How are allied health notes used for inpatient care and clinical decision-making? A qualitative exploration of the views of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tilley Pain ◽  
Gail Kingston ◽  
Janet Askern ◽  
Rebecca Smith ◽  
Sandra Phillips ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Inpatient Care ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Effective Transfer

Background: Inpatient care is dependent upon the effective transfer of clinical information across multiple professions. However, documented patient clinical information generated by different professions is not always successfully transferred between them. One obstacle to successful information transfer may be the reader’s perception of the information, which is framed in a particular professional context, rather than the information per se. Objective: The aim of this research was to investigate how different health professionals perceive allied health documentation and to investigate how clinicians of all experience levels across medicine, nursing and allied health perceive and use allied health notes to inform their decision-making and treatment of patients. Method: The study used a qualitative approach. A total of 53 speech pathologists, nurses, doctors, occupational therapists, dieticians and social workers (8 males; 43 females) from an Australian regional tertiary hospital participated in eleven single discipline focus groups, conducted over 4 months in 2012. Discussions were recorded and transcribed verbatim and coded into themes by content analysis. Findings: Six themes contributing to the efficacy of clinical information transference emerged from the data: day-to-day care, patient function, discharge and discharge planning, impact of busy workloads, format and structure of allied health documentation and a holistic approach to patient care. Discussion: Other professions read and used allied health notes albeit with differences in focus and need. Readers searched for specific pieces of information to answer their own questions and professional needs, in a process akin to purposive sampling. Staff used allied health notes to explore specific aspects of patient function but did not obtain a holistic picture. Conclusion: Improving both the relationship between the various health professions and interpretation of other professions’ documented clinical information may reduce the frequency of communication errors, thereby improving patient care.

COURTS LET UTILIZATION REVIEW FIRMS OFF THE HOOK—AND LEAVE DOCTORS ON

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 92 (4) ◽  
pp. A80-A80
Author(s):  
J. F. L.
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Patient Management ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Direct Patient Care ◽  
Utilization Review ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Malpractice Suit ◽  
The Right ◽  
Better Than

One of the most striking—and disturbing—changes under way in medicine is the rapid erosion of the physician's authority for managing the patient. More and more allied health professionals and organizations such as HMOs and PPOs clamor for the right to direct patient care. Yet when it comes to assuming some of the risk for malpractice suits, these groups want the burden to remain entirely on the doctor. Another claimant to knowing better than doctors what patients need: the utilization review firm. UR companies have made doctors' lives miserable by denying hospitalization, demanding earlier discharge, and generally questioning every aspect of patient management. When a malpractice suit arises, though, the UR firms all too often deny any responsibility. How? They say they're just interpreting the benefits a plan offers. This and other forms of legal hairsplitting leave the doctor holding the malpractice bag.

scholarly journals Impacts of clinical academic activity: qualitative interviews with healthcare managers and research-active nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and pharmacists

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. e050679
Author(s):  
Lisa Newington ◽  
Caroline M Alexander ◽  
Mary Wells
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Healthcare Organisation ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Academic Activity ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Positive Impacts

ObjectivesTo explore the perceived impacts of clinical academic activity among the professions outside medicine.DesignQualitative semistructured interviews.Setting and participantsThere were two groups of interviewees: Research-active nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, healthcare scientists, psychologists and pharmacists (NMAHPPs) and managers of these professions. All participants were employed in a single, multisite healthcare organisation in the UK.AnalysisInterview transcripts were analysed using the framework method to identify key themes, subthemes and areas of divergence.ResultsFour themes were identified. The first, cultural shifts, described the perceived improvements in the approach to patient care and research culture that were associated with clinical academic activity. The second theme explored visibility and included the positive reputation that clinical academics were identified as bringing to the organisation in contrast with perceived levels of invisibility and inaccessibility of these roles. The third theme identified the impacts of the clinical academic pathways, including the precarity of these roles. The final theme explored making impact tangible, and described interviewees’ suggestions of possible methods to record and demonstrate impact.ConclusionsPerceived positive impacts of NMAHPP clinical academic activity focused on interlinked positive changes for patients and clinical teams. This included delivery of evidence-based healthcare, patient involvement in clinical decision making and improved staff recruitment and retention. However, the positive impacts of clinical academic activity often centred around individual clinicians and did not necessarily translate throughout the organisation. The current clinical academic pathway was identified as causing tension between the perceived value of clinical academic activity and the need to find sufficient staffing to cover clinical services.

Should Australia's hospitals be reviewing the use of research in patient care by nurses, managers and allied health professionals? - A systematic review of recent evidence

2003 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hedley Peach
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Allied Health ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Remedial Strategies ◽  
Use Of Research

Recently published studies were systematically reviewed to determine whether use of research in clinical practice bynurses, managers and allied health professionals in hospitals is currently sub-optimal, the factors influencing this andpossible remedial strategies. The better studies confirmed that use of appropriate research is currently sub-optimal. Thenature of the research and access to it is partly responsible for this. However, adoption of research findings is alsocurrently hindered by factors inherent in hospitals and by the skills and attitudes of potential users of the research.Numerous remedial strategies have been suggested and hospitals could take responsibility for implementing many ofthem. However, most have yet to be evaluated. Studies into the use of research findings by nurses, managers and alliedhealth professionals in Australian hospitals and trials of remedial strategies are recommended.

Managing anaphylaxis in adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (19) ◽  
pp. 1118-1122
Author(s):  
Sam Curry
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Allergic Reaction ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Multidisciplinary Team ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Subsequent Treatment ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Allied Health Professionals ◽  
Life Threatening

Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. The recognition and treatment of anaphylaxis remains complex and an area of continued professional development for health professionals. Prompt recognition of anaphylaxis and its subsequent treatment and management by the multidisciplinary team, including nurses and allied health professionals, is key as this increases the patient's chances of survival. Evidence-based clinical information on managing anaphylaxis will enable health professionals to provide safer patient care.

Debates in Dysphagia Management: How Do You Use Evidence-Based Practice in Your Dysphagia Patient Care?

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 121-123
Author(s):  
Jeri A. Logemann
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Clinical Outcomes ◽  
Clinical Judgment ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Evidence Based Practice ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Clinical Method ◽  
Do So

Evidence-based practice requires astute clinicians to blend our best clinical judgment with the best available external evidence and the patient's own values and expectations. Sometimes, we value one more than another during clinical decision-making, though it is never wise to do so, and sometimes other factors that we are unaware of produce unanticipated clinical outcomes. Sometimes, we feel very strongly about one clinical method or another, and hopefully that belief is founded in evidence. Some beliefs, however, are not founded in evidence. The sound use of evidence is the best way to navigate the debates within our field of practice.

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