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 · Dec 2009
ReviewEffectiveness of acute medical units in hospitals: a systematic review.
To assess the effectiveness of acute medical units (AMUs) in hospitals. ⋯ Limited observational data suggest AMUs reduce in-patient mortality, length of stay and emergency department access block without increasing readmission rates, and improve patient and staff satisfaction.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Dec 2009
Risk stratification for predicting 30-day mortality of intracerebral hemorrhage.
The aim of this study was to develop a grading scale for predicting the 30-day mortality of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) using initial evaluation data. ⋯ The sICH score showed best discrimination among tested models. Also, it was easier for physicians without special training in neurology or radiology to use this scale. With statistical power and ease of use, the sICH score is a very suitable model for risk stratification of spontaneous ICH.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Oct 2009
Is there an association between deprivation and pre-operative disease severity? A cross-sectional study of patient-reported health status.
Differences in access to elective surgery may contribute to socioeconomic differences in health. We studied the associations between pre-operative health status (as an indicator of clinical need) and deprivation. ⋯ Deprivation was associated with worse pre-operative general health status. However, given that the variation in pre-operative disease-specific health status by deprivation score was of small clinical significance and the limited power of the risk adjustment model, there is little evidence of socioeconomic inequity in access to three common elective surgical procedures.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Oct 2009
Comparative StudyMedication errors: how reliable are the severity ratings reported to the national reporting and learning system?
To examine: (1) the reliability of the severity rating scale used by the National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS) in England and Wales for medication errors; and (2) the likelihood of reporting medication errors among healthcare professionals. ⋯ There are marked differences in the severity ratings for medication errors graded against the NRLS severity criteria between different health professional groups and at different time points rated by the same individuals.
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Int J Qual Health Care · Oct 2009
A survey on patient safety culture in primary healthcare services in Turkey.
To evaluate the patient safety culture in primary healthcare units. ⋯ Improving patient safety culture should be a priority among health center administrators. Healthcare staff should be encouraged to report errors without fear of punitive action.