Crossover of the patient satisfaction surveys, adverse events and patient complaints for continuous improvement in radiotherapy department.

Objective: The patient's needs and expectations can be assessed through satisfaction surveys, adverse event declarations and records of complaints. By cross-referencing individual complaints, satisfaction surveys and the adverse events received, we could get valuable information. The objective is to identify common elements of work between these different sources to improve care.

Challenges optimizing the after visit summary.

Background: The after visit summary (AVS) is a paper or electronic document given to patients after a medical appointment, which is intended to summarize patients' health and guide future care, including self-management tasks.

Objective: To describe experiences of health systems implementing a redesigned outpatient AVS in commercially available electronic health record (EHR) systems to inform future optimization.

Materials And Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with information technology and clinical leaders at 12 hospital and community-based healthcare institutions across the continental United States focusing on the process of AVS redesign and implementation.

Diagnostic Algorithm in the Management of Acute Febrile Abdomen in Patients with Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease.

Background: Acute febrile abdomen represents a diagnostic challenge in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Although criteria have been proposed for cyst infection (CyI) and hemorrhage (CyH), there is a lack of comparative assessments. Furthermore, distinguishing cystic from non-cystic complications remains problematic.

Retrospective medical record evaluation: reliability in assessing causation, preventability, and disability of adverse events.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to assess the reliability of an in-depth analysis on causation, preventability, and disability by two separate review teams on five selected adverse events in acute hospitals: pressure ulcer, postoperative pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, postoperative sepsis, ventilator-associated pneumonia and postoperative wound infection.

Design/methodology/approach: The analysis uses a retrospective medical record review of 1,515 patient records by two independent teams in eight acute Belgian hospitals for the year 2005. The Mann-Whitney U-test is used to identify significant differences between the two review teams regarding occurrence of adverse events as well as regarding the degree of causation, preventability, and disability of found adverse events.

Assessing the causes inducing lengthening of hospital stays by means of the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol.

Objectives: The objective is to evaluate the use of the Appropriateness Evaluation Protocol (AEP) as a screening tool for determining the causes of the non-justified days to help hospitals to decrease the length of stay while preserving the quality of care.

Methods: Three successive cross-sectional surveys were conducted from 2003 till 2005, in 23 Belgian hospitals. During this period, 10921 days were audited by means of the AEP.

Validation of Hospital Administrative Dataset for adverse event screening.

Objective: To assess whether the Belgian Hospital Discharge Dataset (B-HDDS) is a valid source for the detection of adverse events in acute hospitals.

Design, Setting And Participants: Retrospective review of 1515 patient records in eight acute Belgian hospitals for the year 2005.

Main Outcome Measures: Predictive value of the B-HDDS and medical record reviews and degree of correspondence between the B-HDDS and medical record reviews for five indicators: pressure ulcer, postoperative pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis, postoperative sepsis, ventilator-associated pneumonia and postoperative wound infection.