Bmc Health Serv Res
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2008
Impact of date stamping on patient safety measurement in patients undergoing CABG: experience with the AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) provide information on hospital risk-adjusted rates for potentially preventable adverse events. Although designed to work with routine administrative data, it is unknown whether the PSIs can accurately distinguish between complications and pre-existing conditions. The objective of this study is to examine whether the AHRQ PSIs accurately measure hospital complication rates, using the data with present-on-admission (POA) codes to distinguish between complications and pre-existing conditions ⋯ For some of the AHRQ Patient Safety Indicators, there are significant differences in the risk-adjusted rates of adverse events depending on whether the POA indicator is used to distinguish between pre-existing conditions and complications. The use of the POA indicator will increase the accuracy of the AHRQ PSIs as measures of adverse outcomes.
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During the SARS epidemic, healthcare utilization and medical services decreased significantly. However, the long-term impact of SARS on hospital performance needs to be further discussed. ⋯ This study demonstrates that if a hospital is completely shut down due to SARS or a similar disease, the impact is longer than previous reported and different departments may experience different recover periods. The findings of this study identify subspecialties that are particularly vulnerable in an infectious disease designated hospital and such hospitals need to consider which subspecialties should be included in their medical structure.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2008
Describing and analysing primary health care system support for chronic illness care in Indigenous communities in Australia's Northern Territory - use of the Chronic Care Model.
Indigenous Australians experience disproportionately high prevalence of, and morbidity and mortality from chronic illness such as diabetes, renal disease and cardiovascular disease. Improving the understanding of how Indigenous primary care systems are organised to deliver chronic illness care will inform efforts to improve the quality of care for Indigenous people. ⋯ Using concrete examples, this study translates the concept of the Chronic Care Model (and associated systems view) into practical application in Australian Indigenous primary care settings. This approach proved to be useful in understanding the quality of primary care systems for prevention and management of chronic illness. Further refinement of the systems should focus on both increasing human and financial resources and improving management practice.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2008
How to limit the burden of data collection for Quality Indicators based on medical records? The COMPAQH experience.
Our objective was to limit the burden of data collection for Quality Indicators (QIs) based on medical records. ⋯ These 4 QIs based on medical records can be used to compare the quality of record keeping among hospitals while limiting the burden of data collection, and can therefore be used for benchmarking purposes. The French National Health Directorate has included them in the new 2009 version of the accreditation procedure for healthcare organizations.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2008
Impact of picture archiving communication systems on rates of duplicate imaging: a before-after study.
Electronic health information systems, such as picture archiving communication systems (PACS), are commonly believed to reduce the need for duplicate testing. However, empirical data to support this belief are not available. ⋯ The frequency of duplicate imaging is relatively low and we did not find large reductions in duplicate imaging after the introduction of PACS. Independent evaluation of electronic medical systems should be conducted to confirm widely held beliefs of their potential benefits.