Project description:BackgroundMany individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD) do not receive guideline-concordant care. We examined the impact of a team-based primary care CKD registry on clinical measures and processes of care among patients with CKD cared for in a public safety-net health care delivery system.Study designPragmatic trial of a CKD registry versus a usual-care registry for 1 year.Setting & participantsPrimary care providers (PCPs) and their patients with CKD in a safety-net primary care setting in San Francisco.InterventionThe CKD registry identified at point of care all patients with CKD, those with blood pressure (BP)>140/90mmHg, those without angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) prescription, and those without albuminuria quantification in the past year. It also provided quarterly feedback pertinent to these metrics to promote "outreach" to patients with CKD. The usual-care registry provided point-of-care cancer screening and immunization data.OutcomesChanges in systolic BP at 12 months (primary outcome), proportion of patients with BP control, prescription of ACE inhibitors/ARBs, quantification of albuminuria, severity of albuminuria, and estimated glomerular filtration rate.ResultsThe patient population (n=746) had a mean age of 56.7±12.1 (standard deviation) years, was 53% women, and was diverse (8% non-Hispanic white, 35.7% black, 24.5% Hispanic, and 24.4% Asian). Randomization to the CKD registry (30 PCPs, 285 patients) versus the usual-care registry (49 PCPs, 461 patients) was associated with 2-fold greater odds of ACE inhibitor/ARB prescription (adjusted OR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.45-3.49) and albuminuria quantification (adjusted OR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.38-4.29) during the 1-year study period. Randomization to the CKD registry was not associated with changes in systolic BP, proportion of patients with uncontrolled BP, or degree of albuminuria or estimated glomerular filtration rate.LimitationsPotential misclassification of CKD; missing baseline medication data; limited to study of a public safety-net health care system.ConclusionsA team-based safety-net primary care CKD registry did not improve BP parameters, but led to greater albuminuria quantification and more ACE inhibitor/ARB prescriptions after 1 year. Adoption of team-based CKD registries may represent an important step in translating evidence into practice for CKD management.
Project description:BackgroundPublic health and primary care are distinct sectors within western health care systems. Within each sector, work is carried out in the context of organizations, for example, public health units and primary care clinics. Building on a scoping literature review, our study aimed to identify the influencing factors within these organizations that affect the ability of these health care sectors to collaborate with one another in the Canadian context. Relationships between these factors were also explored.MethodsWe conducted an interpretive descriptive qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 74 key informants from three provinces, one each in western, central and eastern Canada, and others representing national organizations, government, or associations. The sample included policy makers, managers, and direct service providers in public health and primary care.ResultsSeven major organizational influencing factors on collaboration were identified: 1) Clear Mandates, Vision, and Goals; 2) Strategic Coordination and Communication Mechanisms between Partners; 3) Formal Organizational Leaders as Collaborative Champions; 4) Collaborative Organizational Culture; 5) Optimal Use of Resources; 6) Optimal Use of Human Resources; and 7) Collaborative Approaches to Programs and Services Delivery.ConclusionWhile each influencing factor was distinct, the many interactions among these influences are indicative of the complex nature of public health and primary care collaboration. These results can be useful for those working to set up new or maintain existing collaborations with public health and primary care which may or may not include other organizations.
Project description:PURPOSE: Preparing residents for future practice, knowledge, and skills in quality improvement and safety (QI/S) is a requisite element of graduate medical education. Despite many challenges, residency programs must consider new curricular innovations to meet the requirements. We report the effectiveness of a primary care QI/S curriculum and the role of the chief resident in quality and patient safety in facilitating it. METHOD: Through the Veterans Administration Graduate Medical Education Enhancement Program, we added a position for a chief resident in quality and patient safety, and 4 full-time equivalent internal medicine residents, to develop the Primary Care Interprofessional Patient-Centered Quality Care Training Curriculum. The curriculum includes a first-or second-year, 1-month block rotation that serves as a foundational experience in QI/S and interprofessional care. The responsibilities of the chief resident in quality and patient safety included organizing and teaching the QI/S curriculum and mentoring resident projects. Evaluation included prerotation and postrotation surveys of self-assessed QI/S knowledge, abilities, skills, beliefs, and commitment (KASBC); an end-of-the-year KASBC; prerotation and postrotation knowledge test; and postrotation and faculty surveys. RESULTS: Comparisons of prerotation and postrotation KASBC indicated significant self-assessed improvements in 4 of 5 KASBC domains: knowledge (P < .001), ability (P < .001), skills (P < .001), and belief (P < .03), which were sustained on the end-of-the-year survey. The knowledge test demonstrated increased QI/S knowledge (P = .002). Results of the postrotation survey indicate strong satisfaction with the curriculum, with 76% (25 of 33) and 70% (23 of 33) of the residents rating the quality and safety curricula as always or usually educational. Most faculty members acknowledged that the chief resident in quality and patient safety enhanced both faculty and resident QI/S interest and participation in projects. CONCLUSIONS: Our primary care QI/S curriculum was associated with improved and persistent resident self-perceived knowledge, abilities, and skills and increased knowledge-based scores of QI/S. The chief resident in quality and patient safety played an important role in overseeing the curriculum, teaching, and providing leadership.
