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Showing results for tags 'Information sharing'.
Found 325 results
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Content ArticleFor many years the NHS has talked about the need to shift to a more personalised approach to health and care—where people have choice and control over the way their care is planned and delivered, based on “what matters” to them and their individual strengths, needs and preferences. In this HSJ article, Ben Wilson, product solution director at Orion Health, discusses the progress, benefits and future possibilities for an integrated, patient-centric healthcare system.
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Content ArticleThis infographic by artist Sonia Sparkles highlights ways to prevent patient falls in hospital. A wide range of graphics relating to patient safety, healthcare and quality improvement is available on the Sonia Sparkles website.
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Content ArticleIn this BMJ article, Anna Tylor describes the assumptions she faces as someone who is visually impaired, and how healthcare professionals can make information accessible for blind and partially sighted people.
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Content ArticleWorkplace-based knowledge exchange programmes (WKEPs), such as job shadowing or secondments, offer potential for health and care providers, academics, and policy-makers to foster partnerships, develop local solutions and overcome key differences in practices. Yet opportunities for exchange can be hard to find and are poorly reported in the literature. This study, published in BMJ Leader, aimed to understand the views of providers, academics and policy-makers regarding WKEPs, in particular, their motivations to participate in such exchanges and the perceived barriers and facilitators to participation. Results showed WKEPs were reported to be valuable experiences but required significant organisational buy-in and cooperation to arrange and sustain. To benefit emerging partnerships, such as the new integrated care systems in England, more outcomes evaluations of existing WKEPs are needed, and research focused on overcoming barriers to participation, such as time and costs.
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News ArticleMaking data on medical interventions easier to collect and collate would increase the odds of spotting patterns of harm, according to the panel of a recent HSJ webinar When Baroness Julia Cumberlege was asked to review the avoidable harm caused by two medicines and one medical device, she encountered no shortage of data. “We found that the NHS is awash with data, but it’s very fractured,” says Baroness Cumberlege, who chaired the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review and now co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group which raises awareness of and support for its findings. And it is that fracturing that can make patterns of harm difficult to spot. The report concluded that many women and children experienced avoidable harm through use of the hormone pregnancy test Primodos, the epilepsy drug sodium valproate, and the medical device pelvic mesh – simply because it hadn’t been possible to connect the dots. “It’s very hard to collect things together and to get an overall picture. And one of the things that we felt very strongly about was that data should be collected once, but used often,” said Baroness Cumberlege at a recent HSJ webinar. Run in association with GS1 UK, the event brought together a panel to consider how better data might help address patient safety challenges such as problems with implants. “But the big problem was they couldn’t identify who had which implants. No doubt somebody somewhere had written this down with a fountain pen and then someone spilt the tea over it and the unique information was lost,” recalled Sir Terence Stephenson , now Nuffield professor of child health at Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health and chair of the Health Research Authority for England. The review he chaired therefore suggested establishing a concept of person, product place – “for everybody who had something implanted in them, we should have their name, the identifier of what had been put in, and where it had been put in. And one of my panel members said: ‘Well, how are we going to record this? We don’t want the fountain pen and the teacup.’” Ultimately the answer suggested was barcode scanning. By scanning the wristband of a patient, that on the product being implanted, and one for the hospital theatre or department at which it was being implanted, the idea was to create an immediate and easy-to-create record. For those long convinced of the virtues of barcode scanning in health, it is a welcome development Two years later, the then Department of Health launched the Scan4Safety programme, in which six “demonstrator sites” implemented the use of scanning across the patient journey. At these organisations, barcodes produced to GS1 standards – meaning they are globally unique – are present on patient wristbands; on equipment used for care, including implantable medical devices; in locations; and sometimes on staff badges. Link to full article here (paywalled)
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News Article
Dr Penny Kechagioglou on digitising patient reported outcome measures
Clive Flashman posted a news article in News
