Effective discharge planning - timely assignment of an estimated date of discharge.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the implementation of estimated date of discharge (EDD) for planned admissions and admissions via the emergency department, to assess the variance between EDD and the actual date of discharge (ADD), and to explore the determinants of delayed discharge in a tertiary referral centre, Sydney, Australia. METHODS: Primary data from a convenience sample of 1958 admissions for allocation of EDDs were linked with administrative data. The window for assigning EDDs for planned admissions was 24h, for admissions via the emergency department it was 48h. Logistic regression models were used to examine the key factors associated with an EDD being assigned within 24h or 48h of an admission. An ordinal logistic regression model was used to explore the determinants of delayed discharge. RESULTS: Only 13.4% of planned admissions and 27.5% of admissions via the emergency department were allocated a timely EDD. Older patients, patients with significant burdens of chronic morbidity (OR=0.903; P=0.011); and patients from a non-English-speaking background (OR=0.711; P=0.059) were less likely to be assigned a timely EDD. The current Charlson Index score was a significant predictor of a positive variance between EDD and ADD. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of the timely assignment of an EDD was low and was lowest for planned admissions. The current Charlson Index score is an effective tool for identifying patients who are more likely to experience delayed discharge.

Analysis of medical emergency team calls comparing subjective to "objective" call criteria.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the reasons why nursing staff use the subjective "worried" Medical Emergency Team (MET) calling criterion and compare the outcomes of calls activated using the "worried" criterion with those calls activated using "objective" criteria such as vital sign abnormalities. METHODS: A descriptive study of MET calls in six acute hospitals over a 12 months period. Outcomes for "objective" and "worried" calls were compared. RESULTS: The "worried" criterion was used to activate 29% of 3194 MET calls studied; it was the single most common reason for a MET call. Half (51.7%) of the "worried" calls were related to problems with Airway, Breathing, Circulation or Neurology. 'Breathing' problems accounted for the largest proportion (35.2%). A low oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry (SpO2) (n=249, 26.9%) and 'respiratory distress' (n=133, 14.4%) were the most common reasons for a "worried" call. Only 1.1% (10) of calls triggered by the "worried" criteria had cardiac arrest as an outcome compared with 170 calls (7.6%) for "objective" criteria. The proportion of patients who remained in a general ward area after MET calls was higher for the "worried" calls. CONCLUSIONS: The "worried" criterion was the most frequent reason for MET calls, implying a high degree of empowerment and independent action by nursing staff. Low SpO2 and respiratory distress were the most common causes for concern. There was a significant difference between MET calls triggered by "worried" criteria and "objective" criteria for outcomes immediately following MET (p < 0.001). Further assessment and refinement of MET triggers particularly in relation to respiratory distress and pulse oximetry may be needed.

Discharge delay in acute care: reasons and determinants of delay in general ward patients.

To identify the reasons and determinants of discharge delay in acute care patients, information associated with delayed discharge was extracted from the medical record of 1958 patients in a tertiary referral hospital in New South Wales. A logistic regression model was used to examine the association between demographic factors and reasons for discharge delay. Delayed discharge was most commonly associated with the patient's medical conditions, delayed health care or medical consultation, delayed diagnostic services and delayed allied health services. Elderly patients, those living alone and patients from a non-English-speaking background were more likely to have these reasons for delayed discharge.

How do CNCs construct their after hours support role in a major metropolitan hospital.

AIM: To explore how CNCs who provide hospital wide support after hours (AHCSs) construct their role. METHODS: This is an ethnographic study involving two AHCSs as participants. Audio visual data was collected in 2007 at a Major Metropolitan Hospital, Sydney during after hours shifts. The data was coded using the standards defined in the Nurse Practitioner (NP) competencies. RESULTS: Four hours of videotape (observed clinical practice) and 2 h of audio tape (interviews) were coded. They performed procedures (22%), gathered information to identify at risk patients (21%), conducted patient assessments (20%) and relayed information/findings to ward nurses (12%) and doctors (12%). The roles/responsibilities of AHCSs were similar to those defined for NPs. For the domain "dynamic practice" 388 activities were identified. The two participants used advanced and comprehensive assessment skills and demonstrated a high level of proficiency in performing procedures/interventions. For the domain "professional efficacy" 174 activities were coded, for "clinical Leadership" there were 135 activities. "Pro-actively identifying at risk patients in general wards" was added as a new performance indicator within the domain "clinical leadership". An analysis of the interviews corroborated the results derived from the visual data. CONCLUSION: A significant capacity for critical thinking and clinical decision making were the hallmarks of the performance of the two AHCSs; their style of practice was collaborative, flexible and autonomous. While their formal role were as CNCs the two participants operationalised their roles/responsibilities as would a Nurse Practitioner. Their practice demonstrated a new competency: "the pro-active identification of at risk patients".

