An audit of medicines information quality in electronically generated discharge summaries - evidence to meet the Australian National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 355-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice V. Gilbert ◽  
Bhavini K. Patel ◽  
Michael S. Roberts ◽  
Desmond B. Williams ◽  
Jackie H. Crofton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Medicines Information ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Service Standards ◽  
Discharge Summaries

Discharge communication from inpatient care: an audit of written medical discharge summary procedure against the new National Health Service Standard for clinical handover

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Brooks Reid ◽  
Shaun R. Parsons ◽  
Stephen D. Gill ◽  
Andrew J. Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Discharge Summary ◽  
Junior Doctors ◽  
Department Heads ◽  
Clinical Handover ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Service Standards ◽  
Discharge Summaries ◽  
Summary Procedure

Objective To audit written medical discharge summary procedure and practice against Standard Six (clinical handover) of the Australian National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards at a major regional Victorian health service. Methods Department heads were invited to complete a questionnaire about departmental discharge summary practices. Results Twenty-seven (82%) department heads completed the questionnaire. Seven (26%) departments had a documented discharge summary procedure. Fourteen (52%) departments monitored discharge summary completion and 13 (48%) departments monitored the timeliness of completion. Seven (26%) departments informed the patient of the content of the discharge summary and six (22%) departments provided the patient with a copy. Seven (26%) departments provided training for staff members on how to complete discharge summaries. Completing discharge summaries was usually delegated to the medical intern. Conclusions The introduction of the National Service Standards prompted an organisation-wide audit of discharge summary practices against the external criterion. There was substantial variation in the organisation’s practices. The Standards and the current audit results highlight an opportunity for the organisation to enhance and standardise discharge summary practices and improve communication with general practice. What is known about the topic? The Australian National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (Standard 6) require health service organisations to implement documented systems that support structured and effective clinical handover. Discharge summaries are an important and often the only form of communication during a patient’s transition from hospital to the community. Incomplete, inaccurate and unavailable discharge summaries are common and expose patients to greater health risks. Junior staff members find completing discharge summaries difficult and fail to receive appropriate education or support. There is little published evidence regarding the discharge summary practices of inpatient health services. What does this paper add? The paper demonstrates that there is substantial variation in practice regarding discharge summaries in a large regional health service. Departments have different processes and vary in the degree of attention and quality assurance provided to discharge summaries. Variable organisation procedures make completing discharge summaries more difficult for junior doctors, who regularly move between departments. Variable practice is likely to increase the risk of absent, untimely, incomplete or incorrect communication between acute and community services, thereby reducing the quality of patient care. It is likely that similar findings would be found in other hospitals. What are the implications for practitioners? To be accredited under the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards, health organisations must ensure that adequate processes are in place for safe and effective clinical handover. Organisations should reduce the practice variability by standardising processes, monitoring compliance with processes, and training and supporting junior doctors.

Accreditation of Australian dental practices: Does the low number of reported breaches of patient safety justify the rejection of accreditation?

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-106
Author(s):  
Gillian Jean
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Dental Treatment ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Dental Practice ◽  
Dental Patient ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Dental Practices ◽  
Service Standards

Here, our current knowledge of the occurrence of errors during dental treatment in Australia, and whether the Australian National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (Standards) are likely to have an impact in reducing the incidence of errors, is examined. This article is the first critical evaluation of the Standards as they apply to private dental practice in Australia, and therefore contributes to the building of an accreditation scheme that will improve dental patient safety.

The critical role of nurses to the successful implementation of the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane E. Twigg ◽  
Christine Duffield ◽  
Gemma Evans
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Hospital Performance ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Skill Mix ◽  
National Quality ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Service Standards

The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards requires health service compliance by 2013 and covers several areas including governance arrangements, partnerships with consumers and eight key clinical processes. Nurses in Australia comprise 62% of the hospital workforce, are the largest component and hence play a critical role in meeting these standards and improving the quality of patient care. Several of the standards are influenced by nursing interventions, which incorporate any direct-care treatment that the nurse performs for a patient that may be nurse or physician initiated. The ability for nurses to undertake these interventions is influenced by the hours of care available, the skill mix of the nursing workforce and the environment in which they practice. Taking into consideration the predicted nursing shortages, the challenge to successfully implement the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards will be great. This paper examines the role of nursing in the delivery of the National Standards, analyses the evidence with regard to nursing-sensitive outcomes and discusses the implications for health service decision makers and policy. What is known about the topic? The National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards have been endorsed for implementation by the Australian Health Ministers. Compliance with the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards is required by Health Services in 2013. Nurses play a critical role in providing high-quality patient care and meeting accreditation standards. A decline in nursing standards is associated with inadequate staffing levels and skill mix and a lack of effective leadership and results in an increase in patient mortality. What does this paper add? The role of nurses in achieving compliance with the standards is discussed. We demonstrate that the capacity for nurses to undertake interventions is influenced by prevailing workforce characteristics. Significant nursing shortages have been identified as possible challenges to successfully implementing the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards. What are the implications for practitioners? Practitioners need to review nursing hours of care, skill mix and the practice environment as part of the actions required to achieve the National Quality and Safety Standards. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has the opportunity to take the lead by including such indicators in the measurement of hospital performance.

