Journal of general internal medicine
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Multicenter Study
Using the six sigma process to implement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guideline for Hand Hygiene in 4 intensive care units.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health Care Settings was issued in 2002. In 2003, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) established complying with the CDC Guideline as a National Patient Safety Goal for 2004. This goal has been maintained through 2006. The CDC's emphasis on the use of alcohol-based hand rubs (ABHRs) rather than soap and water was an opportunity to improve compliance, but the Guideline contained over 40 specific recommendations to implement. ⋯ The Six Sigma process was effective for organizing the knowledge, opinions, and actions of a group of professionals to implement the CDC's evidence-based hand hygiene practices in 4 ICUs. Several tools were developed for widespread use.
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Differences in provider-patient health perceptions have been associated with poor patient outcomes, but little is known about how patients' cultural identities may be related to discordant perceptions. ⋯ American-Indian patients, especially those who affiliate weakly with white-American cultural identity, often perceive health status differently from their providers. Future research should explore sources of discordant perceptions.
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Brief report: Failure of an electronic medical record tool to improve pain assessment documentation.
To comply with pain management standards, Bellevue Hospital in New York City implemented a mandatory computerized pain assessment screen (PAS) in its electronic medical record (EMR) system for every outpatient encounter. We assessed provider acceptance of the instrument and examined whether the intervention led to increased documentation of pain-related diagnoses or inquiries. ⋯ A mandatory computerized pain assessment tool did not lead to an increase in pain-related diagnoses and may have hindered the documentation of pain assessment because of the perceived burden of using the application.
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Falls are common, treatable, and result in considerable morbidity in older adults. However, fall risk factor evaluation and management targeted at high-risk patients is largely neglected in clinical practice. ⋯ Strategies to improve the adoption of fall risk evaluation and management in primary care should address the specific physician, logistical, and patient barriers perceived by physicians who had received an informative, motivational intervention to assess and manage falls among their patients.
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Spinal epidural abscesses are difficult to diagnose and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. A 61-year-old Chinese woman fell and was admitted 5 days later with constant epigastric pain and constipation. Clinical examination was initially normal. ⋯ Emergent neurosurgical intervention revealed an epidural abscess, which was drained. She responded to a 9-week course of antibiotics and recovered fully. Radicular pain from thoracic pathology can mimic intraabdominal pathology, and a high index of suspicion and prompt surgical intervention are essential to avoid the potentially devastating consequences of delayed recognition of epidural abscesses.