How to achieve patient-centered testing: role of the protocol nurse

Patient-centered cardiac testing is predicated on choosing the right test for the right patient. We studied the effects of changing from script-driven scheduling to nurse-driven protocoling of stress tests.

A protocol nurse reviewed records before scheduling and communicated with patients and ordering providers if needed. We found that instituting nurse protocolling of all non-imaging (ETT) and nuclear (MPI) stress tests (N = 3071) resulted in protocol changes in 37% of our patients, and reduced the proportion of tests that could not be performed as scheduled by 56% and cancelations by 71% (P < 0.001 for each). These changes were sustained over two successive 6-month periods following a baseline observation period of 6 months. For MPI, the most frequent nurse interventions were re-protocoling as stress-first MPI (12% of tests), changing test location for clinical reasons (13%), changing stress modality (7%), and care coordination (5%).

Changing from script-driven scheduling to protocol nursing contributed measurably to patient-centered testing.