scholarly journals KEKUATAN HUKUM PELIMPAHAN WEWENANG DARI DOKTER KEPADA NERS DITINJAU DARI ASPEK PIDANA DAN PERDATA

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Aning Pattypeilohy ◽  
Sutarno Sutarno ◽  
Adriano Adriano
Keyword(s):  
Health Service ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health Worker ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
Delegation Of Authority ◽  
Legal Problems ◽  
Standard Operating ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Service Standards

This study aims to provide an overview of the power of law in the delegation of authority from the doctor to ners both in writing and not written. In performing health services, especially in performing medical acts, it is necessary to transfer the authority of medical personnel to health personnel in order to create a comprehensive and quality health service, this has been regulated in related legislation. Ners is a profession professional and independent, in carrying out its professional duties ners work in accordance with service standards, standard operating procedures and the provisions of the Act-legislation. As a health worker, the ners may receive a delegation of authority only in writing from the doctor to him or her so that the delegate has the force of law. With the delegation of authority in health services, if there is a loss or legal problems in the future, doctors as authors and recipients of authority can be held accountable both criminal and civil.

scholarly journals Current State of ICT in Healthcare Delivery in Developing Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (08) ◽  
pp. 91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adebayo Omotosho ◽  
Peace Ayegba ◽  
Justice Emuoyibofarhe ◽  
Christoph Meinel
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Healthcare Delivery ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Health Delivery ◽  
Current State ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Information And Communication

Electronic health is one of the most popular applications of information and communication technologies and it has contributed immensely to health delivery through the provision of quality health service and ubiquitous access at a lower cost. Even though this mode of health service is increasingly becoming known or used in developing nations, these countries are faced with a myriad of challenges when implementing and deploying e-health services on both small and large scale. It is estimated that the Africa population alone carries the highest percentage of the world’s global diseases despite its certain level of e-health adoption. This paper aims at analyzing the progress so far and the current state of e-health in developing countries particularly Africa and propose a framework for further improvement.

scholarly journals P118 ‘Medicines for Children’ project: putting families and carers in the centre

2019 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. e66.2-e66
Author(s):  
E Zolotas ◽  
H Sammons ◽  
D Tuthill ◽  
C Barker ◽  
S Tomlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
List Type ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Information Leaflets ◽  
Medicines Information ◽  
Accessible Information ◽  
Service Information ◽  
Quality Health ◽  
Medicines For Children ◽  
Independent Audit

Background‘Medicines for Children’ (MfC) is a joint initiative between the children´s charity WellChild, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group. The project aim is to provide parents and carers with reliable, accurate and accessible information about their child’s medicines.MethodsIn 2006, 600 parents and carers were surveyed in order to understand what information was needed. Paediatricians, pharmacists and a medical editor then liaised with WellChild to develop a leaflet template and wrote a set of pilot leaflets. The leaflet production was subsequently standardised. An eight-step process is followed including consultation with health professionals, families and carers. The leaflet library and a series of information videos has grown, with the assistance of a dedicated group of volunteer authors. Published leaflets are reviewed every three years. Access to information is free of charge. The project is funded by the 3 partner groups and not by pharmaceutical companies.ResultsMfC hosts over 230 leaflets and videos. The MfC website1 was launched in 2009. It was subsequently reviewed by parents and carers and re-developed in 2011 and 2015. MfC has users accessing the site from every country in the world. The information leaflets have been viewed over 3 million times in 2018, up from 7,200 in 2009. In 2014, an independent audit of MfC found that over 90% of the parents surveyed thought that the leaflets had an appropriate layout and conveyed the information in lay terminology. Since 2011, MfC information leaflets have been certified by National Health Service Information Standard as providing high quality health information for the public.ConclusionMfC is a successful and acclaimed project which provides high quality, reliable and accurate medicines information worldwide for more than a decade.Referencehttps://www.medicinesforchildren.org.uk/.Disclosure(s)Nothing to disclose.

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