Dr Penny Kechagioglou, Chief Clinical Information Officer and Deputy Chief Medical Officer at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, kindly shared her thoughts on digitising patient reported outcome measures in a blog for HTN. The UK digital transformation wave is mainly characterised by the roll-out of electronic health records and is an opportunity to transform patient care by collecting and analysing patient reported outcome measures digitally. A recent study at the European Society of Medical Oncology open journal (Modi, 2022) showed that patient reported outcome measures are predictive of cancer patient treatment response and quality of life for physical and mental parameters. The knowledge of patient reported outcomes (PRO) and experience (PRE) measures can be valuable in the monitoring of individual patient symptoms in clinic or remotely in the community and also for aggregating and interpreting population health data. To read the full article, click here -
News Article
NHS App to get new digital features by 2023
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The NHS App will soon be updated with features to help offer people in England more personalised care. It is part of the government's plan for a digital revolution to speed up care and improve access while saving the health service time and money. By March 2023, more users will receive messages from their GP and be able to see their medical records and manage hospital elective-care appointments. By March 2024, the app should offer face-to-face video consultations. The government's ambition is for at least 75% of adults to be using it by March 2024. Currently, less than half - about 28 million - have it on their phone or tablet. The government also wants 90% of NHS trusts to have electronic patient records in place or be processing them by December 2023 and for all social-care providers to adopt a digital social-care record. And patients across the country should be able to complete their hospital pre-assessment checks from home by September 2024. Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 June 2022 -
News Article
‘We are struggling’: US doctors faced with vacuum of information on Long Covid
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
More than three years into the Covid pandemic, there are a host of important unanswered questions about Long Covid, which significantly limit healthcare providers’ ability to treat patients with the condition, according to US physicians and scientists. That vacuum of information remains as much of the US has moved on from the pandemic, while Covid long-haulers continue to face stigma and questions over whether their symptoms are real, providers say. “We don’t quite have our finger on the pulse of what’s wrong, what biologically is causing it, and that’s a big problem,” said Dr Marc Sala, co-director of the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Covid-19 Center. “It’s hard to direct drugs or treatments without having the biological underpinnings for why someone is feeling so fatigued with exercise.” In addition to the ambiguity around the root causes of Long Covid, there are also challenges in research because of how Covid can produce so many different symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list includes fatigue, respiratory issues and difficulty thinking or concentrating but also states that “post-Covid conditions may not affect everyone the same way”. “Everyone has a different constellation of symptoms,” said Dr Steven Deeks, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. “Some people get better over time, some people wax and wane, some people get worse,” and so it is difficult for researchers to determine when a study should end and compare a drug versus a placebo. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 March 2023 -
News Article
Abortion UK: Women 'manipulated' in crisis pregnancy advice centres
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Women are being misled and manipulated about abortion by some crisis pregnancy advice centres in the UK, according to evidence from a BBC Panorama investigation. The centres operate outside the NHS and tend to be registered charities. Most say they don't refer women for abortions, but offer support and counselling for unplanned pregnancies. But the BBC's investigation reveals more than a third of these services give misleading medical information or unethical advice, and sometimes both. Pregnancy counselling is available through the NHS and regulated abortion providers, but searching online, Panorama identified 57 crisis pregnancy advice centres advertising. The BBC decided to investigate after hearing from women who had been to these centres. One said she had been "traumatised" and that the centre had tried to "manipulate" her into not having an abortion. Some 21 centres gave misleading medical information and/or unethical advice about abortion Seven centres said having a termination could lead to "post-abortion syndrome" - a mental health condition likened to post traumatic stress disorder, which is not recognised by the NHS. Eight centres linked abortion to infertility and problems carrying future pregnancies to term. Five centres linked abortion to an increased risk of breast cancer. Leading medic in the field of obstetrics, and director of an abortion provider, Dr Jonathan Lord, said women needed an "informed choice" which required "good quality unbiased information". Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 February 2023 -
News ArticleArtificial hip and knee joints that have to be removed after failing early are to be examined routinely to save the NHS £200million a year – and reduce unnecessary pain for patients in future. Less than 1 in 100 removed implants are examined to see why they failed, so surgeons don’t learn what went wrong or pick up on potential scandals. Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Raghavendra Sidaginamale, of North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust, said: "Most removed implants are put in the bin. A wealth of information goes down the drain." Now the NHS is setting up an Implants Analysis Service, enabling hospitals to send them off to be analysed for signs of unusual wear or chemical degradation. Each year, 15,000 hip and knee replacements are replaced. If this happens within ten years, they are deemed to have failed early. Jason Wilson, of the IAS, said they are ‘like a black box flight recorder in a plane’, adding: "They hold a wealth of information we can learn from." Read full story Source: Daily Mail, 29 January 2023
