An innovative model for restraint use at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center

In this article, Quality Management Specialists at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center describe an innovative model for restraint use designed to ensure patient safety. They discuss the impetus of the model, its evolution, and purposes. The model provides alternatives to restraint use, education to staff, patients, and families, and electronic tools to monitor restraint usage. Descriptive statistics and analyses of outcomes generated from the electronic tools are presented to demonstrate the utility and value of the model. Future directions for the use of the model and data generated through the electronic record are highlighted.