Electronic Health Record: Driving Evidence-Based Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) Care Practices.

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) continue to account for most hospital-acquired infections; yet records for up to 50% of hospitalized patients who received an indwelling catheter lack documentation of evidence-based criterion for the insertion decision. Newer guidelines emphasize prevention of infection by limiting both catheter use and duration of use so as to decrease the number of hospital-acquired, urinary tract infections (UTIs). In this article, we review the literature and describe the method employed in our quality improvement (QI) project using the electronic health record (EHR) to assist in driving evidence-based care. We developed an infrastructure that provided clinical-decision support, drove evidence-based care delivery practices, and maintained sustainability. Next, we present the results of this QI project that demonstrated a significant decrease in positive urine cultures, improved catheter care practices, and documentation of evidence-based criterion for catheter utilization. We discuss the benefits of using the EHR to decrease urinary catheter usage and conclude by recommending the using the EHR to decrease UTIs by limiting urinary catheter usage.