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News Article
Mesh surgery women not given accurate advice, says report
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Women who underwent mesh surgery were not given accurate information before the life-altering procedure, a case review has found. The study also said poor communication between patients and doctors led, in some cases, to mistrust. Medical notes were often misleading or did not detail the surgery that had occurred or its outcomes. The review spent two years looking at the cases of 18 women who received transvaginal mesh implants. It has now called for a comprehensive register to be set up to keep track of women who have had operations to remove mesh in Scotland, abroad and privately. The Transvaginal Mesh Case Record Review by Glasgow Caledonian University makes a series of other recommendations, including: Better aftercare following surgery Clear language so patients understand exactly what surgery is going to achieve. Read full story Source: BBC News, 21 June 2023 -
News ArticleAn integrated care board (ICB) has advised its GP practices not to give patients automatic access to their records, contradicting NHS England national requirements. Instead, North East London ICB has suggested practices only allow access where patients request it, and subject to conditions. The national go-live date for patients to be allowed automatic access to future entries in their records has been repeatedly delayed since initially being set at December 2021. GPs have argued they needed more time to redact sensitive information, ensure records are not inappropriately shared, and train staff. They have cited workload and safeguarding concerns. The ICB’s chief clinical information officer Osman Bhatti, who is a GP, told HSJ the ICB instead “wanted a process where patients could access both prospective and retrospective records safely, with less workload for GPs and so patients who actually want access can have it”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ. 1 June 2023
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News Article
FDA proposes revamping medication guides that come with prescriptions
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The US Food and Drug Administration has proposed to add to what you get with your prescription drugs. The proposed rule would require the prescriptions you get to come with a new kind of single-page medication guide with an easy-to-use set of directions and easy-to-understand safety information, a goal the FDA has been working toward for years. One study found that nearly 75% of Americans have had trouble taking their medicine as directed. A lot of that is due to cost – people might not be able to afford their medicine, so they don’t take it – but some is due to confusion. They might get more than one kind of written information with their prescription, or the information they receive can be conflicting, incomplete or repetitive, the FDA said. When people are confused or misinformed about their prescription, there is a good chance they will not take it or will stop taking it, and that can directly hurt their health. “Research suggests that medication nonadherence can contribute to nearly 25% of hospital admissions, 50% of treatment failures, and approximately 125,000 deaths in our country each year,” the FDA says. The agency said the new proposal is also meant to help fight the “nation’s crisis with health care misinformation and disinformation.” Read full story Source: CNN, 30 May 2023 -
News Article
Menopause: Post-hysterectomy care in NI must improve, says patient
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
A woman who had a hysterectomy has said she was discharged without sufficient information on its impact on her physical and mental health. Mechelle Davis, from County Down, said it was crucial women left hospital with appropriate medication and advice. Her operation involved removal of her womb, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and cervix. Ms Davis was 48 when she had her operation and said she had no option but to look online for advice, something she described as "unsatisfactory". "I had the operation in October 2022 and didn't go on HRT until the following February," she told BBC News NI. "Every woman who is going through the menopause - including surgically induced - needs support. In its online tool for clinicians, British Menopause Society advise that HRT plays a significant role in managing surgical menopause, especially in women under 45 - provided there are no contradictions such as personal history of hormone dependant cancer. It also adds that "all women undergoing surgical menopause should have counselling and be provided with information about the hormonal consequences of surgery and the role of HRT, both before surgery and before leaving hospital with clear communication to the primary care team." BBC News NI has spoken to other women who, after having a hysterectomy, were discharged without advice or a HRT prescription. Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 May 2023 Further reading on the hub: World Menopause Day 2022: Raising awareness of surgical menopause -
