Great expectations - introduction of flow managers in a university hospital.

A major reorganization of a university hospital included the clinical structure as well as the administrative structure of the hospital. The focus of the reorganization was to improve the coordination of patient flows through the hospital. An important part of the organizational change was the introduction of flow managers. The aim of the article is to describe and analyze the challenges of the flow managers in the implementation of the reorganization. The description is based on a number of individual and focus group interviews with professionals and managers on different organizational levels. The analysis is guided by a broad conceptual framework, focusing on the processes of change in a professional organization like a hospital. The results show that the flow managers started with a lot of uncertainty regarding their responsibilities. There was also a lot of resistance to the reorganization, which the flow managers came to personify. They proceeded by building relationships and shaping their role and tasks. They tried to balance proactive and reactive strategies of change. There were some positive results, but they felt that that the expectations placed on them had been unrealistic. The introduction of flow managers in a university hospital has touched upon many elements of the conceptual framework. There were a number of structural, cultural, financial and strategic barriers influencing the change process. The main conclusion of the analysis is that the flow managers need more power and legitimacy in the organization to deal with these barriers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interorganizational Collaboration in Transitional Care - A Study of a Post-Discharge Programme for Elderly Patients.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: This article reports a study of a post-discharge programme for elderly patients in Norway. It took place in an intermediate ward for transitional care and was based on collaboration between a municipality and a hospital, which was part of a health enterprise. The aim of the study was to analyse the collaboration and its possible effects on the quality of patient care, and the economic efficiency of the project for the organizations involved. METHODOLOGY: A mixed-methods approach, consisting of interviews, questionnaires and analyses of official documents and statistics. RESULTS: The collaboration was working well on the top level of the organizations, but was more problematic on the operative level. However, there were clear signs of improvement. The patients who received transitional care were more satisfied with their stay at the ward than their previous stay at the hospital. They were discharged to their homes more often and perceived to have a higher level of functioning than the hospital patients. Average costs per patient were also lower in the ward than in the hospital departments. CONCLUSION: The collaboration had mainly positive impacts on the quality of patient care and the economic efficiency of elderly care in the municipality. However, the board of the health enterprise decided to close down the intermediate ward.

Quality, efficiency and integrity: value squeezes in management of hospital wards.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore and describe the value squeezes experienced by ward managers in connection with quality management in hospital wards. The study focused on integrity pressure and coping strategies to deal with such pressure. BACKGROUND: Nurses in the role of ward managers have a key function in the field of quality improvement. These managers are also responsible for the efficient running of their wards and thus face tensions between demands for both quality and efficiency. METHOD: Data were collected through interviews conducted with 10 ward managers from six Norwegian hospitals. The data were analysed using both content and template analysis. RESULTS: Ward managers felt squeezed between conflicting values associated with demands for both quality and efficiency. These tensions resulted in pressure on integrity for the managers as well as their nursing colleagues. Three different management strategies were used to cope with such pressure: quality conscious, efficiency adjusting and hybrid. CONCLUSION: A hybrid strategy appeared to be the best, both for the ward managers and the hospital organisations, despite the fragmentation associated with this strategy. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Hybrid management may be beneficial for coping with pressure on integrity, although more empirical research is needed.

Organizing integrated care in a university hospital: application of a conceptual framework.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: As a result of New Public Management, a number of industrial models of quality management have been implemented in health care, mainly in hospitals. At the same time, the concept of integrated care has been developed within other parts of the health sector. The aim of the article is to discuss the relevance of integrated care for hospitals. THEORY AND METHODS: The discussion is based on application of a conceptual framework outlining a number of organizational models of integrated care. These models are illustrated in a case study of a Danish university hospital implementing a new organization for improving the patient flows of the hospital. The study of the reorganization is based mainly on qualitative data from individual and focus group interviews. RESULTS: The new organization of the university hospital can be regarded as a matrix structure combining a vertical integration of clinical departments with a horizontal integration of patient flows. This structure has elements of both interprofessional and interorganizational integration. A strong focus on teamwork, meetings and information exchange is combined with elements of case management and co-location. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that integrated care can be a relevant concept for a hospital. Although the organizational models may challenge established professional boundaries and financial control systems, this concept can be a more promising way to improve the quality of care than the industrial models that have been imported into health care. This application of the concept may also contribute to widen the field of integrated care.

Pulp exposures in adults--choice of treatment among Swedish dentists.

