- Identify Risk
- Chart review
- Assessment of risk factors: cognitive impairment, advanced age, severe illness, sensory deficits, infection, polypharmacy, sleep deprivation, dehydration
- Screen
- Clock-in-the Box Assessment
- Modified Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (mRASS)
- Days of the Week Backward (DOWB) and Months of the Year Backward (MOYB)
- Intervene
- Alert healthcare providers to risk factors
- Complete a thorough medication reconciliation to reduce polypharmacy, when possible
- Utilize Delirium Toolbox items to promote sleep, cognitive stimulation & orientation, increase ambulation, and improve sensory deficits
- Monitor
- Evaluate for prevalent delirium upon each transition of care
- If patient develops delirium, create an individualized plan for rehabilitation
- Track Outcomes
- Staff education
- Reduction in: Medical center costs, restraint use, length of stay, and readmission rates
...
The Delirium Toolbox is a VA quality improvement project developed by James Rudolph that evolved from a VABHS Healthcare Failure Effects-Modes Analysis (HFEMA) and VABHS Delirium Task Force. The Delirium Toolbox is funded via a T21 mechanism administered by the Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care to prevent long-term institutionalization in high-risk veterans.
