Improving timeliness of antibiotic delivery for patients with fever and suspected neutropenia in a pediatric emergency department.

Objective: There is a high risk for morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients with fever if antibiotics are not received in a timely manner. We designed a quality improvement effort geared at reducing the time to antibiotic delivery for this high risk population.

Methods: The setting was the emergency department in an academic pediatric tertiary care hospital that sees ~60,000 patients annually.

Improving parent-provider communication in the pediatric emergency department: results from the clear and concise communication campaign.

Objective: We implemented and evaluated a quality improvement initiative targeting parents' communication with clinicians in a pediatric emergency department (ED).

Methods: A quality improvement initiative ("Clear and Concise Communication" or "3C") targeting parent-provider communication was implemented in an urban tertiary care pediatric ED. A 1-page form that solicited parent worries, questions, and expectations for care was developed.