Program Overview

BrighT STAR Program

The BrighT STAR Learning Health Community is a collaborative effort among children's hospitals across the United States and internationally. The program aims to develop and disseminate programs that safely reduce unnecessary testing and treatment, providing high-value care to critically ill children.

Overview of BrighT STAR

The BrighT STAR Learning Health Community includes a network of hospitals working together to improve care for critically ill children. The program focuses on reducing unnecessary testing and treatment, promoting high-value care, and fostering cross-departmental collaboration among clinicians.

BrighT STAR Learning Health Community

The community comprises children's hospitals from the United States and international institutions, all sharing a common mission to enhance care for critically ill children. Each site, whether domestic or international, presents unique needs that the program addresses to ensure its success.

Programs and Initiatives

• The BrighT STAR Collaborative has led to significant reductions in blood culture rates and unnecessary blood draws in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs).
• Decision support tools have been implemented to standardize practices and reduce unnecessary testing, such as endotracheal aspirate culture ordering.
• Expert consensus statements have been published to guide the obtaining of respiratory cultures for hospitalized patients with artificial airways.
• Research initiatives have demonstrated the potential for diagnostic stewardship to reduce unnecessary blood cultures and antibiotics in PICUs.

History of BrighT STAR

The program has expanded internationally, with recent collaborations including a visit to "P. & A. Kyriakou" Children's Hospital in Athens, Greece, to launch the BrighT STAR program. This expansion highlights the program's growing impact and its commitment to improving pediatric care globally.

Publications and Research

Numerous studies and publications have resulted from the BrighT STAR program, focusing on topics such as the reduction of blood culture overuse, the optimization of blood culture practices through diagnostic stewardship, and the impact of avoiding unnecessary blood draws on antibiotic overuse in critically ill children. These research efforts contribute to the body of knowledge on high-value care in pediatric medicine and inform best practices in the field.