriers to VTE prevention identified by teams were:
- Lack of awareness among clinical staff of the risks of VTE
- Difficulties obtaining support from clinicians;
- Resource limitations (including time and finances)
- Compliance with risk assessment documentation
Updates provided by participating teams at program teleconferences held in December 2008 indicated that teams are successfully developing strategies to overcome the identified barriers to VTE prevention. Team teleconferences will be held quarterly and will allow the sharing of information, ideas and resources to augment activities and enhance effectiveness within hospitals.
Program Resources
NICS has a range of freely available resources designed to support hospitals wishing to implement VTE prevention improvements. These are available at the NICS VTE Prevention Program Resources page.
Participating teams in the Private Hospital VTE Prevention Program can also access the Secure program website.
Further information
Further information can also be obtained by emailing NICS VTE Prevention Program staff.
» Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Website