Clinical information and guidance shared via a patient infotainment system can reduce hospital stay and maintain 2 medical quality for total knee arthroplasty: A single-blinded quasi-randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The demand for total knee arthroplasty is increasing worldwide. Optimising results and meeting patients' expectations are more challenging than before, because the length of hospitalisation has markedly reduced and the standard care processes have been accelerated. We incorporated an interactive patient infotainment system into the standard clinical pathway for total knee arthroplasty in the hope of improving patients' length of stay. OBJECTIVES: To analyse whether incorporation of an interactive infotainment system reduced the length of stay and improved the quality of medical care (in terms of number of medical orders and emergency room returns). DESIGN: A prospective, quasi-randomised controlled trial. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Data of 86 patients hospitalised for a unilateral total knee arthroplasty at a medical centre in Taiwan were analysed. METHODS: From January 2017 to July 2017, 86 patients who underwent unilateral total knee arthroplasty and were cared for under a standard clinical pathway were included. The study group (41 patients) had access to electronic programs and video demonstrations related to health literacy, physical therapy, home care and precautions following total knee arthroplasty via a patient infotainment system, while the control group (45 patients) did not. Hospital course, quality indices, in-hospital medical costs, returns to the emergency room and readmission at 30 or 90 days were analysed and compared between the two groups of patients. RESULTS: The study group had a shorter length of stay (4.4 vs. 4.8 days, mean differences [MD] = -0.37, 95% CI -0.71 to -0.03, p = 0.026) and fewer medical orders (109 vs 111 orders, MD = -1.86, 95% confidence intervals (CI) -3.58 to -0.15, p = 0.047) as compared with the control group. The incidences of emergency room return and readmission to the hospital at 30 or 90 days were comparable between the two groups. No difference in the total medical cost was found between the two groups, with only the cost of laboratory tests in the study group being significantly lower than that in the control group ($144 vs. $163, MD = -21.7, 95% CI -41.0 to -2.25, p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The incorporation of a patient infotainment system into the standard clinical pathway for total knee arthroplasty can efficiently reduce the length of hospital stay and maintain the quality of medical care. Further studies on improvement of patient medical literacy with the help of the infotainment system would be of interest in order to improve clinical practice and patient satisfaction. REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03788798 TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: A patient infotainment system can reduce hospital stay and maintain medical quality for total knee arthroplasty.

Reduction in Hospital-Wide Clinical Laboratory Specimen Identification Errors following Process Interventions: A 10-Year Retrospective Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Accurate patient identification and specimen labeling at the time of collection are crucial steps in the prevention of medical errors, thereby improving patient safety. METHODS: All patient specimen identification errors that occurred in the outpatient department (OPD), emergency department (ED), and inpatient department (IPD) of a 3,800-bed academic medical center in Taiwan were documented and analyzed retrospectively from 2005 to 2014. To reduce such errors, the following series of strategies were implemented: a restrictive specimen acceptance policy for the ED and IPD in 2006; a computer-assisted barcode positive patient identification system for the ED and IPD in 2007 and 2010, and automated sample labeling combined with electronic identification systems introduced to the OPD in 2009. RESULTS: Of the 2000345 specimens collected in 2005, 1023 (0.0511%) were identified as having patient identification errors, compared with 58 errors (0.0015%) among 3761238 specimens collected in 2014, after serial interventions; this represents a 97% relative reduction. The total number (rate) of institutional identification errors contributed from the ED, IPD, and OPD over a 10-year period were 423 (0.1058%), 556 (0.0587%), and 44 (0.0067%) errors before the interventions, and 3 (0.0007%), 52 (0.0045%) and 3 (0.0001%) after interventions, representing relative 99%, 92% and 98% reductions, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Accurate patient identification is a challenge of patient safety in different health settings. The data collected in our study indicate that a restrictive specimen acceptance policy, computer-generated positive identification systems, and interdisciplinary cooperation can significantly reduce patient identification errors.