Introduction of a Spinal Care Pathway Triage Protocol in the Secondary Care Setting

Abstract

Background: Back pain is considered the leading cause of disability worldwide. Providing effective multidisciplinary care for clients with chronic back pain (CBP) has been an ongoing issue globally. Improper care management of CBP creates personal, economic, and societal burdens that significantly affect patients, their families, and the healthcare system. Purpose: This quality improvement project aimed to successfully integrate a spinal care pathway (SCP) electronic decision support tool (e-tool) into a multidisciplinary spinal care program, to improve providers’ satisfaction with care delivery and their satisfaction with CBP patient outcomes. Methods: This DNP project used an evidence-based quality improvement (EBQI) design to introduce an SCP e-tool into a multidisciplinary spinal care program, a secondary healthcare setting. The Institute for Healthcare Improvements’ Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle was used as the pilot change process to evaluate the effects of an SCP use on CBP patients’ delivery of care and healthcare providers’ satisfaction rates. Results: Of the NSI staff who participated in the surveys, 57.14% agreed, and 42.86% highly agreed that the SCP e-tool is and will be helpful in collaboratively triaging their CBP patients to the most appropriate care modalities to decrease pain and increase functionality, which is a critical metric indicator. (N=7). Conclusion: The SCP e-tool is a novel electronic clinical decision support tool that will provide an evidence-based method to improve the quality and delivery of care for CBP patients. The results of this EBQI project revealed clinical relevance to support the integration of the SCP e-tool into the NSI’s secondary clinical practice setting