This study comprises a survey of Swedish dentists'treatment preferences in cases of carious exposure of the dental pulp in adults.The survey was conducted as part of a comprehensive report on methods of diagnosis and treatment in endodontics, published in 2010 by the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment. A questionnaire was mailed to a random subsample of 2012 dental offices where one dentist at each office was requested to answer all questions. Each questionnaire contained one of three sets of questions about endodontic practice routines.Thus around one-third of the subsample received case-specific questions about treating carious exposure. Only general practitioners aged below 70 years were included.The final study sample comprised 412 participants.The dentists were presented with two case scenarios. In Case 1 a 22-year old patient had a deep carious lesion in tooth 36 and in Case 2 a 50-year old patient had a deep carious lesion in tooth 14.The participants were asked to nominate their treatment of choice: pulp capping, partial pulpotomy or pulpectomy. For Case 1, 17 per cent of the respondents selected pulpectomy; the corresponding rate for Case 2 was 47 per cent. Female gender and age group 25-49 years were predictive of selection of less invasive treatment options. However, according to recent guidelines (2011) from the National Board of Health and Wellfare, Swedish dentists are recommended to elect pulpectomy prior to pulp capping/partial pulpotomy when confronted with a tooth having a cariously exposed pulp in adults.

Treatment of pulps in teeth affected by deep caries - A systematic review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review assesses the effect of methods commonly used to manage the pulp in cases of deep caries lesions, and the extent the pulp chamber remains uninfected and does not cause pulpal or periapical inflammatory lesions and associated tooth-ache over time. STUDY DESIGN: An electronic literature search included the databases PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Reviews from January 1950 to March 2013. In addition, hand searches were carried out. Two reviewers independently evaluated abstracts and full-text articles. An article was read in full if at least one of the two reviewers considered the abstract potentially relevant. Altogether, 161 articles were read in full text. Of these, 24 studies fulfilled established inclusion criteria. Based on studies of at least moderate quality, the quality of evidence of each procedure was rated in four levels according to GRADE. RESULTS: No study reached the high quality level. Twelve were of moderate quality. The overall evidence was insufficient to assess which of indirect pulp capping, stepwise excavation, direct excavation and pulp capping/partial pulpotomy, pulpotomy or pulpectomy is the most effective treatment approach for teeth with deep caries. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the lack of good studies it is not possible to determine whether an injured pulp by deep caries can be maintained or whether it should be removed and replaced with a root canal filling. Both randomized studies and prospective observational studies are needed to investigate whether a pulp exposed to deep caries is best treated by measures intended to preserve it or by pulpectomy and root filling.

Temporomandibular disorder pain after whiplash trauma: a systematic review.

AIMS: To assess, by systematic review of the literature, (1) the prevalence and incidence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain after whiplash trauma, and (2) whether treatment modalities commonly used for TMD are equally effective in patients with solely TMD pain and those with TMD/whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) pain. METHODS: A systematic literature search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Bandolier databases was conducted from January 1966 through October 2012. The systematic search identified 125 articles. After an initial screening of abstracts, 45 articles were reviewed in full text. Two investigators evaluated the methodological quality of each identified study. RESULTS: Eight studies on prevalence/incidence of TMD pain in WAD and four studies on interventions in TMD pain and WAD met the inclusion criteria. The reported median prevalence of TMD pain after whiplash trauma was 23% (range 2.4% to 52%) and the incidence ranged from 4% to 34%. For healthy controls, the reported median prevalence was 3% (range 2.5% to 8%) and the incidence ranged from 4.7% to 7%. For patients with a combination of TMD pain and WAD, treatment modalities conventionally used for TMD, such as jaw exercises and occlusal splints, had less of an effect (median improvement rate of 48%, range 13% to 68%) compared to TMD patients without a whiplash injury (75%, range 51% to 91%). CONCLUSION: There is some evidence that prevalence and incidence of TMD pain is increased after whiplash trauma. The poorer treatment outcome suggests that TMD pain after whiplash trauma has a different pathophysiology compared to TMD pain localized to the facial region.

Development of a quality-assessment tool for experimental bruxism studies: reliability and validity.

