Improving the quality of the surgical preoperative assessment in a district general hospital

"The interventions described proved to be cheap and effective methods of improving the quality of the preoperative assessment, bringing it in line with the anaesthetic assessment and reducing the risk of same day cancellations."

Improving the quality of the surgical preoperative assessment in a district general hospital
J Koris, C Hopkins
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u205381.w3406

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Are patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer getting appropriate DEXA scans

"We have achieved a large improvement in the quality of assessment of bone quality in breast cancer patients. Moreover, we have demonstrated the importance of the dissemination of information and education within a multidisciplinary setting."

Are patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer getting appropriate DEXA scans? A District General Hospital experience
H Dong, P Dayananda, SA Preece, A Carmichael
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u209414.w3856

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Falls in older people - NICE quality standard

"This quality standard covers assessment after a fall and preventing further falls (secondary prevention) in older people living in the community and during a hospital stay. Secondary prevention focuses on interventions targeted at older people with a history of falls."

Falls in older people: assessment after a fall and preventing further falls
NICE quality standard [QS86]
March 2015

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Improving pain assessment and managment in stroke patients

"After introducing the Abbey pain scale and creating a nurse advocate, an improvement was shown such that only 5% of patients did not have their pain recorded and all had adequate pain relief."

Improving pain assessment and managment in stroke patients
J Nesbitt, S Moxham, G Ramadurai, L Williams
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u203375.w3105

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Tool to improve the speed, efficiency, and documentation of physical examination in new psychiatric inpatients

"The baseline measurement from this audit demonstrates a clear failure to meet audit standards regarding the physical examination of psychiatric inpatients. When reviewing the patient admission clerkings, it was clearly evident that there was no standardised approach to the documentation of physical examination in patients' medical records."

The psychiatric inpatient physical health assessment sheet (PIPHAS): a useful tool to improve the speed, efficiency, and documentation of physical examination in new psychiatric inpatients
A Pettipher, R Ovens
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u206294.w2558

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Improving patient flow in pre-operative assessment

"This improvement project sought to decrease waiting times for patients at a pre-operative assessment service at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, and to increase the proportion of patients who were seen on the same day as the decision to operate was made."

Improving patient flow in pre-operative assessment
C Stark, A Gent, L Kirkland
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u201341.w1226

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Measuring patient experience

"This evidence scan describes approaches to measuring patient and carer experiences of healthcare."

Measuring patient experience: Evidence Scan 18
The Evidence Centre
The Health Foundation
June 2013

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Falls prevention in older people

"This guideline updates and replaces 'Falls' (NICE clinical guideline 21)."

Falls: assessment and prevention of falls in older people
NICE Clinical Guideline 161
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
June 2013

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Provider-level risk-adjusted quality measurement for inpatient rehabilitation facilities

"This report should be of interest to researchers involved either in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF) or the development of IRF quality reports or in outcomes studies that require risk adjustment."

Provider-level risk-adjusted quality measurement for inpatient rehabilitation facilities
AW Dick, PJ Huckfeldt, H Liu, H Yu, A Mehrotra, SL Lovejoy, JS Ashwood
RAND Corporation
2012

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Assessing value in health care programs

"Programs designed to improve health and prevent disease should be evaluated based on whether they improve health at a reasonable price, essentially comparing whether improvements in health are achieved for less resources than through alternatives, eg, expenditures on health care services."

Assessing value in health care programs
KG Volpp, G Loewenstein, DA Asch
Journal of the American Medical Association, 2012, 307(2):2153-2154

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An evaluation of the use of performance measures in health care

The study addressed the following four overarching questions, with subtopics listed below each
question:

1. How are performance measures being used in practice?
2. What factors are influencing measure use?
3. What types of system changes have occurred as a result of measure use?
4. What improvement areas could facilitate the use of standardized endorsed performance measures by various end users?

An evaluation of the use of performance measures in health care
CL Damberg, ME Sorbero, SL Lovejoy, K Lauderdale, S Wertheimer, A Smith, D Waxman, C Schnyer
National Quality Forum, RAND Corporation
December 2011

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Patient safety competency assessment

"This review aims to identify the available assessment tools for different patient safety domains and evaluate them according to Miller’s four competency levels."

Assessing the patient safety competencies of healthcare professionals: a systematic review
A Okuyama, K Martowirono, B Bijnen
BMJ Quality and Safety, 2011, 20(11):991-1000

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