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Learning Objective:
By the end of the presentation participants will:
Understand how to evaluate hospitals' compliance with perinatal hepatitis B recommendations through routine birthing hospital visits.
Learn strategies to educate hospital staff regarding perinatal hepatitis B issues.
Background:
Upstate New York's birthing hospitals are routinely visited by state health department staff to conduct record reviews. A primary purpose of these visits is to evaluate compliance with Perinatal Hepatitis B Prevention recommendations. The visits also provide an opportunity to educate hospital staff about current perinatal hepatitis B issues.
Setting:
Birthing hospitals
Population e.g. API Youth, MSM, IDU:
Providers attending pregnant women and their newborns.
Project Description:
Routine visits to birthing hospitals to review maternal and infant health records and educate hospital staff on current perinatal hepatitis B issues is an important strategy to ensure continuing quality improvement in perinatal hepatitis B prevention. Recommendations are discussed during an exit interview with hospital staff and followed up with a written letter. New York State has a Perinatal Hepatitis B law that requires testing, recording, and reporting of HBsAg status for all pregnant women. Birth hospital record reviews help ensure hospital and provider compliance with public health law and recommendations while providing a forum for educating and updating hospital staff.
Results/Lessons Learned:
Out of 165 visits conducted, 37 found missing maternal HBsAg test results in one or more maternal and/or infant records. Other issues found included wrong hepatitis test being ordered, no “stat” lab capabilities for testing “unknowns”, maternal HBsAg status incorrectly recorded on the newborn screening form, incorrect perinatal hepatitis B policies/procedures, and no “universal” hepatitis B birth dose policy. The visits have also uncovered medical errors resulting in infants needlessly being put at risk for hepatitis B infection.
See more of Poster Session #1
See more of The 2005 National Viral Hepatitis Prevention Conference