AIMS: To combine empirical evidence and expert opinion in a formal consensus method in order to develop a quality-assessment tool for experimental bruxism studies in systematic reviews. METHODS: Tool development comprised five steps: (1) preliminary decisions, (2) item generation, (3) face-validity assessment, (4) reliability and discriminitive validity assessment, and (5) instrument refinement. The kappa value and phi-coefficient were calculated to assess inter-observer reliability and discriminative ability, respectively. RESULTS: Following preliminary decisions and a literature review, a list of 52 items to be considered for inclusion in the tool was compiled. Eleven experts were invited to join a Delphi panel and 10 accepted. Four Delphi rounds reduced the preliminary tool-Quality-Assessment Tool for Experimental Bruxism Studies (Qu-ATEBS)- to 8 items: study aim, study sample, control condition or group, study design, experimental bruxism task, statistics, interpretation of results, and conflict of interest statement. Consensus among the Delphi panelists yielded good face validity. Inter-observer reliability was acceptable (k = 0.77). Discriminative validity was excellent (phi coefficient 1.0; P < .01). During refinement, 1 item (no. 8) was removed. CONCLUSION: Qu-ATEBS, the seven-item evidence-based quality assessment tool developed here for use in systematic reviews of experimental bruxism studies, exhibits face validity, excellent discriminative validity, and acceptable inter-observer reliability. Development of quality assessment tools for many other topics in the orofacial pain literature is needed and may follow the described procedure.

Adjunct methods for caries detection: a systematic review of literature.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of adjunct methods used to detect and quantify dental caries. STUDY DESIGN: A systematic literature search for relevant papers was conducted with pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Abstracts and full text articles were assessed independently by two reviewers. The study characteristics were compiled in tables and quality graded according to the QUADAS tool. The level of evidence for each diagnostic technology (fiber-optic methods, fluorescence methods, electrical methods) was based on studies of high or moderate quality according to the GRADE approach. RESULTS: Twenty-five reports fulfilled the inclusion criteria. One study was of high quality, 10 were graded as moderate, while the remaining 14 reports were of low quality. Electrical methods (ECM) and laser fluorescence (DIAGNOdent) displayed sensitivities and specificities around 70-80% regarding occlusal dentin lesions with a mean Youden's index of 0.52-0.54. The mean accuracy of laser fluorescence for detecting enamel and dentin lesions was 0.68 and 0.91, respectively. The heterogeneity of the published reports hampered the analysis. CONCLUSIONS: There was insufficient scientific evidence for diagnostic accuracy regarding fiber-optic methods and quantitative light-induced fluorescence (+OOO). The electrical methods and laser fluorescence could be useful adjuncts to visual-tactile and radiographic examinations, especially on occlusal surfaces in permanent and primary molars, but evidence was graded as limited (++OO). No conclusions could be drawn regarding the cost-effectiveness of the methods. There is an obvious need to standardize study designs for in vitro and in vivo validation of the different methods.

Health-promoting collaboration in anesthesia nursing: a qualitative study of nurse anesthetists in Norway.

Perceived stress of nurse anesthetists and their work environment has been the focus of several previous studies. This article presents a study of different factors that may contribute positively or negatively to the work environment of nurse anesthetists in Norway. It focuses on factors that nurse anesthetists perceive as health promoting at work and indicates how a healthy work environment can be created. A qualitative method was used, which included interviews with a strategic sample of 14 nurse anesthetists working in anesthesia departments. The data were collected in 2008. A grounded theory approach was used as the method of analysis. From the data analysis emerged 1 core category, Collaboration for better or worse-the fate of nurse anesthetists at the workplace. There were also 3 categories, Management as organizer of conditions, Well-being in an operating theater, and Clarity of role, and a number of subcategories. Collaboration through teamwork emerged as a crucial factor in the work environment of nurse anesthetists, while management was considered an important factor for creating a healthy work environment. Production pressure and communication difficulties were perceived as negative for the work environment. Management should therefore be actively involved and oriented toward creating favorable conditions for collaboration.

Actor or arena: contrasting translations of a law on interorganizational integration.

PURPOSE: A Swedish framework law has enabled integration between public agencies in vocational rehabilitation. With the support of this law, coordination associations can be formed to fund and organize joint activities. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze how the law has been interpreted and translated into local coordination associations and how local institutional logics have developed to guide the organization of these associations. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Data was collected through observations of meetings within two coordination associations and supplemented with documents. The material was analyzed by compilation and examination of data from field notes, whereupon the most important aspects were crystallized and framed with institutional organization theory. FINDINGS: Two different translations of the law were seen in the associations studied: the association as an independent actor, and as an arena for its member organizations. Two subsequent institutional logics have developed, influencing decisions on autonomy, objectives and rationality for initiating and organizing in the two associations and their activities. The institutional logics are circular, further enhancing the different translations creating different forms of integration. RESEARCH IMPLICATIONS/LIMITATIONS: Both forms of integration are legitimate, but the different translations have created integration with different degrees of autonomy in relation to the member organizations. Only a long-term analysis can show whether one form of integration is more functional than the other. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This article is based on an extensive material providing insights into a form of interorganizational integration which has been scarcely researched. The findings show how different translations can influence the integration of welfare services.

