The State of the Science of health care epidemiology, infection control, and patient safety, 2004

BACKGROUND: Health-care safety focuses on improving patient’s and worker’s safety in a safe working clinics’ environment and prevent infection transmission including droplet infections as seasonal influenza and novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Dental health-care personnel (DHCP) are the target of safety measures and are themselves responsible for elimination of preventable harm. Dental schools are expected to demonstrate the model for quality safe care. AIM: This study aims to achieve high-quality safe dental care at dental clinics, Faculty of Dentistry, Cairo University. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted at two Dental Outpatient Clinics, Cairo University. Disk review of policies, observation checklists for practices and awareness questionnaires of DHCP were used. RESULTS: DHCP showed good awareness for most of infection control (IC) and X-ray safety items. However, there are no policies or procedures to control droplet infections in the clinics. The clinics were closed in the current COVID-19 pandemic. There were poor patient safety practices, hand hygiene compliance, and personal protective equipment (PPE) use except for protecting clothes and disposable gloves. Students showed better compliance for patient safety guidelines. Other safety policies were poorly communicated. CONCLUSION: There should be preparedness plan to deal with any droplet infection outbreak, epidemic or pandemic as COVID-19 in all dental settings. There is a need to initiate dental safety unit in dental schools to implement, communicate, train, and supervise all dental safety practices including infection control.

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Closing the Quality Gap: Revisiting the State of the Science (Vol. 1: Bundled Payment: Effects on Health Care Spending and Quality)

10.23970/ahrqepcerta208.1 ◽

2012 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Peter S Hussey ◽

Andrew W Mulcahy ◽

Christopher Schnyer ◽

Eric C Schneider

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

The State ◽

Health Care Spending ◽

Bundled Payment ◽

State Of The Science

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STATE OF HEALTHCARE QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan Journal of Public Health ◽

10.32413/pjph.v6i4.3 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 1-4

Author(s):

Mairaj Shah ◽

Shagufta Perveen

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Patient Safety ◽

Quality Care ◽

Healthcare Quality ◽

The State ◽

Health Staff ◽

National Healthcare ◽

Policies And Procedures ◽

National Quality ◽

Quality And Patient Safety

Many low and middle income countries have developed their own national accreditation standards and accreditation systems for regulating and improving the quality of healthcare services. Healthcare quality is deï¬ned as the degree to which health services to individuals and populations increases the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge. This paper attempts to assess the state of Pakistan's healthcare quality and patient safety in a structured way using Donabedian's model. Some of the key speciï¬c challenges identiï¬ed for Pakistan's healthcare quality initiatives are lack of national healthcare accreditation system and integrated national guidelines, policies and procedures on healthcare quality and patient safety. Lack of national quality care indicators. Absence of an organizational culture that holds people accountable and lack of pre-service and in-service training for health staff in quality care management and leadership with little contextual research on quality care initiatives. Possible ways to improve the state of health care quality in Pakistan may include (i) up gradation and implementation of policies and procedures that regulate quality and patient safety issues in healthcare settings across the country (ii) introduction of a national healthcare accreditation programme across the nation (iii) development of networks and consortia between public and private sectors in Pakistan (iv) capacity building of health care professionals in quality and patient safety (v) Formulation of quality improvement teams at national and provincial level (vi) development of a culture of accountability and ownership (vii) learning from experiences of other countries and implementation quality care tools and locally validated indicators.

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Health Care-Associated Infection Prevention and Control: Pharmacists' Role in Meeting National Patient Safety Goal 7

Hospital Pharmacy ◽

10.1310/hpj4405-401 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 44 (5) ◽

pp. 401-411 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Allison V. Tauman ◽

Ari Robicsek ◽

Joyce Roberson ◽

John M. Boyce

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Patient Safety ◽

Infection Control ◽

Antimicrobial Stewardship ◽

Improve Patient Safety ◽

Antibiotic Use ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Potential Cost ◽

Large Hospital ◽

Hospital System

Health care-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance are continually increasing, with fewer drugs available for effective treatment. Potential benefits of infection control and antimicrobial stewardship programs include improvements in antibiotic use and conversion from intravenous (IV) to oral antibiotics and reductions in resistance and infection rates and length of hospital stay. NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Illinois, was the first large hospital system in North America that adopted universal inpatient surveillance for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Results showed that nasal MRSA was a powerful predictor of MRSA disease and antibiotic resistance in other organisms. MRSA infections occurring up to 30 days posthospitalization decreased by approximately 70%. At the Hospital of Saint Raphael, a community teaching hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, an antimicrobial stewardship pilot program focused on automatic conversation from IV to oral antimicrobials and appropriate antimicrobial use. The percentage of patients receiving oral fluconazole increased from 63% to 77%; the percentage of those receiving oral linezolid increased from 54% to 71%. Total antibiotic use decreased by 6%. Based on the 60-day trial, potential cost savings were estimated as $874,000 annually, less the cost of a pharmacist's salary and benefits. Infection control and antimicrobial stewardship programs offer pharmacists new opportunities for helping improve patient safety and quality of care. Pharmacy-medical staff partnership, combined with support from microbiology, infection control, information technology, and hospital administration, is key to a successful program.

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When and Why Health Care Personnel Respond to a Disaster: The State of the Science

Prehospital and Disaster Medicine ◽

10.1017/s1049023x14000387 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 270-274 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Susan B. Connor

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Emergency Response ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Mass Casualty ◽

The State ◽

Health Care Personnel ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Publication Type ◽

State Of The Science

AbstractObjectiveEmergency response relies on the assumption that essential health care services will continue to operate and be available to provide quality patient care during and after a patient surge. The observed successes and failures of health care systems during recent mass-casualty events and the concern that these assumptions are not evidence based prompted this review.MethodThe aims of this systematic review were to explore the factors associated with the intention of health care personnel (HCP) to respond to uncommon events, such as a natural disaster or pandemic, determine the state of the science, and bolster evidence-based measures that have been shown to facilitate staff response.ResultsAuthors of the 70 studies (five mixed-methods, 49 quantitative, 16 qualitative) that met inclusion criteria reported a variety of variables that influenced the intent of HCP to respond. Current evidence suggests that four primary factors emerged as either facilitating or hindering the willingness of HCP to respond to an event: (1) the nature of the event; (2) competing obligations; (3) the work environment and climate; and (4) the relationship between knowledge and perceptions of efficacy.ConclusionsFindings of this study could influence and strengthen policy making by emergency response planners, staffing coordinators, health educators, and health system administrators.ConnorSB. When and why health care personnel respond to a disaster: the state of the science. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(3):1-5.

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