Qual Saf Health Care
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Qual Saf Health Care · Apr 2008
Decreasing paediatric prescribing errors in a district general hospital.
In paediatric inpatients, medication errors occur as frequently as 1 in 4.2 drug orders, with up to 80% of these being prescribing errors. ⋯ By investing time and providing appropriate written resources, we have been able to reduce our paediatric prescribing errors on the children's ward by almost half.
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Qual Saf Health Care · Apr 2008
Preferences of acutely ill patients for participation in medical decision-making.
To determine patient preferences for information and for participation in decision-making, and the determinants of these preferences in patients recently admitted to an acute hospital. ⋯ Acute medical inpatients want to receive a lot of information about their illness, but most prefer a relatively passive role in decision-making. The only way to determine individual patient preferences is to ask them; preferences cannot be predicted from clinical or sociodemographic data.
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Qual Saf Health Care · Apr 2008
How willing are patients to question healthcare staff on issues related to the quality and safety of their healthcare? An exploratory study.
One in 10 patients admitted to hospital will suffer an adverse event as a result of their medical treatment. A reduction in adverse events could happen if patients could be engaged successfully in monitoring their care. ⋯ Surgical patients, particularly those who are men, less educated or unemployed are less willing to challenge healthcare staff regarding their care than to ask healthcare staff factual questions. Patient involvement strategies which take into account patient characteristics need to be developed for patients and staff in order to encourage patient involvement in this much neglected area.