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The Blaylock Risk Assessment Screening Score in Neurology-A Monocentric Cohort Study
Andrea Streit1, Magdalena Hoffmann, Andreas Blesl
1Author Affiliations: Department of Surgery, Research Unit for Safety and Sustainability in Healthcare, c/o Division of Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria (Ms Streit and Drs Hoffmann and Schwarz); Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria (Ms Streit and Drs Blesl, Schwarz, Brunner, and Hoffmann); Executive Department for Quality and Risk Management, University Hospital Graz, Graz, Austria (Dr Hoffmann); Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria (Dr Hoffmann); Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria (Ms Borenich); and Executive Department of Nursing, University Hospital of Graz, Graz, Austria (Mr Pretterhofer).
Background And Objectives:
Effective discharge planning is an important factor of hospital care and should follow a comprehensive assessment of patients at risk for adverse events during discharge. The study's aim was to analyze whether the use of the Blaylock Risk Assessment Screening Score (BRASS) at admission leads to a reduction in the hospital length of stay (LOS), a reduction in readmission rates, an influence on the discharge destination at the University Hospital of Graz, and an increase of the end user's satisfaction.
Methods:
BRASS was implemented into the routine nursing assessment at admission for 3 months in 2021 at 2 Neurology wards at the University Hospital of Graz. These data were retrospectively compared to 2 previous time periods without BRASS. For the prospective part of this study, a paper-based survey was performed to analyze the satisfaction of the nurses at the 2 wards with the application of BRASS.
Results:
The median LOS was significantly longer during the time of the assessment with BRASS as compared to the 2 years before [8 (4, 14) days in 2021, 6 (4, 10) days in 2020, 6 (4, 9) days in 2019; 2021 vs 2020: P = .002; 2021 vs 2019: P < .001]. Readmission rates did not differ significantly, but outpatient readmission decreased compared to 2019 (17% in 2021, 23% in 2019, P = .040).
Conclusion:
The use of BRASS did not reduce the length of hospital stay compared to the 2 years before, but outpatient readmission rates decreased and discharge home was more frequent. Therefore, BRASS might be a helpful tool to improve discharge management and avoid readmissions.
