Brentwood-based American Physician Partners (APP), a fast-growing emergency medicine management company with more than 140 care sites across the country, recently launched a new quarterly workforce enhancement program. The Clinical Excellence Academy brings together small groups of providers for clinical training on key emergency medicine and patient safety issues.
Hosted at Lipscomb University's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the two-day program debuted last month and featured both hands-on lab procedures and group learning sessions. Topics ranging from stroke and trauma management to airway management with a procedural lab were designed to enhance provider confidence and hone emergency medicine skills. Participants included clinicians from APP partner sites in six states.
"We recognize that not all clinicians practicing in the emergency department setting are necessarily board certified and residency trained in the specialty of Emergency Medicine," Tony Briningstool, MD, FACEP, chief medical officer for American Physician Partners, explained of the impetus behind the new program. "Our goal is to foster a collegial environment for learning, to eliminate potential gaps in training, and to enhance procedural confidence and critical decision-making in high-acute areas."
Another topic highlighted at the recent Clinical Excellence Academy was sepsis, which is the subject of a nationwide quality improvement effort by APP. Briningstool has headed the push to ensure best practice protocols are in place to quickly identify and address sepsis across all APP facilities. Sepsis is among the leading causes of hospital readmissions, among the most expensive conditions for inpatient stays and is the most common cause of death in the hospital setting.
Called the 'silent killer,' early symptoms and warning signs are often tied to other conditions, making it difficult to diagnose quickly. Yet, time is of the essence in properly identifying and treating sepsis. For every hour treatment is delayed, sepsis mortality increases by as much as 8 percent.
Under Briningstool's leadership, APP has launched the "Champions for Sepsis" program and best practice toolkit, which has increased sepsis protocol compliance from 60 percent to 100 percent across all facilities. The company also achieved SEP-1 status within the American College of Emergency Physicians and earned national recognition from E-QUAL Sepsis for performance improvements. While the accolades are a reminder of the hard work undertaken, Briningstool and clinicians across APP sites have noted the most important outcome is the number of lives saved.
WEB:
