Neonatal bilirubin management as an implementation example of interdisciplinary continuum of care tools

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• Health informatics
• Clinical guideline implementation

Background:

• Newborn bilirubin management requires consistent care across inpatient and outpatient settings.
• Existing management strategies can be fragmented, leading to potential care gaps.
• Published guidelines exist but require effective implementation tools.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of a web-based tool for managing newborn bilirubin.
• To demonstrate how a consistent care plan can be maintained across different healthcare providers and settings.
• To highlight the integration of clinical guidelines into a digital health tool.

Main Methods:

• Development of a web-based tool utilizing published bilirubin management guidelines.
• Categorization of time-sensitive data into risk zones linked to specific order sets.
• Integration with Intermountain's Help2 infrastructure for seamless data management and alerts.
• Implementation across inpatient and outpatient care settings.

Main Results:

• Improved communication among healthcare providers managing newborn bilirubin.
• Enhanced workflow efficiency in the application of care plans.
• Increased compliance with established clinical guidelines for jaundice management.
• Valuable insights gained regarding point-of-care data and longitudinal data management.

Conclusions:

• A web-based tool can effectively standardize newborn bilirubin management across care continuums.
• Successful implementation requires integration with existing health informatics infrastructure.
• Lessons learned offer guidance for health networks managing complex patient data over time.