News ArticleBlind people are being put “at risk” when the NHS provides them with “inaccessible” information about their health, a charity has warned. People with sight loss have missed appointments, cancer screenings or been unable to use home test kits because of a lack of clear instructions in an accessible format, according to the sight loss charity RNIB. It warned that denying people access to their information can also “cause embarrassment and loss of dignity”. Linda Hansen, from Bradford, who is severely sight-impaired, said that she needed to get her daughter to read her the results of a medical exam which was sent to her in print format. Ms Hansen, 62, said: “I can get my bank statement or a gas bill in accessible formats, but yet I still receive health information that I can’t read. What could be more personal than your health status?” A new RNIB campaign – My Info My Way – has been launched calling for all blind and partially sighted people to be given accessible information. The charity said that a failure to provide information in an accessible format is putting blind and partially sighted people “at risk”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 16 May 2023
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News Article
Cancer drug leaflets for patients in Europe omit important facts
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Cancer drug information leaflets for patients in Europe frequently omit important facts, while some are “potentially misleading” when it comes to treatment benefits and related uncertainties, researchers have found. Cancer is the biggest killer in Europe after heart conditions, with more than 3.7m new cases and 1.9m deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. Medicines are a vital weapon against the disease. But critical facts about them are often missing from official sources of information provided to patients, clinicians and the public, according to a study led by researchers from King’s College London, Harvard Medical School and the University of Sydney, among others. “Regulated information sources for anticancer drugs in Europe fail to address the information needs of patients,” the study’s authors wrote in The BMJ journal. “If patients lack access to such information, clinical decisions may not align with their preferences and needs.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 March 2023 -
News Article
Australia: brain surgeon defends slapping patient after surgery
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
The high-profile Australian neurosurgeon Charlie Teo admits making an error by going “too far” and damaging a patient, but maintains she was told of the risks. The doctor on Monday appeared at a medical disciplinary hearing to explain how two women patients ended up with catastrophic brain injuries. Teo also defended allegations that he acted inappropriately by slapping a patient in an attempt to rouse her after surgery, contrasting it with Will Smith’s notorious slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards last year. “It wakes them up and it wakes them up pretty quickly. And I will continue to do it.” Charlie Teo tells inquiry he ‘did the wrong thing’ in surgery that left patient in vegetative state One of the issues the panel of legal and medical experts is considering is whether the women and their families were adequately informed of the risks of surgery. Both women had terminal brain tumours and had been given from weeks to months to live. They were left in essentially vegetative states after the surgeries and died soon after. “We were told he could give us more time,” one of the husbands said, according to court documents. “There was never any information about not coming out of it". Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 March 2023 -
Content ArticleCommunity hospitals are an important part of local health and care systems, yet there has been very little shared on their role and contribution during the pandemic. This project from the Community Hospitals Association sought to redress this and highlight the role of these local hospitals. This two-year project enabled staff to reflect on their experiences and innovations in their community hospitals during the pandemic in a systematic way that facilitated wider sharing and learning. It captures the experiences of staff working in UK community hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on positive impact changes.
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Content Article
Julie Smith, Topic Leader for the hub and Content Director at EIDO Healthcare, takes a look at how patient information can be used to help improve outcomes for those on long surgical waiting lists. -
Content ArticleThis investigation by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) aims to improve patient safety by supporting staff to access critical information about patients at their bedsides in emergency situations. It defines critical information as ‘information about patients that needs to be accessed rapidly and accurately to ensure correct care is delivered when it is required’. In this investigation, critical information was considered through a focus on patient identifiers (such as name and date of birth) and decisions relating to whether someone is recommended to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if their heart stops (cardiac arrest). The reference event for this investigation was the care of a patient in a hospital who was found unresponsive in bed. A short time later, he stopped breathing and his heart stopped. Help was immediately sought from the ward staff and a team gathered around the patient’s bed, where they confirmed the patient’s identity and noted that a decision had been made that he was not recommended to receive CPR if his heart stopped. As a result, CPR was not started. Around 10 minutes later, a nurse who had previously been caring for the patient returned from their break and recognised that the patient had been misidentified as the patient in the next bed. The patient whose heart had stopped was recommended to receive CPR. CPR was immediately started, but despite this, the patient died.
