Article Text
PDF
Statistics from Altmetric.com
Compiled by Tom Smith
The theme of this review of papers published from September to November 2001 is the relationship between quality, safety, and organisational behaviour. One of the consistent messages in recent NHS policy has been that improving clinical quality to a great extent requires greater synergy between the organisational and clinical domains. A number of journal articles from a range of sources are drawn on to illuminate this relationship from different angles. What information is useful for monitoring quality? How accurate is clinical review information and consequently its suggested implications for clinical practice? Are behavioural or cognitive approaches the most effective route to safe practice? What is known about organisational efforts to improve quality? How can we learn more?
Health information
US/UK collaboration on health quality data ▸ In October the US and UK Secretaries of State for Health met in Washington. Aside from agreeing to work together to counter bioterrorism, they signed a “joint statement of intent” to collaborate on data and measurement regarding quality of care. “Under the quality agreement, the US and UK plan to share data and experiences . . . including efforts to enhance the use of information technology, expand common criteria for measurement of quality of care and achieve mutual quality research goals.”
A few papers highlight the importance of improving the quality of clinical data, the way it is recorded, reviewed and used.
How accurate is symptom information in medical records and how useful are medical records for assessing the quality of care? ▸ Medical records are commonly used to measure quality of care, but how accurate is the documentation and how useful are they as a measure of quality? In mental health, Medicare and Medicaid use records to gather information on the care provided to schizophrenic patients. Recent evidence has highlighted inaccuracies. …