BACKGROUND Physician rating websites (PRWs) are gaining in popularity among patients seeking quality information about physicians. However, little knowledge is available about the quantity and type of information provided on the websites. OBJECTIVE To determine and structure the quantity and type of information about physicians in the outpatient sector provided on German-language physician ra...

OBJECTIVE Develop an index to evaluate the maternal and neonatal hospital care of the Brazilian Unified Health System. METHODS This descriptive cross-sectional study of national scope was based on the structure-process-outcome framework proposed by Donabedian and on comprehensive health care. Data from the Hospital Information System and the National Registry of Health Establishments were use...

22 In order to respond to the new challenges of medical care, it may be necessary to change the organization of health care services. It would undoubtedly be easier to commence from simple, agile, and flexible structures. However, this is not the case of Spanish hospitals which, although they have attained a scientific stature comparable to that of other countries, have a complex, rigid, and se...

BACKGROUND In Australia's Northern Territory, most Aboriginal people primarily speak an Aboriginal language. Poor communication between healthcare providers and Aboriginal people results in adverse outcomes including death. This study aimed to identify remediable barriers to utilisation of Aboriginal Interpreter services at the Northern Territory's tertiary hospital, which currently manages ove...

For over a decade, organizations have attempted to include the measurement and reporting of health outcome data in contractual agreements between funders and health service providers, but few have succeeded. This research explores the utility of collecting health outcomes data that could be included in funding contracts for an Australian Community Care Organisation (CCO). An action-research met...

BACKGROUND Improving the quality of healthcare services is considered as the main strategy to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes. Providing appropriate healthcare for mothers and their newborn children is facilitated significantly by considering the mothers' health and welfare before pregnancy occurs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the quality of preconception care p...

OBJECTIVES Few studies have systematically examined the effects of the existing regulations for alleviating corruption in China. This study assesses the effectiveness of China's reforms to curb medical corruption. METHODS We used mixed methods for the evaluation of existing countermeasures. First, qualitative informant interviews based on the Donabedian model were conducted to obtain experts'...

document when you quote from it. You must not sell the document or make a profit from reproducing it. Chapter 4 Concerns about quality of care have accelerated since the 1990s, as studies by Wennberg, Fisher, and others have documented large and unexplained variations in rates of health care utilization and clinical outcomes across geographic areas, calling into question the traditional approac...

Ensuring adequate vascular access in major trauma patients prior to decompensative physiological processes is crucial to patient outcomes. Most protocols suggest achieving two 18-gauge or larger intravenous lines immediately in patients with major trauma. We discuss a quality improvement approach to ensure that >90% of patients with major trauma (as defined by an injury severity score ≥12) at a...

INTRODUCTION Chronic pain is a public health problem of epidemic proportion in most countries with important physical, psychological, social and economic consequences. The management of chronic pain is complex and requires an integrated network approach between all levels of the healthcare system and the involvement of several health professionals from different disciplines. Measuring the perfo...