LQAS usefulness in an emergency department.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) applicability and usefulness in the evaluation of quality indicators in a hospital emergency department (ED) and to determine the degree of compliance with quality standards according to this sampling method.

Design/methodology/approach: Descriptive observational research in the Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón (HGUGM) emergency department (ED). Patients older than 15 years, diagnosed with dyspnoea, chest pain, urinary tract colic or bronchial asthma attending the HGUGM ED from December 2005 to May 2006, and patients admitted during 2005 with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute meningitis were included in the study.

Information needs and information-seeking behavior of primary care physicians.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the information needs of primary care physicians in Spain and to describe their information-seeking patterns.

Methods: This observational study took place in primary care practices located in Madrid, Spain. Participants were a random stratified sample of 112 primary care physicians.

[Study of the Information requirements generated by primary care doctors (ENIGMA Project)].

Objectives: To determine the information needs of primary care physicians by identifying the frequency and type of questions arising during consultation, and by describing the information-search pattern. DESIGN. Observational, descriptive, multi-centre study.