In this episode, Drs Krouss and Cho describe an intervention they did to decrease the amount of inappropriate urine cultures being ordered. They share with our audience how unnecessary urine cultures can lead to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria. Their novel approach to fixing the problem consists of a change to the ordering screen in the electronic medical record which requires entry of the reason for the urine cultures and a Best Practice Advisory (BPA) that appears when urine cultures are ordered for a patient. Their intervention resulted in significant decrease of unnecessary urine cultures. Tune in to this must hear episode!

Publication Title: Choosing Wisely Initiative for reducing Urine Cultures for Asymptomatic Bacteriuria and Catheter-Associated Asymptomatic Bacteriuria in an 11-Hospital Safety Net System

Guest: Mona Krouss, MD and Harry (Hyung Jin) Cho

Authors:

Mona Krouss, MD
Daniel Alaiev
Da Wi Shin, MD
Joseph Talledo
Sigal Israilov, MD
Komal Chandra, PhD
Milana Zaurova, MD
Peter Alacron Manchego, MD
Surafel Tsega, MD
Gabriel Cohen, MD
Nathaniel Bravo
Tania Kupferman, MD
Hyung J Cho, MD

Mona Krouss, MD

Dr. Mona Krouss is the Assistant Vice President for Value & Patient Safety for NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal health care system in the US. She is also an Associate Professor of Medicine and practices clinically as a hospitalist at Elmhurst Hospital and Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Dr. Krouss’ research involves the intersection of overuse and patient safety, and studies the downstream harms of unnecessary tests and procedures. Her work has been published in AJIC, JAMA Internal Medicine, Journal of Hospital Medicine, among others. She is a certified patient safety specialist and was recently recognized by Becker’s healthcare has a top patient safety expert to know in 2022. 

Dr. Harry (Hyung Jin) Cho, MD, FACP, SFHM

Dr. Harry (Hyung Jin) Cho, MD, FACP, SFHM is Vice President of Quality at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and faculty at Harvard School of Medicine. In the past decade, Dr. Cho received over 70 awards and recognitions for his leadership, including Top 25 Innovators by Modern Healthcare and was recognized in 4 national “Under 40” lists – Becker’s Hospital Review, National Minority Quality Forum, Modern Healthcare, and Medscape. He strives to improve outcomes across complex healthcare settings through developing innovative, scalable solutions. His research focuses on the intersection of overuse and patient safety and aims to eliminate unnecessary testing and treatment that cause physical and financial harm to patients.