The Vermont Medical Society Education and Research Foundation in Collaboration with Vermont’s “Hospitalist” Physicians and the University of Vermont Medical Center Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine:
This project is designed to reduce wasteful and unnecessary laboratory tests for low-risk surgical candidates in the region. The goal is to reduce harm to patients and to conserve system resources by making the best possible use of laboratory tests. Using a collaborative approach, the project team considers the best medical evidence and quality improvement science. First, the team evaluates current test ordering profiles and patterns, then the team draws up an organized plan to optimize testing, as well as a plan to sustain these practices. More than 30,000 Vermonters are currently included in the collaborate data set. The project involved ten faculty members, nine hospital teams made up of 47 members, 60 medical residents and at least as many medical students. Potentially the project could have an impact on all physician, nursing, IS, pharmacy, laboratory and quality-improvement staff at all hospitals in the region.