Journal of health services research & policy
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The study, first published in 2005, looks at errors made in the operating theatre by observing operations at first hand, recording them for closer scrutiny and evaluation of non-technical skills such as human error, system problems and teamwork, questioning health professionals to assess safety culture, and using computer simulations to study how hospital systems might increase the chances of surgical error.
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The study, first published in 2003, looks at how trusts reacted to and implemented a safety alert on a drug, in this case potassium chloride, which can help save lives, but which is dangerous in high concentrations.
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J Health Serv Res Policy · Jan 2009
Is it feasible to pool funds for local children's services in England? Evidence from the national evaluation of children's trust pathfinders.
To describe how funds were pooled or otherwise jointly managed by National Health Service (NHS) primary care trusts and local authorities in England. To compare expenditure on local children's services by health, education and social services. ⋯ Sharing money for local children's services requires shared objectives, trust, and legal and accounting expertise. Several different mechanisms are permitted and many are feasible but programme budgeting for children's services could make them more effective.
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J Health Serv Res Policy · Oct 2008
The impact of income on private patients' access to GP services in Ireland.
To examine the extent to which proximity to the income threshold for free GP care results in significant differences in GP visiting. Approximately 30% of the Irish population receives free GP care (medical card patients), while the remaining 70% pays in full (private patients). Medical card eligibility exerts a significant influence on GP visiting, but how do GP visiting rates differ among private patients on differing incomes, and has the differential in visiting among private patients changed over time? ⋯ While recent commentary has focused on the plight of individuals just above the income threshold for free GP care, these results suggest that the key difference in GP visiting is between those with, and without, eligibility for free care. If private patients are prevented from accessing GP care due to cost, this is as much an issue for those at the top of the income distribution as for those at the bottom.
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J Health Serv Res Policy · Jul 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialInfluence of body mass index on prescribing costs and potential cost savings of a weight management programme in primary care.
Prescribed medications represent a high and increasing proportion of UK health care funds. Our aim was to quantify the influence of body mass index (BMI) on prescribing costs, and then the potential savings attached to implementing a weight management intervention. ⋯ Drug prescriptions rise from a minimum at BMI of 20 kg/m(2) and steeply above BMI 30 kg/m(2). An effective weight management programme in primary care could potentially reduce prescription costs and lead to substantial cost avoidance, such that at least 8% of the programme delivery cost would be recouped from prescribing savings alone in the first year.