Ambulatory VTE Screening Committee

Joy Kallis, Dr. Balyk, Dr. Sommerfeldt, Dr. Godlewsk, Dr. MacDonald, Anupreet Dhillon, Janna Klyne, Charlene Moore, Meghan Mior

Coming together with a shared vision, the ambulatory VTE screening committee at Grey Nuns Community Hospital was able to develop groundbreaking innovations in patient safety and close a gap in service that had never previously been identified. Bringing multidisciplinary strengths and expertise to the project, including historical data and the need for ambulatory screening, the team produced a product that encompasses thorough screening for patients at risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), or bloods clots in the veins, prior to being discharged after day surgery.

VTE screening and prevention for day surgery and ambulatory patients was a gap in service identified by operational leadership, surgeons and anesthesia. Each discipline researched best practice recommendations and connected with sites across the country to gather resources valuable for VTE prevention. Together this team developed a standard of practice that had not been designed or implemented anywhere in Canada. 

This brand new method of ambulatory screening went from vision to development to implementation and evaluation in just one year. It was enthusiastically accepted by all orthopedic surgeons and has become a standard of care in this population of patients. Due to the overwhelming positive uptake of VTE screening for ambulatory patients, other services have expressed interest for adoption, including ENT and gynecology, and active implementation planning is underway.