Case Study: Appalachian Regional Healthcare reduces DKA resolution time with MEDITECH Expanse

Appalachian Regional Healthcare reduces DKA resolution time by 25% with MEDITECH

Appalachian Regional Healthcare faced a challenge in treating patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a complex and life-threatening condition. Their emergency and intensive care nurses had to frequently contact physicians for dose adjustments and medication orders, which was inefficient and increased the care team's burden. To improve quality and efficiency, they worked with vendor MEDITECH to implement a new solution within their Expanse EHR system.

MEDITECH's solution was a nurse-driven DKA protocol built into the Expanse Patient Care and Pharmacy solutions. This automated workflow guides nurses through evidence-based interventions, suggests orders based on documentation, and reduces the need for physician callbacks. The results were significant, reducing the time to DKA resolution by approximately 25%, from 13.1 hours to 9.8 hours. It also reduced hypokalemic events from 17.8% to 10.8%, improving patient safety and empowering nurses.

Appalachian Regional Healthcare