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Content ArticleThis recording is of the launch of the Health Equity Network (HEN) on 24 January 2023. The HEN aims to roll out practical solutions to reduce health inequalities, and will help organisations and individuals across the public, private and third sectors to connect and collaborate with those working towards similar health equity goals. It will offer opportunities to share work and knowledge and for members to engage with others across the country. Speakers at the event included: Dr. Jessica Allen, Deputy Director of The Institute for Health Equity Dr. Henry Kippin, Managing Director of the North of Tyne Combined Authority Pete Gladwell, Group Social Impact and Investment Director, Legal & General Capital Alan Higgins, Health Equity Network Lead Professor Sir Michael Marmot, Director of the Institute of Health Equity Sign up to join the Health Equity Network online community
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Content Article
The words used in healthcare to communicate to patients, either in person or in writing, can significantly impact patient safety. From the barriers created by jargon to phrases that dismiss, offend or stem from bias, the case for health information to be clear, accessible and inclusive has been made time and again. In this blog, we've picked out seven resources that have been shared on the hub, to highlight just a few ways language can affect a patient's journey, and ultimately their safety. -
Content ArticleOn the 5 February 2020 an inquest was opened into the death of Hayley Smith. The jury concluded on 9 March 2022 with a narrative conclusion “The deceased died from complications of anorexia nervosa.” Hayley had developed severe and enduring anorexia nervosa at around the age of nine or ten and was resistant to treatment including several hospital admissions both voluntary, and at times compulsory treatment under the Mental Health Act. She was repeatedly admitted to hospital. On the 23 December 2019 Hayley had not eaten, became confused and unwell, and an ambulance was called. The correct emergency treatment was provided but Hayley responded quickly and regained consciousness and refused further treatment or admission to hospital. On 24 December she became unwell again and this time was taken to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital where she again refused treatment and discharged herself against medical advice. The responsible medical officer from the Kent Eating disorder team gave evidence that had the team known of either of these episodes they would have taken steps to admit her and treat her.] On Christmas Day 2019 she collapsed for a final time and this time, had an out of hospital cardiac arrest, and was admitted to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital and transferred to Intensive care where she was diagnosed as suffering from hypoxic brain damage as a result of her cardiac arrest due to severe hypoglycaemia as a consequence of her Anorexia Nervosa. She died on 29 December 2019 at the age of 27.
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Content Article
This is part of our series of Patient Safety Spotlight interviews, where we talk to people working for patient safety about their role and what motivates them. Ian talks to us about rebuilding patient trust in the healthcare system, how the Private Healthcare Information Network (PHIN) is helping to improve decision making for patients in the private sector, and why recognising the link between physical and mental health is vital to patient safety. -
Content Article
This online comic has been developed by the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Association of Paediatric Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland to help children aged 7-11 understand what it’s like to have a general anaesthetic, using familiar Beano characters to help reduce any anxiety they may have about surgery. It is a fun and playful way to help children understand more about their operation and how to prepare for it, and includes links to other resources. Readers can accompany Dennis on a fun-filled journey as he prepares to have his tonsils removed, from diagnosis to discharge from hospital. The comic answers children's questions, including: what is a general anaesthetic and is it safe? how will I feel when I wake up? how can I prepare for my operation? what should I do if I am worried or have questions? 'Dennis has an anaesthetic' will also help children and their parents and carers understand what happens in the run-up to an operation, the care children will need afterwards and how they can best prepare.
