Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
3-6-2020
Abstract
Purpose:
Many pediatricians in the U.S. have trained in osteopathic medicine and have a Doctor of Osteopathy degree. However, other members of the health care team are often unaware of what osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) is or its indication in pediatrics. This quality improvement (QI) project aims to increase the average number of referrals to the University of New Mexico Hospital’s (UNMH) pediatric OMM clinic by 25% by May 2020.
Methods:
The QI project was designed based on the Model for Improvement. As the first Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, health care provider trainings on pediatric OMM were implemented in November 2019. A post-presentation survey was used to gather feedback. The primary measure will be average monthly referrals to UNMH’s pediatric osteopathic clinic.
Results:
Thirty-one providers responded to the survey – most were physicians (DO [39%] or MD [52%]) with(87%). Twenty-three percent had previously referred to OMM clinic. On average, respondents reported an interest of 8.10 (SD 2.47) in referring to the pediatric OMM clinic, on a scale of 0 (no interest at all) to 10 (extremely interested). The average respondent was still not sure about the indications and evidence-base for use of OMM in pediatrics. Some respondents indicated that they would like additional training in OMM techniques, and that the clinic needs more hours/capacity due to a long wait time (>1 month).
Conclusion:
Health care provider trainings generated interest in referring to the pediatric osteopathic clinic at UNMH. There is a need for additional PDSA cycles related to building provider knowledge and skills and addressing wait time to be seen in OMM clinic. We will monitor referrals as we implement additional PDSAs.
Recommended Citation
Sinha, Arpita and Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez. "Can referrals to a pediatric Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) clinic be increased through provider education?." (2020). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hsc_qips/22
Comments
Presented at the University of New Mexico Health Science 2020 Annual Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Symposium