Educational effort and CQI program improves ordering of serum digoxin levels

In a 289-bed, acute-care, non-tertiary-care regional referral center, a continuous quality improvement educational effort successfully improved ordering of serum digoxin levels. Following a determination that physicians were not requesting serum digoxin levels correctly, the P & T Committee issued a letter describing appropriate wording of orders for serum digoxin levels. The number of incorrectly ordered serum digoxin levels requested dropped significantly over a 49-month period as a result of the intervention described below, which also resulted in cost savings.