Wolters Kluwer-Rockburn Institute study links evidence-based clinical decision support to higher value-based care scores

Wolters Kluwer Health today released the results of a study conducted in partnership with the Rockburn Institute that revealed when nurses use Lippincott Advisor and Lippincott Procedures at the bedside, hospitals’ Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) scores went up. Notably, the study found that hospitals using both evidence-based clinical decision support (CDS) tools exceeded the national average and had a nearly 25% higher average rank on 2017 scores than their peers, based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) performance measures.

The Rockburn Institute, a non-profit healthcare research consultancy group, evaluated data compiled over a three-year period from approximately 3,000 hospitals nationwide that participated in the VBP program. The performance of hospitals using both Lippincott Procedures and Lippincott Advisor was compared to the other hospitals that had received VBP Total Performance Scores for 2014 and 2015. Scores of hospitals using both CDS tools were then evaluated for 2017 against previous years’ results.

“It is rare that we find a study where we can clearly associate the intervention, in this case the CDS tools, with change in practice and improvement in quality,” said Rockburn Institute CEO Dale Schumacher. “The findings of this study clearly support the value and use of point-of-care tools in a clinical setting to augment nurses’ substantial knowledge when needed at the bedside. It demonstrates the close relationship between nurse, information, patient and performance improvement, which ultimately leads to improved quality and efficiency.”

Among the key study findings were that hospitals using both CDS tools achieved:

• Higher VBP Total Performance scores and adjustment factors than the national average
• An average VBP Total Performance Score rank in 2017 that was nearly 25% higher than all other hospitals
• Improved VBP Efficiency Domain scores

“Under value-based care, it becomes incumbent on hospital systems to provide their staff with point-of-care tools that are based on the best available evidence so they can optimize both clinical practice and patient outcomes, which will in turn optimize reimbursements,” said Anne Dabrow Woods, DNP, CRNP, ANP-BC, AGACNP-BC, FAAN, Chief Nurse of Wolters Kluwer Health Learning, Research & Practice. “This study demonstrates that Lippincott Procedures and Lippincott Advisor can in fact influence performance and quality of care.”

Lippincott Procedures provides real-time access to step-by-step guides for more than 1,700 evidence-based procedures and skills, while Lippincott Advisor provides point-of-care access to information on more than 12,000 diseases, diagnostic tests, treatments, patient teaching, sentinel events, cultural perspectives, and medications.

For more information and to access the report, visit Wolters Kluwer at Booth #802 at AONE: American Organization of Nurse Executives April 12-15, 2018, or click here.