Reducing Time to Surgery for Hip Fragility Fracture Patients: A Resident Quality Improvement Initiative

As part of an institutional quality improvement (QI) initiative for the 2018-2019 academic year, orthopedic residents at our tertiary center were incentivized to bring over 75% of hip fracture patients with American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Class 2 or less to surgery in under 24 hours, compared to the baseline rate of 55.9%. The time between admission and surgery for hip fracture patients with ASA class 2 or less was prospectively recorded. At the end of the study period, a retrospective comparison was performed between patients treated before and after the resident QI initiative. The percentage of patients who underwent surgery within 24 hours of admission increased significantly in the Study Cohort compared to the Baseline Cohort (78.6% vs. 55.9%, p = .037). Length of stay was shorter in the Study Cohort compared to the Baseline Cohort (3 days vs. 4 days, p = .01), whereas readmissions (3.6% vs. 4.4%, p = .85) and discharges to skilled nursing facilities (60.7% vs. 57.4%, p = .76) were comparable between both cohorts. A goal-directed, resident-led QI initiative was associated with a significantly increased percentage of hip fragility fracture patients who underwent surgery in less than 24 hours.