A Quality Improvement Educational Intervention on Monitoring Practices During Ketamine Administration

Abstract

Purpose: This quality-improvement project aimed to provide evidence-based best practices for monitoring patients during outpatient ketamine administration for ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (KAP) and evaluated the intent of mental health providers in applying this knowledge to their current practices. Background: The use of ketamine as a treatment option for mental health disorders is increasing, despite a lack of approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Even with this increased use, no standardized guidelines or protocols exist for ketamine administration and patient monitoring. Research on ketamine administration and monitoring may impact current KAP practices and protocols. Methods: This project provided an educational presentation for mental health providers on evidence-based best practices for patient monitoring during ketamine administration. Anonymous pre- and post-surveys through Qualtrics were used to measure providers’ baseline confidence and attitudes regarding KAP monitoring, gained knowledge, attitudes toward this new knowledge, and intent to use current evidence for KAP in their practices. Results: Four mental health providers at Tucson Counseling Associates participated in this project. All four learned new information from the educational intervention, with improvements in scores when comparing pre- and post-survey results, but these were not statistically significant. The provided feedback emphasized the need for further research, including on different forms of ketamine administration during KAP. Conclusions: Based on the results, participants learned new information regarding current evidence-based practices regarding patient monitoring during KAP. However, the evidence-based information is based on intravenous ketamine, emphasizing the need for further research on patient monitoring practices and different forms of ketamine used during KAP.