COMUNICATION AND PATIENT SAFETY: PERCEPTION OF THE NURSING STAFF OF A TEACHING HOSPITAL

Objective To assess knowledge of healthcare professionals about capture and reproduction of images of patients in a hospital setting. Methods A cross-sectional and observational study among 360 healthcare professionals (nursing staff, physical therapists, and physicians), working at a teaching hospital in the city of São Paulo (SP). A questionnaire with sociodemographic information was distributed and data were correlated to capture and reproduction of images at hospitals. Results Of the 360 respondents, 142 had captured images of patients in the last year, and 312 reported seeing other professionals taking photographs of patients. Of the participants who captured images, 61 said they used them for studies and presentation of clinical cases, and 168 professionals reported not knowing of any legislation in the Brazilian Penal Code regarding collection and use of images. Conclusion There is a gap in the training of healthcare professionals regarding the use of patient´s images. It is necessary to include subjects that address this theme in the syllabus of undergraduate courses, and the healthcare organizations should regulate this issue.

Download Full-text

Performance Evaluation of an Information Technology Intervention Regarding Charging for Inpatient Medical Materials at a Regional Teaching Hospital in Taiwan: Empirical Study

JMIR mhealth and uhealth ◽

10.2196/16381 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. e16381 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Min-Chi Liao ◽

I-Chun Lin

Keyword(s):

Information System ◽

Teaching Hospital ◽

Nursing Staff ◽

User Satisfaction ◽

Work Performance ◽

Target System ◽

System Quality ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Medical Materials ◽

The Impact

Background The process of manually recording the consumption of medical materials can be time consuming and prone to omission owing to its detailed and complicated nature. Implementing an information system will better improve work performance. Objective The Information System Success Model was adopted as the theoretical foundation. The opinions of nursing staff were collected to verify the impact of the system intervention on their work performance. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at a regional teaching hospital. Nursing staff were invited to participate in the field survey. A total of 296 questionnaires were collected, and of these, 284 (95.9%) were valid and returned. Results The key findings showed that two critical factors (“subjective norm” and “system quality”) had significant positive effects (both P<.001) on user satisfaction (R2=0.709). The path of “service quality” to “user satisfaction” showed marginal significance (P=.08) under the 92% CI. Finally, the explanatory power of the model reached 68.9%. Conclusions Support from the top management, appointment of a nurse supervisor as the change agent, recruitment of seed members to establish a pioneer team, and promotion of the system through the influence of opinion leaders in small groups were critical success factors needed for implementing the system in the case hospital. The target system was proven to be able to improve work performance, and the time saved could be further used for patient care, thereby increasing the value of nursing work. The positive experiences gained from this study could lay the foundation for the further promotion of the new system, and this is for future studies to replicate. The example of the successful experience of the case hospital could also serve as a reference for other hospitals in developing countries like Taiwan with regard to the promotion of nursing informatization.

Download Full-text

The quality of handover on an inpatient psychiatric unit - information is key!

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjo.2021.496 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (S1) ◽

pp. S183-S183

Author(s):

Emma Davies ◽

Ijeoma Enemo-Okonkwo

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Nursing Staff ◽

Current Issue ◽

Improve Patient Safety ◽

Quality Care ◽

Limited Information ◽

Psychiatric Unit ◽

Trainee Doctor ◽

Inpatient Psychiatric Unit

AimsTo study the quality of handover, between nursing staff and doctors, on an inpatient psychiatric unit.Effective handover between professionals is vital to ensure the accurate transfer of useful information to enable quality care and patient safety.Implementation of a handover tool has been shown to improve patient safety, especially when used to structure communication over the phone.Feedback at trainee doctor forums highlighted insufficient handover from nursing staff whilst on-call, a problem which prompted further exploration.MethodStandards were developed for the expected quality of handover, consisting of a set of criteria for the minimum information required to ensure a safe and effective handover, stemming from the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) approach, with adequate identification of patients, clear communication of the current situation and relevant details.In an inpatient psychiatric setting, telephone calls to the on-call doctor were recorded for a two-week period, documenting whether key information was communicated.ResultTotal number of calls to on-call doctor recorded: 68. The patients name was given in 49% and the ID number in just 10%. Both relevant diagnosis/history and NEWS score was provided in 18%. However, the current issue and recommendation was given in 90% and 95% respectively.ConclusionThe results thus far demonstrate a lack of structure and often limited information delivered in handover from nursing staff to the on-call doctor. This leads to difficulties in prioritisation, identifying the urgency of the situation and inefficiencies, as time is spent requesting further information which is not readily available.After nursing colleagues were made aware, results from a further two-week period, from 65 total calls, demonstrated some improvement. Patient name given in 51%, ID number in 18%, relevant diagnosis/history in 12%, NEWS score in 17%, current issue in 92% and recommendation in 51%. It is clear that with marginal improvement, there remains a problem which we aim to address by collaborating further with senior nursing leads whilst implementing a succinct handover proforma. It is likely that with COVID-19 as the priority on the agenda this past year, quality improvement projects such as this has not been the main focus. We hope that we will be able to implement these changes in the coming months.