Organizational approaches to collaboration in vocational rehabilitation-an international literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Collaboration between welfare organizations is an important strategy for integrating different health and welfare services. This article reports a review of the international literature on vocational rehabilitation, focusing on different organizational models of collaboration as well as different barriers and facilitating factors. METHODS: The review was based on an extensive search in scientific journals from 1995 to 2010, which generated more than 13,000 articles. The number of articles was reduced in different steps through a group procedure based on the abstracts. Finally, 205 articles were read in full text and 62 were included for content analysis. RESULTS: Seven basic models of collaboration were identified in the literature. They had different degrees of complexity, intensity and formalization. They could also be combined in different ways. Several barriers and facilitators of collaboration were also identified. Most of these were related to factors as communication, trust and commitment. CONCLUSION: There is no optimal model of collaboration to be applied everywhere, but one model could be more appropriate than others in a certain context. More research is needed to compare different models and to see whether they are applicable also in other fields of collaboration inside or outside the welfare system.

Health promoting leadership - different views of the concept.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and analyse different views of health promoting leadership among actors involved in workplace health promotion in eight Swedish municipalities. METHODS: Twenty individuals were interviewed and their views were analysed according to the methodology of phenomenograpic research, exploring how health promoting leadership was described, what motives were expressed, and what critical conditions were perceived for developing such leadership. RESULTS: The informants described health promoting leadership in three ways: organising health promoting activities, having a supportive leadership style, and developing a health promoting workplace. The motives mentioned for developing health promoting leadership were instrumental motives and improved health. The critical conditions for health promoting leadership were organisational conditions, characteristics of individual managers, and support to managers. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that the concept of health promoting leadership was often used to link ideas about good leadership to the health of employees. Organisational goals and management trends may also have influenced the motives as well as the conditions for development of health promoting leadership.

Frequency of serious complications after surgery for snoring and sleep apnea.

CONCLUSION: No case of death related to surgery in the form of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, uvulopalatoplasty or nasal surgery for snoring or sleep apnea has been recorded in Sweden among 4876 patients treated between 1997 and 2005. Severe complications of surgery in the peri- and postoperative period, especially in the form of bleedings and infections, were most common after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, occurring in 3.7%. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency of serious complications, including death, of surgery for treatment of snoring and sleep apnea. METHODS: All Swedish adults who were treated surgically because of snoring or sleep apnea from January 1997 to December 2005 were identified in the National Patient Register. Mortality and serious complications within 30 days from surgery were obtained from the National Cause of Death Register and the National Patient Register. RESULTS: A total of 4876 patients were treated surgically. Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty was performed in 3572 patients, uvulopalatoplasty in 929 patients, and nasal surgery in 375 patients. None of the surgically treated patients died in the peri- and postoperative period. Severe complications, mainly bleedings and infections, were recorded in 37.1 per 1000 patients treated with uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, in 5.6 per 1000 patients after uvulopalatoplasty, and in 8.8 per 1000 patients after nasal surgery.

Which evidence has an impact on dentists' willingness to change their behavior?

There is some literature on how to find the best evidence for clinical practice but little is known about which evidence clinicians actually seek when they look for scientific support in changing behavior. The aim of this study was to explore which evidence has an impact on dentists' willingness to change their behavior by investigating the requirements for seeking and understanding new knowledge, as well as perceived barriers or motives for doing this. A postal questionnaire was analyzed according to demographic information, access to and use of a personal computer, postgraduate education activity, knowledge about evidence-based medicine and scientific terms, and seeking and grasping new and actual knowledge from 177 dentists. Fifteen of these dentists formed 3 focus groups that were interviewed about the areas in the questionnaire. First-order information, that was required in a short time, was sought by the nearest colleagues. Literature and Internet-based technology were second-order information, mainly sought by younger dentists. The people that were interviewed claimed that the real point of issue was to find new knowledge that could be transferred into practice. Many studies pointing to sometimes diverging results only seem to create confused professionals. To include some qualitative aspects in evidence-based reports could be a way of improving understanding and changing behavior in a favorable direction and perhaps also increase interest for new knowledge.