Frontline Workers

• Showing providers how to code for accidents and workplace injuries
• Teaching pharmacies how to ID medications related to injuries and accidents
• Using electronic drug information system for better cross-referencing

 What can your team do create smoother workflows? And how could your team work better with other UBTs to improve performance? 

• Opening the lab a half-hour earlier to prevent long lines at the open of business
• Shifting work schedules and staggering lunch hours to have more staff covering available time
• Cross-training staff to register patients, process specimens and draw blood

 What can your team do to improve its workflow? 

• Identifying the problem of lab wait times and its root causes
• Employing a "one-on-one" style of service so more staffers help reduce the queue
• Having lab technicians handle patients from check-in to blood draw

 What can your team do to find out the root cause of a nagging problem?

• Identifying the problem was with the needle supplier
• Filing a Responsible Reporting Form, and working together to arrive at the solution
• Switching needle suppliers to improve care and safety

 What can your team do to listen to the voice of the patient? 

• Having lab assistants, not runners, pick up blood samples at 6 a.m. and drop off specimens every half-hour
• Using clinical lab scientists from other departments to help process blood in the morning
• Moving weekend shifts for clinical lab scientists to 6 a.m. instead of 9 a.m.

 What can your team do to shift its workflow for the benefit of patients? 

• Having medical assistants take vitals instead of waiting for LPNs
• Huddling twice daily to discuss needs and concerns
• Dividing labor and shifting schedules where necessary

 What can your team do to huddle more often and more effectively? 

• Educating about the proper use of VTE orders for post-operative patients
• Coordinating with pharmacists and other teams to ensure orders are followed
• Outlining how the Joint Commission's SCIP guidelines can help improve compliance

 What can your team do to work with other teams to improve outcomes for patients? 

• Keeping gurneys and equipment where they are needed, and having staff speak with patients during transport
• Cleaning and making the gurneys with sheets and blankets before they are needed
• Designating a staff member to ensure equipment is placed where needed

What can your team do to make the best use of your "down time"?

• Hanging posters of cute kids as hand-washing reminders
• Installing sanitizer dispensers in and outside of patient rooms
• Making eye contact and talking with patients while washing hands

What can your team do motivate peers to hold each other accountable? 

• Identifying the number of patients off telemetry monitoring for longer than 3 minutes and why
• Huddling to discuss the severity and consequences of the problem
• Creating reminders to check monitors, and make it part of the routine

What can your team do hardwire improvements you make into your workflow?