"Meds-in-Hand" Intervention to Reduce Critical Process Delays in Pediatric Human Immunodeficiency Virus Post-Exposure...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric infectious diseases
• Healthcare quality improvement
• Public health

Background:

• Pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is crucial for preventing infection.
• Delays in accessing HIV PEP medication are a frequent challenge in pediatric care.
• Inefficiencies in emergency department workflows can exacerbate these delays.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a quality improvement initiative to reduce critical process delays in pediatric HIV PEP.
• To optimize the timely receipt of HIV PEP medication for pediatric patients.
• To enhance the multidisciplinary collaboration within a pediatric emergency department setting.

Main Methods:

• Utilized plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycles for iterative process improvement.
• Established a multidisciplinary team involving various healthcare professionals.
• Focused on identifying and mitigating critical process bottlenecks in the pediatric emergency department.

Main Results:

• Achieved a significant reduction in critical process delays for pediatric HIV PEP.
• Reduced interruptions from a median of 1 per month to zero per month post-intervention.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of PDSA cycles in streamlining healthcare processes.

Conclusions:

• Multidisciplinary collaboration and PDSA cycles are effective in eliminating critical process delays for pediatric HIV PEP.
• Optimized workflows can ensure timely medication receipt, improving patient outcomes.
• This intervention offers a scalable model for enhancing pediatric emergency care.