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Updated: May 9, 2026

Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
Treatment goals: health care improvement through setting and measuring patient-centred outcomes
Steve A R Webb1, Ed Litton, Kerryn L Barned
1Aalix Health Services Consulting, Perth, WA, Australia. Steve.Webb@aalix.com.au
Objective:
To determine how frequently stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) medications prescribed in the intensive care unit are inappropriately continued on the ward and on hospital discharge.
Design:
Retrospective cohort study; chart review.
Setting:
Two Australian ICUs: one tertiary centre and one metropolitan centre.
Participants:
We included 387 adult, non-pregnant patients who were admitted to the ICU between 1 February 2011 and 31 March 2011 and who survived to hospital discharge.
Main Outcome Measures:
Rate of unnecessary continuation of ICU-prescribed SUP medications on the ward and on discharge from hospital.
Results:
While in the ICU, 329 of the 387 patients (85%) were prescribed SUP medications. Of the 233 patients who had not been taking acid-suppressive medications before admission to the ICU, 190 were prescribed SUP medications in the ICU. Of these 190 patients, most (63%) had their SUP continued in the ward without any obvious indication, and many (39%) had their SUP medications inappropriately continued on discharge from hospital.
Conclusions:
SUP medications commenced in ICU are frequently continued unnecessarily, both in the wards and on hospital discharge.
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