Handover Structure and Quality in the Acute Medical Assessment Unit: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: Inadequate patient handovers are associated with the occurrence of medical errors. The objective of the present study was to explore the structure and quality of handovers in the acute medical assessment unit.

Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted in an academic hospital in the Netherlands.

Multicentre analysis of current ST-elevation myocardial infarction acute care pathways.

Background: Rapid reperfusion with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is vital for patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). However, the guideline-recommended time targets are regularly exceeded. The goal of this study was to gain insight into how Dutch PCI centres try to achieve these time targets by comparing their care processes with one another and with the European guideline-recommended process.

Current training on the basics of robotic surgery in the Netherlands: Time for a multidisciplinary approach?

Introduction: The following research questions were answered: (1) What are the training pathways followed by the current robot professionals? (2) Are there any differences between the surgical specialties in robot training and robot use? (3) What is their opinion about multidisciplinary basic skills training?

Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to 91 robot professionals in The Netherlands. The questionnaire contained 21 multiple-choice questions focusing on demographics, received robot training, and their opinion on basic skills training in robotic surgery.

Results: The response rate was 62 % (n = 56): 13 general surgeons, 16 gynecologists, and 27 urologists.

Use of general practice services 5 years after an episode of mental illness: case-control study using electronic records.

Background: Depression, anxiety, and emotional distress occur frequently and are usually treated in general practice. Little has been reported about the long-term course of these conditions and the long-term use of medical services.

Aim: To follow up patients with depression, anxiety, and emotional distress in general practice for 5 years and examine the length and number of index episodes, prescribing behaviour, and the use of services in general practice.

Crew resource management training in the intensive care unit. A multisite controlled before-after study.

Introduction: There is a growing awareness today that adverse events in the intensive care unit (ICU) are more often caused by problems related to non-technical skills than by a lack of technical, or clinical, expertise. Team training, such as crew resource management (CRM), aims to improve these non-technical skills. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of CRM in the ICU.

Waiting in the Accident and Emergency Department: Exploring Problematic Experiences.

Objectives: To investigate the relation between perceived waiting times and patients' overall ratings of accident and emergency departments (A&Es) and to explore which patients view waiting times as problematic.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was held in 21 A&Es in the Netherlands. From each A&E, a random sample of patients was investigated.

Exploring the treatment delay in the care of patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing acute percutaneous coronary intervention: a cross-sectional study.

Background: A short delay between diagnosis and treatment for patients diagnosed with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is vital to prevent cardiac damage and mortality. The objective of this study was to explore the treatment delay and associated factors in the management of patients diagnosed with STEMI going for percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: In a cross-sectional multicenter study, the treatment delay (time between first electrocardiogram and start of PCI procedure) of STEMI patients in seven PCI centers in the Netherlands was measured.

Data quality issues impede comparability of hospital treatment delay performance indicators.

Aim: To assess the comparability of five performance indicator scores for treatment delay among patients diagnosed with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention in relation to the quality of the underlying data.

Methods: Secondary analyses were performed on data from 1017 patients in seven Dutch hospitals. Data were collected using standardised forms for patients discharged in 2012.

Coping, pain, and disability in osteoarthritis: a longitudinal study.

Objective: To establish the role of coping styles as prospective determinants of pain and disability in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee or hip.

Methods: Data from 71 patients with OA of the hip and 119 patients with OA of the knee were used. Using regression analysis, relationships were established between the use of active and passive coping styles and the level of pain and disability 36 weeks later.