Articles: checklist.
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BMJ quality & safety · Apr 2013
Do you have to re-examine to reconsider your diagnosis? Checklists and cardiac exam.
Few studies have investigated whether clinicians can use checklists to verify their diagnostic decisions. Checklists may improve accuracy by prompting clinicians to reconsider or recollect information but might impair decision making by adding to clinicians' cognitive load. This study assessed whether checklists improve cardiac exam diagnostic accuracy, and whether this benefit is dependent on collecting additional information. ⋯ Verifying diagnostic decisions with a checklist improved diagnostic accuracy. This benefit was only seen when more information could be collected. Checklist use was not associated with increased cognitive load.
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Multicenter Study
Diagnostic accuracy of a rapid checklist to identify delirium in older patients transported by EMS.
The presence of delirium in elderly patients is common and has been identified as an independent marker for increased mortality and hospital-acquired complications, yet it is poorly recognized by health care providers. Early recognition of delirium in the prehospital setting has the potential to improve outcomes, but is not feasible without valid assessment tools. ⋯ A rapid delirium checklist can identify 63% of patients with delirium, but performed no better than the GCS. Future research should determine whether a rapid test of cognition improves early identification of elderly patients with delirium.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Apr 2013
Compliance with the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist: deviations and possible improvements.
Previous research suggests that the World Health Organization Surgical Safety Checklist time-out reduces communication failures and medical complications and supports development of better safety attitudes. Previous research also indicates that different values can affect the implementation of interventions. ⋯ The checklist is not always applied as intended. The components that facilitate communication are often neglected. The time-out does not appear to be conducted as a team effort. It is plausible that the personnel's conception of risk and the perceived importance of different checklist items are factors that influence checklist usage. To improve compliance and involve the whole team, the concept of risk and the perceived relevance of checklist items for all team members should be addressed.