Improving Inpatient Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation: A Successful Quality Improvement Project

Inadequate inpatient bowel preparation can lead to repeat procedures, prolonged hospital stays, and increased financial burden. In this quality improvement project, the authors developed an electronic medical record (EMR)-based order set with precise instructions and anticipatory guidance for inpatient bowel preparation before colonoscopy. The current study is a nonrandomized intervention study. The authors compared 2 groups: an intervention group using a newly developed, consensus-based, standardized EMR bowel preparation order set and a control group using previously existing EMR bowel preparation orders. Bowel preparation outcomes were followed over the course of 16 months. The aim was to improve inpatient colonoscopy bowel preparation, as evaluated by the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale, procedure delays, and length of hospital stay. We additionally evaluated the groups' demographics and patient-level factors. A total of 459 inpatient colonoscopies were evaluated over a 16-month period. The intervention group consisted of 227 inpatient colonoscopies, while the control group consisted of 232. The intervention group showed superior Boston Bowel Preparation Scale score and decreased length of hospital stay. The number of adequate bowel preparations increased in the intervention group when compared to the control group from 77% to 86%. The creation of an EMR-based order set is a low-cost and sustainable action that can be easily implemented throughout a hospital system.