Co-designing Healthcare Quality Improvement: The Kovacs Burns & George Orientation Guide.

To prepare healthcare organizations and patients/families to be equally ready to become partners in co-designing healthcare policy, practices, and improvements, there is a need to (1) understand how "co-design ready" organizations and their staff and care providers are to co-design health care policies, practices, and improvements with patients and families; (2) understand how prepared patients and families, as users of the health system, are to step into co-designer roles with confidence so that their voices will be heard as they influence the development or changes to improve healthcare system policies, services, practices, and products; (3) anticipate and/or address challenges with meeting the expectations of what is involved with the co-design approach, including with recruiting, preparing, and training care setting leaders, staff/care providers, and patient/family advisors; (4) ensure care settings provided appropriate tools and resources to support co-design; and (5) guide the shift in culture from engagement to co-design. Recommendations for enabling co-design in care settings include providing an orientation and preparation workshop and guide/workbook. An example of an orientation and preparation workshop is shared.

Improving care for residents in long term care facilities experiencing an acute change in health status.

Background: Long term care (LTC) facilities provide health services and assist residents with daily care. At times residents may require transfer to emergency departments (ED), depending on the severity of their change in health status, their goals of care, and the ability of the facility to care for medically unstable residents. However, many transfers from LTC to ED are unnecessary, and expose residents to discontinuity in care and iatrogenic harms.

A study on blood product usage and wastage at the public hospital, Guyana.

Background: Blood is a valuable resource and blood wastage in a low socio economic country could impose a very serious impact on healthcare. This study therefore analyzes the usage and wastage of blood and blood products at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC), Guyana.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on the data retrieved from laboratory blood banking information system on usage and wastage of blood products during the years 2012-2014 at the public hospital.