Bmc Health Serv Res
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2012
The health services burden of heart failure: an analysis using linked population health data-sets.
The burden of patients with heart failure on health care systems is widely recognised, although there have been few attempts to quantify individual patterns of care and differences in health service utilisation related to age, socio-economic factors and the presence of co-morbidities. The aim of this study was to assess the typical profile, trajectory and resource use of a cohort of Australian patients with heart failure using linked population-based, patient-level data. ⋯ The rates of index admissions for heart failure decreased significantly in both males and females over the study period. However, the impact on acute care hospital beds was substantial, with heart failure patients occupying almost 200,000 bed-days per year in NSW over the five year study period. The strong age-related trends highlight the importance of stabilising elderly patients before discharge and community-based outreach programs to better manage heart failure and reduce readmissions.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2012
Interpreting the results of a modified gravity model: examining access to primary health care physicians in five Canadian provinces and territories.
Primary health care (PHC) encompasses an array of health and social services that focus on preventative, diagnostic, and basic care measures to maintain wellbeing and address illnesses. In Canada, PHC involves the provision of first-contact health care services by providers such as family physicians and general practitioners - collectively referred as PHC physicians here. Ensuring access is a key requirement of effective PHC delivery. This is because having access to PHC has been shown to positively impact a number of health outcomes. ⋯ Future applications of the modified gravity model are needed in order to refine the recommendations we provide on interpreting its results. It is important that studies are undertaken that can help administrators, policy-makers, researchers, and others with characterizing the state of access to PHC, including potential spatial access. We encourage further research to be done using GIS in order to offer new, spatial perspectives on issues of access to health services given the increased recognition that the place-based nature of health services can benefit from the use of the capabilities of GIS to enhance the role that visualization plays in decision-making.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2012
Detecting inpatient falls by using natural language processing of electronic medical records.
Incident reporting is the most common method for detecting adverse events in a hospital. However, under-reporting or non-reporting and delay in submission of reports are problems that prevent early detection of serious adverse events. The aim of this study was to determine whether it is possible to promptly detect serious injuries after inpatient falls by using a natural language processing method and to determine which data source is the most suitable for this purpose. ⋯ By using natural language processing of text data from image order entries, we could detect injurious falls within a shorter time than that by using incident reports. Concomitant use of this method might improve the shortcomings of an incident reporting system such as under-reporting or non-reporting and delayed submission of data on incidents.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2012
Reasons behind non-adherence of healthcare practitioners to pediatric asthma guidelines in an emergency department in Saudi Arabia.
The prevalence of childhood bronchial asthma in Saudi Arabia has increased in less than a decade from 8% to 23%. Innovations in the management of asthma led to the development of evidence based clinical practice guidelines and protocols to improve the patients' outcomes. The objectives of this study are to examine the compliance of the healthcare providers in the Pediatrics Emergency Department, in King Khalid University Hospital, with the recommendations of the Pediatrics Asthma Management Protocol (PAMP), and to explore the reasons behind non-adherence. ⋯ The organizational barriers and the lack of an implementation strategy for the protocol, in addition to the attitude and beliefs of the healthcare providers, are the main factors behind non-compliance to the PAMP recommendations.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2012
Triage vital signs predict in-hospital mortality among emergency department patients with acute poisoning: a case control study.
To document the relationship between triage vital signs and in-hospital mortality among emergency department (ED) patients with acute poisoning. ⋯ Triage vital signs could predict in-hospital mortality among ED patients with acute poisoning. A J-curve relationship was found between triage vital signs and in-hospital mortality. ED physicians should take note of the extreme initial vital signs in these patients.