Project description:BackgroundPatient safety in primary care is an emerging field of research with a growing evidence base in western countries but little has been explored in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC) including the Sultanate of Oman. This study aimed to review the literature on the safety culture and patient safety measures used globally to inform the development of safety culture among health care workers in primary care with a particular focus on the Middle East.MethodsA systematic review of the literature. Searches were undertaken using Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus from the year 2000 to 2014. Terms defining safety culture were combined with terms identifying patient safety and primary care.ResultsThe database searches identified 3072 papers that were screened for inclusion in the review. After the screening and verification, data were extracted from 28 papers that described safety culture in primary care. The global distribution of the articles is as follows: the Netherlands (7), the United States (5), Germany (4), the United Kingdom (1), Australia, Canada and Brazil (two for each country), and with one each from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The characteristics of the included studies were grouped under the following themes: safety culture in primary care, incident reporting, safety climate and adverse events. The most common theme from 2011 onwards was the assessment of safety culture in primary care (13 studies, 46%). The most commonly used safety culture assessment tool is the Hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC) which has been used in developing countries in the Middle East.ConclusionsThis systematic review reveals that the most important first step is the assessment of safety culture in primary care which will provide a basic understanding to safety-related perceptions of health care providers. The HSOPSC has been commonly used in Kuwait, Turkey, and Iran.
Project description:BackgroundGiven the challenges of governments to deliver primary health care (PHC), engaging private sector in the form of public-private partnership (PPP) can be effective policy. The aim of present study is to review the experiences of implementing PPP policy in PHC.MethodsThis scoping review study was conducted in 2019 using the framework proposed by Arkesy and O'Malley. Required data were collected through search the related keywords in databases, manual search of some journals, websites, and other sources of information and through references check, from January 2000 to May 2019. All studies, which focused on the results of PPP in PHC, and published in English or Persian were included in the study.ResultsA total of 108 articles were included in the study. The studies were mostly conducted in low- and middle-income countries. The quantitative studies have demonstrated the success of this policy in improving PHC indicators. Based on the qualitative studies PPP in PHC has many benefits, including access improvement, economic benefits, and service quality enhancement.ConclusionsThe present study provides useful information on the experiences of different countries in the field of PPP in PHC that can be used by experts and decision makers to decide whether to engage the private sector in the form of PPP model.
Project description:Implementing asthma guideline recommendations is challenging in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to explore healthcare provider (HCP) perspectives on the provision of recommended care. Twenty-six HCPs from six public primary care clinics in a semi-urban district of Malaysia were purposively sampled based on roles and experience. Focus group discussions were guided by a semi-structured interview guide and analysed thematically. HCPs had access to guidelines and training but highlighted multiple infrastructure-related challenges to implementing recommended care. Diagnosis and review of asthma control were hampered by limited access to spirometry and limited asthma control test (ACT) use, respectively. Treatment decisions were limited by poor availability of inhaled combination therapy (ICS/LABA) and free spacer devices. Imposed Ministry of Health programmes involving other non-communicable diseases were prioritised over asthma. Ministerial policies need practical resources and organisational support if quality improvement programmes are to facilitate better management of asthma in public primary care clinics.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Safety culture is still a poorly studied subject in primary care and home care, although these settings are considered gateways to access to healthcare. This study aims to evaluate safety culture in primary and home care settings. METHODS:An observational cross-sectional study was carried out with 147 professionals from nine districts covered by one home care program and six primary healthcare centres. The Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was used to evaluate the safety culture, in which scores ?75 are indicative of a positive safety culture. RESULTS:A total of 56 (86,1%) questionnaires returned from the home care professionals and 91 (86,6%) from the primary care professionals. The Job satisfaction domain was the best evaluated, achieving a score of 88.8 in home care and 75.1 in primary care. The achievement of high scores on Safety Climate, Job Satisfaction, Teamwork Climate, and Total SAQ was related to male gender, and time of professional experience of three to 4 years. Perception of management and Working conditions had the lowest scores, and this result was related with long time of experience. CONCLUSIONS:It is concluded that professionals working in home care gave higher scores for safety culture in their workplace than the primary care workers.
