Project BOOST implementation: lessons learned.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Discharge Management
• Hospital Readmission Reduction

Background:

• Quality improvement (QI) initiatives often struggle with external adoption and sustained impact.
• Enhancing care coordination and reducing hospital readmissions are key healthcare goals.
• Project BOOST (Better Outcomes by Optimizing Safe Transitions) targets hospital discharge transitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To qualitatively evaluate the implementation of Project BOOST at six pilot sites.
• To assess the role of the physician mentoring component in Project BOOST.
• To examine the impact of an intensified mentoring model on BOOST intervention adoption in two Illinois cohorts.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis using methodological triangulation of interviews, enrollment applications, and listserv data from six pilot hospitals.
• Mid-year and year-end surveys to evaluate implementation in 27 Illinois hospitals.

Main Results:

• Common barriers included poor understanding of discharge, lack of administrative support, insufficient resources, and low staff buy-in.
• Facilitators included mentors, starting small, teamwork, and patient engagement.
• Mentors were crucial for overcoming challenges, fostering accountability, and stimulating creativity.

Conclusions:

• Project BOOST implementation was positively received, despite common QI barriers.
• The unique mentorship component significantly aided sites in overcoming challenges and achieving success.
• Findings offer insights for future BOOST implementations and optimizing hospital discharge transitions.