Bmc Health Serv Res
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Sep 2014
Evaluating the impact of the reconfiguration of gynaecology services at a University Hospital NHS trust in the United Kingdom.
The project aim was to investigate the impact of reconfiguring gynaecology services on the key performance indicators of a University Hospital NHS Trust in the UK. The reconfiguration involved the centralisation of elective gynaecology on one hospital site and emergency gynaecology on the other. ⋯ Reconfiguration of gynaecology services at this Trust may have resulted in a reduction in gynaecological activity and increased cancellation of elective operations but did not significantly reduce the number of elective operations performed. Although consultants expressed increased dissatisfaction with standards of clinical care, clinical incident reports did not significantly increase apart from medical devices incidents. Patient experience of emergency gynaecology services was improved. This manuscript provides a framework for similar exercises evaluating the impact of service redesign in the NHS.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Sep 2014
Using focused ethnography in paediatric settings to explore professionals' and parents' attitudes towards expertise in managing chronic kidney disease stage 3-5.
Interactions between parents and healthcare professionals are essential when parents of children with chronic conditions are learning to share expertise about clinical care, but limited evidence exists on how they actually interact. This paper discusses the use of focused ethnography in paediatric settings as an effective means of exploring attitudes towards expertise. ⋯ Our findings point to focused ethnography being an effective way of capturing new insights into parent and professional interactions in a paediatric setting and mutual acknowledgement of expertise; these insights may help redress the reported limitations of previous, retrospective studies.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Sep 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialEffect of a care transition intervention by pharmacists: an RCT.
Pharmacists may improve medication-related outcomes during transitions of care. The aim of the Iowa Continuity of Care Study was to determine if a pharmacist case manager (PCM) providing a faxed discharge medication care plan from a tertiary care institution to primary care could improve medication appropriateness and reduce adverse events, rehospitalization and emergency department visits. ⋯ The pharmacist case manager did not affect medication use outcomes post-discharge perhaps because quality of care measures were high in all study groups.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Sep 2014
Evaluating the impact of equity focused health impact assessment on health service planning: three case studies.
Health impact assessment has been identified internationally as a mechanism to ensure potential health impacts and health equity impacts of proposals are considered before implementation. This paper looks at the impact of three equity focused health impact assessments (EFHIAs) of health service plans on subsequent decision-making and implementation, and then utilises these findings to test and refine an existing conceptual framework for evaluating the impact and effectiveness of health impact assessments for use in relation to EFHIAs. ⋯ EFHIA has the potential to improve the consideration of health equity in health service planning processes, though a number of contextual and individual factors affect this. Current approaches can be strengthened by taking into account personal and organisational responses to the EFHIA process.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Sep 2014
ReviewImplementing electronic health records in hospitals: a systematic literature review.
The literature on implementing Electronic Health Records (EHR) in hospitals is very diverse. The objective of this study is to create an overview of the existing literature on EHR implementation in hospitals and to identify generally applicable findings and lessons for implementers. ⋯ Although EHR systems are anticipated as having positive effects on the performance of hospitals, their implementation is a complex undertaking. This systematic review reveals reasons for this complexity and presents a framework of 19 interventions that can help overcome typical problems in EHR implementation. This framework can function as a reference for implementers in developing effective EHR implementation strategies for hospitals.