The Medical Emergency Team system: a two hospital comparison.

AIM: To compare activity and outcomes of a mature Medical Emergency Team (MET) in two hospitals. SETTING AND POPULATIONS: A Tertiary Referral Hospital (TRH) and a Metropolitan General Hospital (MGH) who combined have approximately 82,000 admissions annually with 38,000 patients meeting the eligibility criteria. The population included all admissions to the two hospitals aged 15 years and over with a stay>1 day (12 months period). Admissions that had a MET call originating in general wards were defined as Admissions Associated with a MET call (AAMET). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of MET call audit forms, a Death Review database, and routinely collected hospital data for the period 1st October 2004 to 30th September 2005, inclusive. Chronic morbidity was calculated as a Charlson Index (CI) score over previous visits and admissions using ICD10 & ICD9 diagnosis and procedure codes. RESULTS: There were 633 and 349 AAMETs. The incidence rates (MET calls/1000 admissions) were 37.6 and 34.1. They were associated with being elderly; males; higher CI scores; surgical admissions, Emergency Department (ED) admissions, and longer length of stay (LOS). A systolic BP<90mm Hg, and "worried" were the most frequent MET call criteria. There were 27 (4.3%) and 9 (2.6%) deaths following a MET call, of these 17 and 5 had Cardiac Arrest (CA) as the reason for the call. Death occurred for 192 and 54 AAMETs, only 38 (20%) and 14 (26%) were Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) deaths. One hundred and forty-seven (23.2%) and eighty-seven (24.9%) AAMETs had a MET call within 24h of transfer from a critical care area; the proportions of transfers differed significantly between the two hospitals. CONCLUSION: A well established MET system identified similar AAMET populations from two different hospital populations. Sick, elderly, and surgical rather than medical patients were associated with MET activity in both hospitals. Further research is needed to estimate the impact of increased monitoring and interventions on patient outcomes, and the role of MET teams in end of life decision-making.

Problems and solutions arising during a study in visual semantics of the medical emergency team system.

A study of the medical emergency team (MET) to explore communication within the team, leadership, handover, and MET resuscitation practice was performed using audiovisual recording in hospitals of Sydney South West Area Health Service, Sydney, Australia. In this article, we report on the process of data collection: the completion of 25 video recordings of MET calls across three of the six study hospitals. We describe how we gained entry into hospital environments to film events characterized by the unpredictability and uncertainties associated with resuscitating a patient and the strategies that we implemented during the fieldwork to develop and maintain rapport with both clinicians and managers. We describe how we addressed some of the practical constraints related to collecting audiovisual data at the point of acute care as well as their implications for the theoretical and methodological aspects of the study.

A population follow-up study of patients who left an emergency department without being seen by a medical officer.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the population of emergency department patients who leave without being seen by a medical officer, to investigate the circumstances of their visit and to ascertain whether they subsequently receive alternative medical care. METHODS: A follow-up study was conducted of patients who were initially triaged, but left without being seen by a medical officer between July 2003 and October 2003 in a tertiary referral hospital emergency department in Sydney, Australia. Emergency Department Information System data were reviewed for population demographics, presenting complaints and acuity rating of patients. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted within 7 days after the patient left the emergency department. RESULTS: During the study period, 8.6% (1272 of 14 741) of the emergency department patients left without seeing a doctor and 35.9% (457 of 1272) of these patients who walks out were contacted for follow-up. The results from bivariate and multivariate analyses showed that walkout rates significantly varied by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. Young patients aged 0-29 years, and those with longer waiting time for triage and triaged as "less urgent" were more likely to walk out than others. Overcrowding in the emergency department had a significant association with walkout of patients. Prolonged waiting time was the most common reason for leaving emergency departments without being seen by a doctor. Only 12.7% (58 of 457) of the walkout patients revisited emergency departments within 7 days of their departure and of those who were subsequently admitted following their return to hospital accounted for 5.0% (23 of 457). Of the follow-up patients, 39.4% felt angry about their emergency department experiences. CONCLUSIONS: The number of patients who leave an emergency department without seeing a doctor is strongly correlated with waiting time for medical review. Achieving shorter emergency department waiting times is central to reducing the numbers of people leaving without being seen. The rate of patients who leave without being seen is also strongly correlated with triage category. These findings highlight the importance of accurate triaging, as this clearly influences waiting time. It is also likely that there are patients who benefit from the reassurance of the triage assessment, and therefore feel less urgency for medical review. These may be cases where immediate medical review is not essential. This area should be further explored. These results are important for planning and staffing health services. Decision makers should identify and target factors to minimise walkouts from public hospital emergency departments.

