Bmc Health Serv Res
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2014
Comparative StudySharing of clinical data in a maternity setting: how do paper hand-held records and electronic health records compare for completeness?
Historically, the paper hand-held record (PHR) has been used for sharing information between hospital clinicians, general practitioners and pregnant women in a maternity shared-care environment. Recently in alignment with a National e-health agenda, an electronic health record (EHR) was introduced at an Australian tertiary maternity service to replace the PHR for collection and transfer of data. The aim of this study was to examine and compare the completeness of clinical data collected in a PHR and an EHR. ⋯ This is the first paper to report on the comparison of clinical data collected on a PHR and EHR in a maternity shared-care setting. The use of an EHR demonstrated significant improvements to the collection of best practice variables. Additionally, the data in an EHR were more available to relevant clinical staff with the appropriate log-in and more easily retrieved than from the PHR. This study contributes to an under-researched area of determining data quality collected in patient records.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2014
Strategies to improve the efficiency and utility of multidisciplinary team meetings in urology cancer care: a survey study.
The prevalence of multidisciplinary teams (MDT) for the delivery of cancer care is increasing globally. Evidence exists of benefits to patients and healthcare professionals. However, MDT working is time and resource intensive. This study aims to explore members' views on existing practices of urology MDT working, and to identify potential interventions for improving the efficiency and productivity of the MDT meeting. ⋯ Key urology MDT members find the MDT meeting useful. Improvements in efficiency and effectiveness may be possible by prioritising cases or managing some low-risk cases according to previously agreed protocols. Further research is needed to test the effectiveness of such strategies on MDT meetings, cancer care pathways and patient outcomes in clinical practice.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2014
Drug shortages in European countries: a trade-off between market attractiveness and cost containment?
Drug shortages are a global problem. While extensively studied in the United States, numbers about drug shortages in European countries are scarce. This study aims to collect and present data about drug shortages in European countries. ⋯ Reporting of drug shortages in Europe needs to be standardized and more transparency about the reasons for drug shortage is required to investigate the problem. A link between production problems and market attractiveness and market capacity is recognized to be at the root of drug shortages in U.S. Such insights are highly lacking in Europe. Monitoring of the effect of national and European health policies on the sustainability of the drug market is required to present fundamental solutions and to tackle the problem of drug shortages in Europe.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2014
Outcomes associated with comorbid atrial fibrillation and heart failure in Medicare beneficiaries with acute coronary syndrome.
Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are both common comorbid conditions of elderly patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but published data on their associated clinical and economic outcomes are limited. ⋯ Using a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries, we observed a significantly higher clinical and economic burden of patients hospitalized for ACS with comorbid AF and HF compared with those without these conditions.
-
Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2014
Controlled Clinical TrialResource use and costs of type 2 diabetes patients receiving managed or protocolized primary care: a controlled clinical trial.
The increasing prevalence of diabetes is associated with increased health care use and costs. Innovations to improve the quality of care, manage the increasing demand for health care and control the growth of health care costs are needed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the care process and costs of managed, protocolized and usual care for type 2 diabetes patients from a societal perspective. ⋯ Compared to usual care, managed care was significantly associated with better process in terms of diabetes care, fewer secondary care consultations and lower health care costs. The same trends were seen for protocolized care, however they were not statistically significant.