Download Full-text

O10 A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the introduction of ‘smart’ syringe pumps into a paediatric intensive care unit

Archives of Disease in Childhood ◽

10.1136/archdischild-2019-nppc.10 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 104 (7) ◽

pp. e2.2-e2

Author(s):

Nurain Binti Abu Hasan ◽

Andrew Wignell

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Data Collection ◽

Nursing Staff ◽

New Technology ◽

Objective Assessment ◽

Qualitative Evaluation ◽

Infusion Pumps ◽

Library Use ◽

Smart Pumps ◽

Set Up

AimInfusion pumps are commonly used to administer medicines by intravenous infusion. Traditionally, pumps are programmed by simply entering the required number of millilitres (mL) per hour, and there has been no mechanism whereby the pump can alert the operator to a programming error e.g. the wrong mL/hour rate being entered.More recently, ‘smart’ infusion pumps have become available which have in-built drug libraries. For each drug, defined dosing limits are set. Users are required to reconfirm the selected infusion rate when ‘soft’ limits are overridden and the infusion cannot be commenced if ‘hard’ limits are exceeded. Soft and hard limits can also be set for the administration of boluses from continuous infusions. This study aimed to evaluate the introduction of smart syringe pumps into a UK PICU by objective assessment of compliance with drug library use, and by obtaining direct feedback from nursing staff.MethodsData was collected over a 4 week period, immediately following the introduction of new Alaris CC smart syringe pumps. Objective assessment of drug library use utilised a piloted data collection form. One form was completed for each infusion running at the time of daily data collection. The prescription, syringe label, and programmed pump parameters were checked for each infusion and any discrepancies noted. Where the drug library was not being used, reasons for non-use were recorded. Nursing views on the benefits and potential risks of the new smart syringe pumps were determined through individual and group interviews, each following the same pre-prepared format.Results79 individual drug infusions were observed. 4 (5%) were being given without using the drug library, i.e. just in terms of mL/hour; in all cases, the explanation was the fact that the drug was not included in the library. 73 (92%) of the infusions observed were continuous, the remainder intermittent. 13 nurses were interviewed: the unanimous view was that the new smart pumps improved patient safety. One nurse described a situation where the smart pump had prevented a 10-fold paracetamol overdose. Many nurses commented that pre-defined sedation boluses were a definite patient-safety benefit, both in terms of preventing incorrect dosing or the bolusing of the wrong drug. Nurses, in general, felt that the safety benefits of smart pumps applied equally to intermittent and continuous infusions. Nurses found the drug libraries easy to use, and whilst infusion set-up may take marginally longer with the drug libraries than without, this was offset by patient safety benefits. It was noted that the longer time taken to programme the pumps may diminish as familiarity increases. A small number of minor issues with the drug library were identified through nursing feedback, though none of them were patient-safety critical. This has allowed the drug library to be modified before the same pumps are also introduced to general wards across the Children’s Hospital.ConclusionThe drug libraries in the new smart syringe pumps were being routinely and correctly used throughout the study period. Nursing staff had embraced the new technology, seeing clear patient safety benefits.

Download Full-text

Development and Validation of the Patient Safety Perception Scale for hospitalized Patients

Korean Journal of Adult Nursing ◽

10.7475/kjan.2018.30.4.404 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 404 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kyung Ja Kim ◽

Eun Hee Lee ◽

Sun Hwa Shin

Keyword(s):

Patient Safety ◽

Hospitalized Patients ◽

Safety Perception ◽

Development And Validation

Download Full-text

Cost of nursing turnover in a Teaching Hospital

Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP ◽

10.1590/s0080-623420160000100014 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 50 (1) ◽

pp. 101-108 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Paula Buck de Oliveira Ruiz ◽

Marcia Galan Perroca ◽

Marli de Carvalho Jericó

Keyword(s):

Teaching Hospital ◽

Nursing Staff ◽

Southeastern Brazil ◽

Cost Calculation ◽

Average Salary ◽

Nursing Turnover ◽

Hiring Process ◽

Calculation Methodology ◽

The Cost

Abstract OBJECTIVE To map the sub processes related to turnover of nursing staff and to investigate and measure the nursing turnover cost. METHOD This is a descriptive-exploratory study, classified as case study, conducted in a teaching hospital in the southeastern, Brazil, in the period from May to November 2013. The population was composed by the nursing staff, using Nursing Turnover Cost Calculation Methodology. RESULTS The total cost of turnover was R$314.605,62, and ranged from R$2.221,42 to R$3.073,23 per employee. The costs of pre-hire totaled R$101.004,60 (32,1%), and the hiring process consumed R$92.743,60 (91.8%) The costs of post-hire totaled R$213.601,02 (67,9%), for the sub process decreased productivity, R$199.982,40 (93.6%). CONCLUSION The study identified the importance of managing the cost of staff turnover and the financial impact of the cost of the employee termination, which represented three times the average salary of the nursing staff.

Download Full-text