June 18, 2012
Abstract:
Background: Many academic medical centres have introduced strategies to assess the productivity of faculty as part of compensation schemes. We conducted a systematic review of the effects of such strategies on faculty productivity.
Posted in Journal Articles, READ Portal | Tagged with Canada, Efficiency, Health human resources, Hospital administration | No Comments
June 15, 2012
Background:
Screening at hospital admission for carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been proposed as a strategy to reduce nosocomial infections. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term costs and health benefits of selective and universal screening for MRSA at hospital admission, using both PCR-based and chromogenic media-based tests in various settings.
Posted in Journal Articles, READ Portal | Tagged with Cost effectiveness, Hospitals, Infection control | No Comments
June 14, 2012
Abstract:
Practice coaching, also called practice facilitation, assists physician practices with the desire to improve in such areas as patient access, chronic and preventive care, electronic medical record use, patient-centeredness, cultural competence, and team-building. This issue brief clarifies the essential features of practice coaching and offers guidance for health system leaders, public and private insurers, and federal and state policymakers on how best to structure and design these programs in primary care settings. Good-quality evidence demonstrates that practice coaching is effective. The authors argue that primary care delivery in the United States would benefit from a more systematic approach to the training and deployment of primary care practice coaches.
Posted in READ Portal, Reports & Papers | Tagged with Patient-centered care, Primary health care, Quality improvement, Quality of care | No Comments
June 13, 2012
Summary:
Many doctors aspire to excellence in diagnosing disease. Far fewer, unfortunately, aspire to the same standards of excellence in diagnosing patients’ preferences for their care. Because doctors are rarely made aware of an erroneous preference diagnosis, it could be called ‘the silent misdiagnosis’. Misdiagnosing patients’ preferences may be less obvious than misdiagnosing disease, but the consequences for the patient can be just as severe.
Posted in READ Portal, Reports & Papers | Tagged with Disease management, Patient satisfaction, Quality of care | No Comments
June 12, 2012
Abstract:
Although the general hospital remains an important place for stabilizing crises, most services for mental illnesses are provided in outpatient/community settings. In the absence of comprehensive data at the community level, data that are routinely collected from general hospitals can provide insights on the performance of mental health services for people living with mental illness or poor mental health. This article describes three new indicators that provide a snapshot on the performance of the mental health system in Canada: self-injury hospitalization rate, 30-day readmission rate for mental illness and percentage of patients with repeat hospitalizations for mental illness. Findings suggest a need for the early detection and treatment of mental illnesses and for optimal transitions between general hospitals and community services.
Posted in Journal Articles, READ Portal | Tagged with Canada, Mental health, Statistics & numerical data | No Comments
June 11, 2012
Background:
Wait time targets are controversial since some claim that the push for improved efficiency could compromise patient safety. On the other hand, spending long hours waiting for care in an ED has itself been shown to have safety risks. We tested the question of whether ED patients, who arrived during a shift when a greater percentage of all ED patients seen on that shift met their respective MOHLTC ED LOS targets, had a lower risk of mortality or hospital admission in the 7 days following ED discharge. We looked only at outcomes among patients discharged from the ED, since subsequent outcomes among admitted patients could be due to in-patient, as opposed to ED, care.
Posted in READ Portal, Reports & Papers | Tagged with Canada, Hospitals, Wait lists | No Comments
June 8, 2012
This is the sixth issue of Patient Safety Papers, published by Longwoods. The first five issues, published since 2005, presented reports on research studies, demonstration projects and leading practices from organizations across Canada. In this issue, we assess our progress and examine the future. To do so, we asked a selection of patient safety experts from across this country to reflect on critical patient safety initiatives in specific domains.
Articles in this issue cover various aspects of patient safety, including:
- The use of reporting systems to enhance organizational learning and create safer systems
- How teamwork and communication can contribute to patient safety events
Posted in Journal Articles, READ Portal | Tagged with Canada, Hospitals, Quality of care, Safety | No Comments
June 7, 2012
More than 4 million people in England with a long-term physical health condition also have mental health problems, and many of them experience significantly poorer health outcomes and reduced quality of life as a result. In terms of NHS spending, at least £1 in every £8 spent on long-term conditions is linked to poor mental health and well-being – between £8 billion and £13 billion in England each year.
Posted in READ Portal, Reports & Papers | Tagged with Chronic disease, Mental health, Primary health care | No Comments
June 6, 2012
Abstract:
Abstract: The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009 that was signed into law as part of the “stimulus package” represents the largest US initiative to date that is designed to encourage widespread use of electronic health records (EHRs). In light of the changes anticipated from this policy initiative, the purpose of this paper is to review and summarize the literature on the benefits and drawbacks of EHR systems. Much of the literature has focused on key EHR functionalities, including clinical decision support systems, computerized order entry systems, and health information exchange. Our paper describes the potential benefits of EHRs that include clinical outcomes (eg, improved quality, reduced medical errors), organizational outcomes (eg, financial and operational benefits), and societal outcomes (eg, improved ability to conduct research, improved population health, reduced costs). Despite these benefits, studies in the literature highlight drawbacks associated with EHRs, which include the high upfront acquisition costs, ongoing maintenance costs, and disruptions to workflows that contribute to temporary losses in productivity that are the result of learning a new system. Moreover, EHRs are associated with potential perceived privacy concerns among patients, which are further addressed legislatively in the HITECH Act. Overall, experts and policymakers believe that significant benefits to patients and society can be realized when EHRs are widely adopted and used in a “meaningful” way.
Posted in Journal Articles, READ Portal | Tagged with Information technology, Medical records | No Comments
June 5, 2012
Health Council of Canada. (2012). Progress Report 2012: Health care renewal in Canada. Retrieved from http://healthcouncilcanada.ca/tree/ProgressReport2012_FINAL_EN.pdf Monitoring progress on the accords—the 2003 First Ministers’ Accord on Health Care Renewal1 and the 2004 10-Year Plan to Strengthen Health Care2—is a key element of the Health Council of Canada’s mandate. But the challenge is to determine how […]
Posted in 2014 Health Accord, READ Portal, Reports & Papers | Tagged with Canada, Health care reform, Indicators, Policy, Primary health care | No Comments
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