Guidelines for the uniform reporting of data for Medical Emergency Teams.

It is more than 15 years since the first Medical Emergency Team (MET) system was introduced to identify patients at risk and prevent serious adverse events in Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia. Since then the MET system has been introduced to many other hospitals in Australia and around the world. Standardised and complete reporting of data related to MET activity is increasingly important to identify the role and benefits of the system and to facilitate quality improvement in health care in general. A uniform method for reporting data related to MET activity will aid interpretation of results, comparisons, review and changes to the MET system. The guidelines for uniform reporting of data in relation to MET activities used in our group of hospitals are presented. Future refinement and consensus agreement on the reporting of MET data internationally should enable comparisons between MET systems in several countries.

Factors associated with walkout of patients from New South Wales hospital emergency departments, Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between daily patient numbers, sociodemographic, clinical and system characteristics and walkout rates of patients from New South Wales (NSW) public hospital ED (without seeing a medical officer). METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of the NSW Emergency Department Data Collection, between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2001, with a total of 4 356 323 ED attendances. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship of walkout from ED and explanatory variables. RESULTS: About 5.7% of the patients attending in NSW public hospital ED left without seeing a doctor. The results from bivariate and multivariate analyses revealed that walkout rates significantly varied by sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of the patients. Patient groups that more likely to walk out were those aged 15-44 years, from a non-English-speaking background, Aboriginal, with lower socioeconomic status, with no private health insurance coverage and longer waiting times for triage. Patient volume in the ED showed a significant positive association with walkout rates. CONCLUSIONS: After adjusting for triage category (urgency of presentation) and triage time, patients from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and those without private health insurance coverage were more likely to leave ED without treatment. These results have important implications for Health Services. Future strategies aimed at minimizing walkouts from public hospital ED should prioritize and target factors identified in the present study.

Ecological and individual predictors of maternal smoking behaviour. Looking beyond individual socioeconomic predictors at the community setting.

The aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of smoking during pregnancy by the individual mother's sociodemographic characteristics and ecological factors at the community level (suburbs). This analysis combined 1996 Australia Census and data on 3424 women attending Well-Baby-Clinics (WBC) between January 1996 and February 1998 within a region in South Western Sydney (SWS), Australia. The prevalence of maternal smoking was 31%. Maternal factors such as marital status, country of birth, education, occupation, socioeconomic status (SES), and types of antenatal care (ANC) were independent risk factors for maternal smoking. Small area analysis revealed suburbs within SWS with high rates of maternal smoking (47-57%). Community level characteristics such as low income, low educational level, young mothers, and unemployment can explain 85.7% of the variation in maternal smoking in SWS. Smoking during pregnancy is recognised as a serious risk factor to the unborn child. The present study draws attention to local community level factors, other than individual SES, which may be important when developing strategies for maternal smoking prevention programs.

Patterns and characteristics of ethnic Australian women utilising ethno-specific maternal and child health services.

Few studies have explored the socio-economic profile, service utilisation, obstetric history and pregnancy outcomes of ethnic women who utilise ethno-specific obstetric services in Australia. The purpose of this study was to form a profile of women who accessed the Ethnic Obstetric Liaison Services (EOLO) in South Western Sydney Area Health Service (SWSAHS), New South Wales and explore their beliefs about using maternal and infant health services. We found that the prevalence of risks and special needs varied significantly by language groups in this study sample. Our results suggest that equity of access to quality care for this group of mothers and infants can be assured if models similar to the EOLO in SWSAHS are thoroughly planned and developed, and take account of cultural appropriateness for the population served.

