The Medical journal of Australia
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Multicenter Study
Thrombolysis for acute stroke in Australia: outcomes from the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke registry (2002-2008).
To report Australian outcomes from the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke International Stroke Thrombolysis Register (SITS-ISTR). ⋯ Clinical outcomes after thrombolysis in Australia were similar to those worldwide.
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Routine monitoring of performance in the provision of cardiac services aids quality assurance and enables comparisons of performance to national and international standards. The Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons conducts a surgical registry that has grown from six hospitals participating in 2001 to 21 contributing in 2010. ⋯ Proposed future developments of the registry include its expansion to include interventional cardiology procedures, such as implantation of stents and cardiac devices, and a modular format, with the patient rather than the procedure being the key element of the system. An Australian Cardiac Procedures Registry will provide information to stakeholders, including consumers, clinicians, health funders and policymakers, on performance standards and quality of care of medical services affecting an ever-increasing number of Australians.
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To assess emergency department (ED) doctors' knowledge of radiation doses associated with diagnostic imaging and to describe their practice with regard to informing patients of risk. ⋯ Emergency doctors in our sample had a varied knowledge of the risks from radiation exposure, but overall knowledge was poor. Staff should receive education, and the diagnostic imaging request process may need to include information on radiation doses and risks.