Project description:BACKGROUND: Patient safety in primary care is a developing field with an embryonic but evolving evidence base. This narrative review aims to identify tools that can be used by family practitioners as part of a patient safety toolkit to improve the safety of the care and services provided by their practices. METHODS: Searches were performed in 6 healthcare databases in 2011 using 3 search stems; location (primary care), patient safety synonyms and outcome measure synonyms. Two reviewers analysed the results using a numerical and thematic analyses. Extensive grey literature exploration was also conducted. RESULTS: Overall, 114 Tools were identified with 26 accrued from grey literature. Most published literature originated from the USA (41%) and the UK (23%) within the last 10 years. Most of the literature addresses the themes of medication error (55%) followed by safety climate (8%) and adverse event reporting (8%). Minor themes included; informatics (4.5%) patient role (3%) and general measures to correct error (5%). The primary/secondary care interface is well described (5%) but few specific tools for primary care exist. Diagnostic error and results handling appear infrequently (<1% of total literature) despite their relative importance. The remainder of literature (11%) related to referrals, Out-Of-Hours (OOH) care, telephone care, organisational issues, mortality and clerical error. CONCLUSIONS: This review identified tools and indicators that are available for use in family practice to measure patient safety, which is crucial to improve safety and design a patient safety toolkit. However, many of the tools have yet to be used in quality improvement strategies and cycles such as plan-do-study-act (PDSA) so there is a dearth of evidence of their utility in improving as opposed to measuring and highlighting safety issues. The lack of focus on diagnostics, systems safety and results handling provide direction and priorities for future research.
Project description:Patients' perspectives on patient safety have rarely been incorporated into quality initiatives in primary care. Our objective was to understand the patient perspective on patient safety in patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). We conducted 12 patient focus groups/interviews in nine sites with 65 patients at a geographically diverse sample of National Committee on Quality Assurance Level 3 recognized PCMHs across three states. Using a patient safety framework, we coded and analyzed interviews for overarching themes and subthemes across patient safety domains. Overarching themes focused on (1) both clear and timely communication with and between clinicians and (2) trust in the care team, including being heard, respected, and treated as a whole person. Other themes important to specific patient safety domains included sharing of and access to information, patient education and patient-centered medication reconciliation process, clear documentation for the diagnostic process, patient-centered comprehensive visits, and timeliness of care. Communication and trust are key to patient perceptions of safe primary care. Focusing on these themes across safety domains may help to make primary care both more patient-centered and safer, and should be considered in future ambulatory safety initiatives.
Project description:IntroductionThe extent of preventable medication-related hospital admissions and medication-related issues in primary care is significant enough to justify developing decision support systems for medication safety surveillance. The prerequisite for such systems is defining a relevant set of medication safety-related indicators and understanding the influence of both patient and general practice characteristics on medication prescribing and monitoring.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to investigate the feasibility of linked primary and secondary care electronic health record data for surveillance of medication safety, examining not only prescribing but also monitoring, and associations with patient- and general practice-level characteristics.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using linked records of patients served by one hospital and over 50 general practices in Salford, UK. Statistical analysis consisted of mixed-effects logistic models, relating prescribing safety indicators to potential determinants.ResultsThe overall prevalence (proportion of patients with at least one medication safety hazard) was 5.45 % for prescribing indicators and 7.65 % for monitoring indicators. Older patients and those on multiple medications were at higher risk of prescribing hazards, but at lower risk of missed monitoring. The odds of missed monitoring among all patients were 25 % less for males, 50 % less for patients in practices that provide general practitioner training, and threefold higher in practices serving the most deprived compared with the least deprived areas. Practices with more prescribing hazards did not tend to show more monitoring issues.ConclusionsSystematic collection, collation, and analysis of linked primary and secondary care records produce plausible and useful information about medication safety for a health system. Medication safety surveillance systems should pay close attention to patient age and polypharmacy with respect to both prescribing and monitoring failures; treat prescribing and monitoring as different statistical processes, rather than a combined measure of prescribing safety; and audit the socio-economic equity of missed monitoring.