Prevalence of morphine use and time to initial analgesia in an Australian emergency department.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of morphine use with factors influencing time to initial analgesia (T-A). METHODS: A retrospective cohort review was conducted. Morphine data were collected from a register for restricted drugs located in the ED. T-A was the time interval between triage and signing out of morphine's first dose. Statistical analyses were performed to determine the association between morphine use and patient volume. RESULTS: In total, 8% of ED attendees received at least one dose of morphine sulphate in the ED. Prevalence of morphine use significantly (P < 0.05) varied by patient's age, Australasian Triage Scale category, time of arrival and type of illness. The median time of T-A was 79 min (95% CI 71-85) with substantially longer (median 107 min) for those who arrived during the afternoon and triaged as less urgent (median 127 min). Patients who arrived late at night (median 47 min), triaged as immediately/imminently life-threatening (median 58 min) and diagnosed as renal colic (median 27 min) or fractures/injuries (median 67 min) were more likely to receive i.v. morphine faster than other patients. The findings confirmed that large volume of patients in ED was associated with longer T-A. Patient volume in the ED showed a significant positive association with T-A (r = 0.568, 32% variation explained, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: T-A is an important indicator of the quality of ED services. Severity of illness and patient volume were significant factors associated with extended T-A. Strategies for improving pain management in the complex ED environment are discussed.

Findings of the first consensus conference on medical emergency teams.

BACKGROUND: Studies have established that physiologic instability and services mismatching precede adverse events in hospitalized patients. In response to these considerations, the concept of a Rapid Response System (RRS) has emerged. The responding team is commonly known as a medical emergency team (MET), rapid response team (RRT), or critical care outreach (CCO). Studies show that an RRS may improve outcome, but questions remain regarding the benefit, design elements, and advisability of implementing a MET system. METHODS: In June 2005 an International Conference on Medical Emergency Teams (ICMET) included experts in patient safety, hospital medicine, critical care medicine, and METs. Seven of 25 had no experience with an RRS, and the remainder had experience with one of the three major forms of RRS. After preconference telephone and e-mail conversations by the panelists in which questions to be discussed were characterized, literature reviewed, and preliminary answers created, the panelists convened for 2 days to create a consensus document. Four major content areas were addressed: What is a MET response? Is there a MET syndrome? What are barriers to METS? How should outcome be measured? Panelists considered whether all hospitals should implement an RRS. RESULTS: Patients needing an RRS intervention are suddenly critically ill and have a mismatch of resources to needs. Hospitals should implement an RRS, which consists of four elements: an afferent, "crisis detection" and "response triggering" mechanism; an efferent, predetermined rapid response team; a governance/administrative structure to supply and organize resources; and a mechanism to evaluate crisis antecedents and promote hospital process improvement to prevent future events.

Electronic Health Record System Risk Assessment: A Case Study from the MINET.

This article discusses the risk assessment of a health information system. A case study was conducted at the South Western Sydney Area Health Service to examine the potential risks of the Maternal and Infant Network (MINET) health information system using Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA). FMEA was conducted by utilising safety attributes identified by the authors. Potential failure modes of the system were identified by the study. From this study, it can be concluded that FMEA is an appropriate risk-assessment method for MINET.

Health Informatics and Health Information Management in Maternal and Child Health Services.

In November 1997, the South Western Sydney Area Health Service launched the Mother and Infant Network (MINET). The key objective of MINET is to develop an integrated clinical data network which has the capacity to inform and support a continuum of care for the population of all mothers, infants and children. The MINET data network integrates in-patient services, ambulatory services, and community-based services. The focus of this article is the development and implementation of MINET with reference to the crucial role of data linkage and health informatics in health outcomes/health services research.

Access block in NSW hospitals, 1999-2001: does the definition matter?

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the magnitude of access block and its trend over time in New South Wales hospitals, using different definitions of access block, and to explore its association with clinical and non-clinical factors. DESIGN AND SETTING: An epidemiological study using the Emergency Department Information System datasets (1 January 1999 to 31 December 2001) from a sample of 55 NSW hospitals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of access block measured by four different definitions; strength of association between access block, type of hospital, year of presentation, mode and time of arrival, triage category (an indicator of urgency), age and sex. RESULTS: Rates of access block (for all four definitions) increased between 1999 and 2001 by 1%-2% per year. There were increases across all regions of NSW, but urban regions in particular. Patients presenting to Principal Referral hospitals and those who arrived at night were more likely to experience access block. After adjusting for triage category and year of presentation, the mode of arrival, time of arrival, type of hospital, age and sex were significantly associated with access block. CONCLUSIONS: Access block continues to increase across NSW, whatever the definition used. We recommend that hospitals in NSW and Australia move to the use of one standard definition of access block, as our study suggests there is no significant additional information emerging from the use of multiple definitions.