Dips and spikes in patient blood glucose can prolong recovery and lead to dangerous complications. Unfortunately, many healthcare providers and hospital leaders accept high rates of hypo- and hyperglycemia as normal.

They don’t have to be. Poor glycemic management is typically driven by three factors:

  • Reliance on sliding-scale insulin therapy (which is outdated and ineffective¹)
  • Poor administration and avoidable errors²
  • Lack of visibility into glycemic management performance³

By replacing outdated¹ and dangerous paper protocols¹, creating workflows that decrease errors⁴ and improve administration and providing data concerning glycemic management performance, Glytec’s FDA-cleared eGlycemic Management System can reliably and consistently reduce the incidence of hypo- and hyperglycemia in your healthcare system⁵.

Reduce-the-Incidence-of-Hypoglycemia-and-Hyperglycemia

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Hypo- and hyperglycemia aren't just bad for patients 

 

Uncontrolled blood glucose is bad for patients, causing complications that can include confusion, seizures, coma and death. But zoom out and you’ll see that it’s not just individual patients who pay for poor glycemic management. Both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia are correlated with increases in length of stay, cost of care and readmissions.⁶ 

 

Hyper_Hypo-Graphic-2

 

In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) classifies patient death or serious disability associated with hypoglycemia as a “never event,”⁷ and has proposed a measure for hypoglycemia which is currently going through the approval process.8

The bottom line: glycemic management issues have ripple effects throughout the hospital, and resolving these issues can help stakeholders achieve broad quality, safety and financial goals.

Grady Hospital Atlanta, GA | 640 beds

Comparing Glucommander IV to usual care in the treatment of 2,897 patients in their ICUs and step-down units, Grady Hospital saw reduced rates of severe hypoglycemia (BGs 250 mg/dL).⁹

 

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AdventHealth Waterman Tavares, FL | 269 beds

AdventHealth successfully used eGMS to reduce the number of preventable hypoglycemia-related adverse drug events.⁴

 

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Real results from real hospitals

 

Nationwide retrospective analysis|180 U.S. hospitals.

In a review of 116,917 patients who received IV insulin therapy guided by eGMS across a 2-year period, eGMS was found to result in a low incidence of hypoglycemia.5

Hypo-Hyper-worksheet-screenshot

If your hospital system doesn’t have hospital-wide, or unit-wide glycemic management metrics, how can you improve what you can’t measure? Glytec’s GlucoMetrics module allows providers at all levels and functional areas to review key blood glucose metrics and measure the progress of glycemic management initiatives.

 

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References: 

  1. 15. Diabetes Care in the Hospital: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes—2020. American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care Jan 2020, 43 (Supplement 1) S193-S202; DOI: 10.2337/dc20-S015 Retrieved from https://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/43/Supplement_1/S193.
  2. Cousins D, Rosario C, Scarpello J. Insulin, hospitals and harm: a review of patient safety incidents reported to the National Patient Safety Agency. Clin Med (Lond). 2011 Feb;11(1):28-30. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.7861/clinmedicine.11-1-28
  3. Tanton D. Financial Implications of Poor Glycemic Management & Improvement Strategies for Optimal Outcomes. DTS Virtual Hospital Meeting. 2020.
  4. Use of Technology Reduces Incidence of Hypoglycemia-Related Adverse Drug Events Among Patients Requiring Insulin Therapy While Hospitalized. Diabetes Technology Society (DTS) Virtual Poster Meeting, Jun 2020.
  5. Reduction of Hypoglycemia Across 180 U.S. Hospitals Using eGlycemic Management System® for IV Insulin Therapy with ICU and non-ICU Patients. Diabetes Technology Society (DTS) Virtual Poster Meeting, Jun 2020.
  6. Financial Implications of Poor Glycemic Management & Improvement Strategies for Optimal Outcomes. IHI Annual National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care, Dec 2018
  7. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2006). Eliminating Serious, Preventable, and Costly Medical Errors — Never Events. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/eliminating-serious-preventable-and-costly-medical-errors-never-events.
  8. Glytec. (2020). What do you need to know about the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed hypoglycemia measure? Retrieved from https://glytecsystems.com/resource/cms-measure-specification-hospital-harm-hypoglycemia/.
  9. Comparison of Hyperglycemia Management Protocols in the ICU: Standard Protocol versus eGlycemic Management System. American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, Jun 2019.

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