Diagnosis of upper limb illness by upper extremity specialists may be more straightforward when patients relate matter-of-fact descriptions more so than interpretation of symptoms, which can be inaccurate and misleading. This study investigated the accuracy of diagnosis when specialists are presented with interpretations compared to descriptions of symptoms.

Proper lighting in hospitals is essential for patient care and operational efficiency. This study assessed lighting compliance in a tertiary care hospital, considering both objective measurements and subjective evaluations.

Health care institutions must provide equitable quality care for all patient populations. Despite this, data supports that hospitals struggle to do this for patients with non-English language preference (NELP). We describe the efforts of an academic department of medicine at a tertiary care hospital that serves a large number of patients with NELP.

Maintaining current and accurate problem and medication lists improves quality of care. Reviewing and updating these lists can be time-consuming and add to clinicians' cognitive load, thus increasing risk of clinician burnout. Maintaining these lists were core measures in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Meaningful Use electronic health record (EHR) incentive program. It may appear that the easiest way to indicate that problem or medication lists are up-to-date is to have clinicians attest to the review by checking a box in the EHR. Yet, whether these reviews and maintenance are actually taking place or if they are merely "check-the-box" activities remains unclear. This study aimed to understand the relationship between clinician attestation of problem and medication list review and the length of these lists.

The practice of medicine involves the risk of causing harm, even under the best circumstances and despite having optimal training. Therefore, patient safety is not only an essential part of healthcare but is also crucial for the training of resilient future doctors. The awareness of medical students regarding patient safety issues is of utmost importance for their professional formation. The objective of the present study was to gain insights into the awareness of medical students at the Autonomous University of Guadalajara about patient safety problems and the expectations of how patient safety is being managed in the health system.

Targeted temperature management (TTM) is widely used for patients presenting with cardiac arrest for its neuroprotective effects and has been shown to improve neurological outcomes and survival. In keeping with the adage "time is brain" and per prior retrospective studies supporting earlier initiation of TTM, we conducted a quality improvement project to improve Door to TTM initiation time (DTT).

Effective discharge planning is an important factor of hospital care and should follow a comprehensive assessment of patients at risk for adverse events during discharge. The study's aim was to analyze whether the use of the Blaylock Risk Assessment Screening Score (BRASS) at admission leads to a reduction in the hospital length of stay (LOS), a reduction in readmission rates, an influence on the discharge destination at the University Hospital of Graz, and an increase of end user's satisfaction.

Globally, healthcare has experienced unsustainable cost inflation. Therefore, innovative approaches must be considered to curb these ever-increasing costs. Hospitals, which play a central role in every healthcare system, contribute significantly to cost increases, largely through the acceleration of operational complexity. Such evolutionary phenomena have rendered Hospital Performance Assessments (HPA) vitally important to healthcare leaders, health service researchers, and policymakers, especially amid the current global revolution in value-based payments. This study aimed to examine the growing importance of HPA in hospital and healthcare system management and to propose the development of a comprehensive HPA framework.

We developed a novel web-based application, Provider Minder, for providers to track and monitor stroke risk screening in children with sickle cell anemia. Here, we describe the development of the application, the process evaluation during implementation, and our lessons learned.

Effective communication among health care providers constitutes a critical cornerstone for delivering optimal patient care. However, the achievement of efficient communication within patient care remains a challenge in modern medicine. While traditional paging systems have served as the primary means of communication in health care, they are limited to unidirectional communication. To address these shortcomings, bidirectional models emerged, seeking to enhance communication among health care partners. To foster improved communication, our institution implemented a 2-way secure messaging system, Epic Secure Chat. This introduction, however, occurred without tailored guidance on appropriate use, leading to confusion among health care staff regarding optimal, safe utilization of the new platform.

Heart failure (HF) readmission rates at our institution were often higher than the expected levels for our institution type. Social work post-discharge telephone calls were identified as an opportunity to address reasons for HF therapy noncompliance, a major reason for readmissions identified among HF patients at our institution.

The magnitude of chronic disease management is a daunting health care problem at the same time when there is a reduction in primary care physicians, making achieving high-quality standards and goals extremely challenging for health care professionals. The research objective for this project was to provide evidence to support the use of clinical nurse specialist (CNS)-led multidisciplinary teams in the outpatient setting to improve quality measures in chronic conditions.

This paper defines quality improvement (QI), describes the differences and connections among QI, clinical audit/quality assurance, and clinical research, highlights the importance of strong organizational governance for QI, and provides a simplified, evidence-based QI methodology that can be readily used by health care staff.

With the potential to lead to liver failure, cirrhosis, and death and the availability of hepatitis C Virus (HCV) treatment with direct-acting antiviral medications, primary care clinicians need to take action to improve screening and treatment of HCV. Current literature demonstrates gaps in knowledge contribute to low HCV screening and treatment rates. The project's purpose is to use a multidisciplinary approach to patient and clinician education to improve HCV care in a rural primary care clinic.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis remains important in managing hospitalized patients. Many studies have been done to incorporate educational interventions and other measures to help achieve better rates of appropriate VTE prophylaxis usage. Our objective was to study the sole impact of resident education, focusing on reducing heparin usage compared to low molecular weight heparin.

Preventive care is vital in maintaining health and supporting independence among older persons. In Sweden, a national quality register (Senior Alert) was developed in elder care to support healthcare workers working to prevent malnutrition, falls, pressure ulcers, and poor oral health. However, we predicted that challenges in providing care at home result in preventive work being least used when and where it would be most effective: early in disease processes. The current study examines the preventive care actions planned and performed for older persons with identified risks, to compare quality and equity of care in different care settings.

The pandemic has severely impacted health services worldwide, making it crucial to document its effects on service quality. This longitudinal study is the first to assess how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the perceived service quality at a public clinic in Mexico and how it affected satisfaction among ambulatory patients.