Análisis cultural de los ítems de dos listas de verificación quirúrgica de España y Argentina

Objective To compare the agreement between two surgical checklists implanted in two hospitals in Spain and Argentina, using the international classification for patient safety as a framework. Method This was an expert opinion study carried out using an ad hoc questionnaire in electronic format, which included 7 of the 13 categories of the international classification for patient safety. Fifteen surgical security experts from each country participated in this study by classifying the items on the checklists into the selected ICPS categories. The data were analyzed with SPSS V20 software. Results There was a greater percentage of classifications in fields related to the prevention of critical events. The category “clinical processes and procedures” was mentioned most frequently in both lists. Conclusion The implementation of the surgical safety checklist is variable. Experts considered that the Argentinian list was clearer in every dimension

Creation and Usability Testing of a Web-Based Pre-Scanning Radiology Patient Safety and History Questionnaire Set

Recent advances in technology have significantly changed radiology workflow. The main focus of these changes has been the transition from hard copy film to digital imaging. The next transition will be a “paperless” transformation. Web-based versions of the current paper-based patient safety and history questionnaires were created using PHP and MySQL. Two rounds of usability testing using volunteers were completed using tablet PCs. Volunteers were comprised of ten individuals. Ages of volunteers ranged from 27 to 60 years, and there were eight males and two females. The majority of users had at least a Master’s degree and was considered to have a computer experience level of a programmer. Eighty percent of the users agreed that the web-based questionnaires and tablet PCs were easy to use. Text input through the writing recognition window and scrolling proved to be the least usable sections of the questionnaires. The new web-based system was found to be a very usable system by our participants. The questionnaires were easy to use, easy to navigate, and easy to read. Individual elements such as radio buttons and checkboxes did not fair as well but were due to their small size. Difficulty with the writing recognition interface is an inherent issue with the Windows XP Tablet Edition operating system

Picture, Archiving and Communication System in the Italian NHS: A Primer on Diffusion and Evaluation Analysis

This contribution focuses on picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) in the Italian National Healthcare System (NHS). It finally aims to test the Chiefs Radiology Department’s perceptions about PACS along the main evaluation dimensions emerging from the literature. First, a brief review of the main literature concerning PACS evaluation leads the authors to classify the different approaches undertaken and highlight the main variables of investigation. Second, the evidence emerging from a survey is presented and discussed in the light of the literature review. The survey aims to: (a) map out the degree of PACSs diffusion and their main features in the Italian NHS; (b) verify whether and how PACS impact the dimensions analyzed in many evaluation studies carried out to date; (c) test the relationship between some measured impacts and specific PACS features

The effectiveness of service delivery initiatives at improving patients' waiting times in clinical radiology departments: a systematic review.

We reviewed the literature for the impact of service delivery initiatives (SDIs) on patients' waiting times within radiology departments. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, INSPEC and The Cochrane Library for relevant articles published between 1995 and February, 2013. The Cochrane EPOC risk of bias tool was used to assess the risk of bias on studies that met specified design criteria. Fifty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The types of SDI implemented included extended scope practice (ESP, three studies), quality management (12 studies), productivity-enhancing technologies (PETs, 29 studies), multiple interventions (11 studies), outsourcing and pay-for-performance (one study each). The uncontrolled pre- and post-intervention and the post-intervention designs were used in 54 (95%) of the studies. The reporting quality was poor: many of the studies did not test and/or report the statistical significance of their results. The studies were highly heterogeneous, therefore meta-analysis was inappropriate. The following type of SDIs showed promising results: extended scope practice; quality management methodologies including Six Sigma, Lean methodology, and continuous quality improvement; productivity-enhancing technologies including speech recognition reporting, teleradiology and computerised physician order entry systems. We have suggested improved study design and the mapping of the definitions of patient waiting times in radiology to generic timelines as a starting point for moving towards a situation where it becomes less restrictive to compare and/or pool the results of future studies in a meta-analysis