Quality management in health care
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Qual Manag Health Care · Jul 2006
Proliferation of electronic health records among obstetrician-gynecologists.
To examine the current use of electronic health records (EHRs) and their key subfunctions among obstetrician-gynecologists and compare this trend with other doctors. ⋯ Compared with peers, obstetrician-gynecologists are less likely to be using EHR in their practice. In addition, their systems tend to have fewer medical error preventing functions and fewer basic functions.
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Qual Manag Health Care · Jul 2006
Evaluation of a fast track unit: alignment of resources and demand results in improved satisfaction and decreased length of stay for emergency department patients.
Emergency departments (EDs) are struggling with overcrowding. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement recently concluded that reducing delays is critical to improving all aspects of emergency care. To reduce cycle times and improve patient flow, we developed a separate stream of care focused on low-acuity patients in our academic ED. ⋯ This study supports an emphasis on improving turnaround time as a primary driver of satisfaction, and demonstrates that a simple intervention characterized by focusing existing resources on the needs of a specific population can significantly improve health care delivery. Thoughtful alignment of resources with the needs of specific patient populations should similarly streamline care in other clinical settings.
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Qual Manag Health Care · Jan 2006
Emergency department performance indicators that encompass the patient journey.
The study aimed to provide a recommended list of performance indicators from routinely collected data that measure most aspects of the patient journey through the emergency department (ED). ⋯ The performance indicators use only routinely collected data and clearly identify the areas in which this ED performed poorly.
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Qual Manag Health Care · Jul 2005
Organizational and cultural changes for providing safe patient care.
To describe an approach and experience with fostering a culture of patient safety. ⋯ Senior management support of a culture of learning and prevention and an organizational structure that promotes collaboration has provided an environment in which patient safety initiatives can flourish by providing not only safer and higher quality patient care but also a positive financial return on investment.
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Qual Manag Health Care · Apr 2005
Capturing more emergency department errors via an anonymous web-based reporting system.
It is generally understood that errors occur during patient care in the emergency department (ED). However, the errors that are reported likely represent a fraction of those that occur. Increasing the error reporting rate would allow for more opportunities to investigate the root causes of errors and improve systems design as part of a continuous quality improvement (CQI) process. We present a model Web-based system for reporting of errors that occur in patient care in the ED. ⋯ A Web-based error reporting implemented in this manner may improve error reporting because of the convenience it offers and the option of anonymity. More reporting should create more opportunities for system improvement.