Hospital’s ASTEC Center Improves Patient Safety, Ensures Critical OR Skills Using Qstream Platform

Inova Fairfax Medical Center (IFMC) in Virginia and its newly opened Advanced Surgical Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) are using Qstream‘s mobile, game-based platform to drive improved patient safety and clinical knowledge among an interdisciplinary operating room (OR) team. 

A Level 1 trauma center, IFMC has deployed four Qstream programs in the past year as part of the ASTEC’s initiatives to improve patient safety through technology with surgeons, nurses, anesthetists, and surgical residents. These include Qstream programs that keep staff knowledge current in critical OR safety domains, including universal protocols and fire safety in the OR and other Qstream programs that help surgical residents to perform better on the national SCORE curriculum and the companion ABSITE surgical skills exam. 

Additional Qstream programs that cover methicillin-related staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection control and fundamental surgical knowledge required for simulation programs are also in development.

With perioperative care requiring mastery of large amounts of information by clinicians to stay current and meet care guidelines — and for the hospital to demonstrate compliance — IFMC has found Qstream’s mobile approach to making continuing medical education convenient, fast, and fun.

“Qstream is one of the most innovative approaches to knowledge reinforcement for busy people that I’ve ever seen,” said Paula Graling, education and clinical director of the Inova Fairfax ASTEC facility. “Our clinicians love being at the top of the leaderboards and the game-based nature of the scenario-based challenges keeps them engaged with information they might not otherwise care about.”

Developed at Harvard Medical School, Qstream is scientifically proven in dozens of randomized clinical trials to boost retention by 170% and change clinical practice patterns to improve patient outcomes. Using Qstream, clinicians respond to scenario-based challenges that are pushed directly to their mobile device every few days. Built-in game mechanics engage users in an experience that’s non-disruptive to work time. Qstream then analyzes response data in real-time to deliver predictive, actionable insights to supervisors, including areas for improvement.

“Brain science shows that even the smartest among us do better when there’s interval reinforcement and active recall of what we need to know,” said Duncan Lennox, CEO and co-founder of Qstream. “We’re delighted to help Inova Fairfax to address the all-important topic of patient safety by making it easier for busy clinicians to access what they need to know.”