International journal of health care quality assurance
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Int J Health Care Qual Assur · Jan 2011
Comparison of medication error rates and clinical effects in three medication prescription-dispensation systems.
Medication errors (MEs) are important in terms of their magnitude and severity, and there are numerous systems in place to reduce their occurrence. However, the ideal system has not yet been identified. The authors' institution uses three different medication prescription-dispensation systems which operate simultaneously. ME rates were compared, overall and by phase (prescription, transcription and administration) and their overall and specific clinical impact. ⋯ It is possible that automated medication dispensation systems reduce error rates and the severity of their effects.
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This paper aims to explore how surveying benefits accreditation surveyors and the organisations in which they are regularly employed. The purpose is to examine from the perspective of senior executives who pursue this form of secondary professional activity, what they seek from being surveyors and what they believe they gain from the experience. ⋯ The paucity of existing literature on the role of the surveyor-both pre and post accreditation-makes this topic timely and significant. This study is important because almost all accreditation programs world wide rely on external surveyors, and yet we know little about them.
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Int J Health Care Qual Assur · Jan 2010
Referral pathways of patients with gallstones: a potential source of financial waste in the U.K. National Health Service?
Gallstone-related illnesses are one of the most common reasons for emergency hospital admissions, often with serious complications. Standard treatment of uncomplicated gallstone-disease is by laparoscopic cholecystectomy, which can be safely and cost-effectively performed during a short hospital stay or as day-case. This paper aims to evaluate the referral pattern of patients with gallstones, which treatment is given and whether patients admitted as emergency could have benefited from earlier elective referral. The management of these patients is examined in the context of payment by results to determine cost and potential savings. ⋯ A large proportion of patients admitted with symptomatic biliary disease could have been referred earlier and electively. Such referral practice could improve the quality of care and reduce cost for the NHS both in primary and secondary care.
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Healthcare risk epidemiology identifies medication error as the commonest cause of adverse effects on patients. Medication error can occur at any phase of the complex medication process so prevalence rates need to be estimated at each drug treatment phase: prescription, transcription and administration along with their clinical repercussions. This paper aims to investigate this issue. ⋯ The paper highlights ways to reduce errors in the medication process.