International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care
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Int J Qual Health Care · Jun 2007
Multicenter StudyDoes delay in surgery after hip fracture lead to worse outcomes? A multicenter survey.
To estimate the impact of delays in surgery for hip fracture on short- and long-term outcomes. ⋯ Delays in surgery for hip fracture are associated with significant increase in short-term and 1-year mortality. Variation among the hospitals was substantial and calls for prompt quality improvement actions.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Jun 2007
Comparative StudyA comparison of quality of care indicators in urban acute care hospitals and rural critical access hospitals in the United States.
Two recent Institute of Medicine reports highlight that the quality of healthcare in the US is less than what should be expected from the world's most extensive and expensive healthcare system. This may be especially true for critical access hospitals since these smaller rural-based hospitals often have fewer resources and less funding than larger urban hospitals. The purpose of this paper was to compare quality of hospital care provided in urban acute care hospitals to that provided in rural critical access hospitals. ⋯ Although this study focused on only three disease states, these are among the most common clinical conditions encountered in inpatient settings. The findings suggested that there may be differences in quality in rural critical access hospitals and urban acute care hospitals and support the need for future studies addressing disparities between urban acute care and rural critical access hospitals.