Reducing pre-operative length of stay for enterocutaneous fistula repair with a multi-disciplinary approach

"We started this project with the aim of reducing the pre-operative length of stay for assessment of complex surgical patients in a tertiary-referral centre. Through the instigation of a weekly multi-disciplinary team meeting and a formalised patient pathway including referral process, we have demonstrated a reduction in length of stay from 30.1 to 5.7 days that would result in an annual saving of over £177,000 on bed-day costs alone."

Reducing pre-operative length of stay for enterocutaneous fistula repair with a multi-disciplinary approach
M Chamberlain, R Dwyer
BMJ Quality Improvement Reports 2015;4: doi:10.1136/bmjquality.u204075.w1773

Read more here.

Integrated health and social care in England

"This briefing paper is part of a series of RCN documents examining the policies and practical arrangements surrounding the integration of health and social care."

Integrated health and social care in England: the story so far
Royal College of Nursing
May 2014

Read more here.

Patient blood management recommendations

"This document provides initial recommendations from the National Blood Transfusion Committee about how the NHS should start implementing Patient Blood Management, which is a multi-disciplinary, evidence-based approach to optimising the care of patients who might need blood transfusion." 

Patient Blood Management An evidence-based approach to patient care
National Blood Transfusion Committee
June 2014

Read more here.

What are the safety risks for patients undergoing treatment by multiple specialties

"More research is needed to gain insight into the underlying causes of inadequate care when multiple specialties are required to treat a patient."

What are the safety risks for patients undergoing treatment by multiple specialties: a retrospective patient record review study
RJ Baines, MC de Bruijne, M Langelaan, C Wagner
BMC Health Services Research, 2013, 13:497

Read more here.

Barriers and facilitators to implement shared decision making in multidisciplinary sciatica care

This paper identified new barriers and facilitators for shared decision-making in the multidisciplinary care of sciatica and proposes that an effective implementation of SDM in a multidisciplinary setting should focus on these.

Barriers and facilitators to implement shared decision making in multidisciplinary sciatica care: a qualitative study
SN Hofstede, PJ de Mheen, MM Wentink, AM Stiggelbout, CLA Vleggeert-Lankamp, TPM Vlieland, L van Bodegom-Vos
Implementation Science, 2013, 8:95

Read more here.