Background: The low published survival rate of pediatric in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (25-38%) 1 has led to the development of early warning systems (EWS) to identify patients at risk for deterioration. On our general pediatric unit, we implemented the published validated Children’s Hospital Early Warning System (CHEWS)2 in 04/2021. This composite scoring tool includes caregiver assessment [...]

Background: The low published survival rate of pediatric in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest (25-38%) 1 has led to the development of early warning systems (EWS) to identify patients at risk for deterioration. On our general pediatric unit, we implemented the published validated Children’s Hospital Early Warning System (CHEWS)2 in 04/2021. This composite scoring tool includes caregiver assessment [...]

Background: Secure text messaging is a primary mode of clinician-to-clinician communication in large acute care hospitals. However, the accessibility and ease of secure messaging, and a lack of best practice recommendations, raise the risk of overuse. Multitasking demands from secure messaging challenge clinicians as they engage in focus-intensive patient care tasks. To address this, we [...]

Background: Daily lab (DL) overuse in hospitalized patients leads to increased costs and resource utilization, iatrogenic anemia, and patient discomfort. Those awaiting discharge to post-acute care, who experience frequent non-medical delays in discharge, may represent an important group of patients at risk of receiving unnecessary DL, especially labs on day of discharge (LOD). Best Practice [...]