Educational effort and CQI program improves ordering of serum digoxin levels.
In a 289-bed, acute-care, non-tertiary-care regional referral center, a continuous quality improvement educational effort successfully improved ordering of serum digoxin levels. Following a determination that physicians were not requesting serum digoxin levels correctly, the P & T Committee issued a letter describing appropriate wording of orders for serum digoxin levels. The number of incorrectly ordered serum digoxin levels requested dropped significantly over a 49-month period as a result of the intervention described below, which also resulted in cost savings.
Wade
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College of Pharmacy, University of Georgia, Athens.
McCall
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D017046:Cost Savings; D004077:Digoxin / Q000097:blood*; D016903:Drug Monitoring / Q000191:economics; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005845:Georgia; D006744:Hospital Bed Capacity, 100 to 299; D006801:Humans; D010607:Pharmacy Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D010606:Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care