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 · Feb 2016
An analysis of closed medical litigations against the obstetrics departments in Taiwan from 2003 to 2012†.
To examine the epidemiologic data of closed medical claims from Taiwanese civil courts against obstetric departments and identify high-risk diseases. ⋯ Almost 93% of clinicians win their cases but spend 4.5 years waiting for final adjudication. The court ruled against the clinician only if there was no appropriate response during a complication or if there was no follow-up or further testing for potential critical diseases.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Feb 2016
Associations between demographics and health-related quality of life for chronic non-malignant pain patients treated at a multidisciplinary pain centre: a cohort study.
To describe the associations between demographics and health-related quality of life for chronic non-malignant pain patients. ⋯ In order to improve treatment at a multidisciplinary pain centre, it may be of value to target treatments to different patient subgroups based on, amongst other things, age and employment status.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Feb 2016
Reducing excess readmissions: promising effect of hospital readmissions reduction program in US hospitals.
To evaluate the financial penalty effect of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP) on 30-day inpatient readmissions for pneumonia (PN), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and heart failure (HF) among hospitals identified as having excess readmissions. ⋯ HRRP to reduce payments to hospitals with excess readmissions had a significant effect on the inpatient readmissions for PN, AMI and HF in US Hospitals.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Feb 2016
Patients' and families' perspectives of patient safety at the end of life: a video-reflexive ethnography study.
The aim of this study was to investigate patients' and families' perspectives of safety and quality in the setting of a life-limiting illness. ⋯ Current approaches to patient safety do not address fully the needs of dying patients and their families. Patients and their families regard poor communication with and by health professionals to be harmful in and of itself.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Feb 2016
ICU physicians are unable to accurately predict length of stay at admission: a prospective study.
To evaluate the accuracy of prediction of intensive care unit length of stay made by physicians at patient admission. ⋯ The intensive care unit length of stay prediction in these oncological intensive care units is inaccurate and, ideally, should not be made at admission.