Selecting predictors of cancer patients' overall perceptions of the quality of care received.

Background: The goal of this study was to identify aspects of care (predictors) that can most easily be modified to produce an improvement in the score of patients' overall evaluations of the quality of care received.

Patients And Methods: Our sample consisted of 2247 cancer patients hospitalized in Ontario acute care hospitals in 1999/2000. We sought predictors of patients' overall perceptions of the quality of care by applying a methodology that minimizes the improvement of the predictors while gaining a desired increase in the score of the dependent variable.

Developing an efficient model to select emergency department patient satisfaction improvement strategies.

Study Objective: Patient satisfaction is an important performance measure for emergency departments (EDs), but the most efficient ways of improving satisfaction are unclear. This study uses optimization techniques to identify the best possible combination of predictors of overall patient satisfaction to help guide improvement efforts.

Methods: The results of a satisfaction survey from 20,500 patients who visited 123 EDs were used to develop ordinal logistic regression models for overall quality of care, overall medical treatment, willingness to recommend the ED to others, and willingness to return to the same ED.

Implementing continuing education strategies for family physicians to enhance asthma patients' quality of life.

The goal of the study was to provide asthma-related continuing medical education (CME) to family physicians with the objective of improving patient outcomes. Using a quasi-experimental design in a single community, the intervention included academic detailing, a case-based workshop, newsletters, medical grand rounds, and patient-centered education materials. Outcome measures included physician participation in CME; patient self-reported quality of life, asthma knowledge, asthma self-management, medication use, and health service utilization before and after the intervention; and physician feedback.

The need for acute, subacute and nonacute care at 105 general hospital sites in Ontario. Joint Policy and Planning Committee Non-Acute Hospitalization Project Working Group.

Background: Previous studies of hospital utilization have not taken into account the use of acute care beds for subacute care. The authors determined the proportion of patients who required acute, subacute and nonacute care on admission and during their hospital stay in general hospitals in Ontario. From this analysis, they identified areas where the efficiency of care delivery might be improved.