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 · Apr 2011
Prevention of venous thromboembolism and safe use of heparin in Spanish hospitals.
To assess compliance with basic and actionable indicators in relation to prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and safe use of heparin. ⋯ We have identified some actionable contributing factors to safety problems using evidence-based structure and process indicators. Explicit process design and key clinical interventions (risk assessment for VTE and heparin dose adjustment) should be addressed to improve the current situation.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Apr 2011
A quality improvement initiative to improve adherence to national guidelines for empiric management of community-acquired pneumonia in emergency departments.
The objective of this study was to improve the concordance of community-acquired pneumonia management in Australian emergency departments with national guidelines through a quality improvement initiative promoting concordant antibiotic use and use of a pneumonia severity assessment tool, the pneumonia severity index (PSI). ⋯ Improved uptake of guideline recommendations for community-acquired pneumonia management in emergency departments was documented following a multi-faceted education intervention.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Apr 2011
Discrepant perceptions of communication, teamwork and situation awareness among surgical team members.
To assess surgical team members' differences in perception of non-technical skills. ⋯ This study shows discrepancies on many aspects in perception between surgeons and other surgical team members concerning communication, teamwork and situation awareness. Future research needs to ascertain whether these discrepancies are linked to greater risk of adverse events or to process as well as systems failures. Establishing this link would support implementation and use of complex team interventions that intervene at multiple levels of the healthcare system.