Date of Conferral
2019
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Nursing
Advisor
Anna Valdez
Abstract
Unplanned readmissions to the hospital are a problem faced by most health care organizations in the United States; hospitals are penalized for such readmissions. The project site identified high readmission rates for patients who were discharged after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), making careful transition home a necessity for post-AMI patients. The focus of this quality improvement (QI) project was implementation of an early follow-up appointment of AMI patients following discharge. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of changing follow-up appointments for patients with an AMI from 14-30 days to 7-14 days post discharge to reduce unplanned readmission rates. Bandura’s self- efficacy theory provided the theoretical framework for this project. An evaluation of the QI project was completed by comparing patient readmission rates 6 months before and 6 months after implementation of the early follow-up appointments. Data analysis demonstrated that the readmission rate was not improved in the first 6 months post QI project implementation. Using the plan-do-check-act process, a multifactorial approach was recommended to refine the QI project and address the system-wide readmission rates. The implications of this project for positive social change include providing early analysis of the readmission QI project, which allowed the hospital to restructure the QI approach and improve the plan for preventing readmission.
Recommended Citation
Abraham, Sherin, "Preventing Acute Myocardial Infarction Readmission Rates" (2019). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 7579.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7579
