Written for virtually every professional and leader in the health care field, as well as students who are preparing for careers in health services delivery, this book presents a framework for developing a patient safety program, shows how best to examine events that do occur, and reveals how to ensure that appropriate corrective and preventative actions are reviewed for effectiveness. The book covers a comprehensive selection of topics including * The link between patient safety and legal and regulatory compliance * The role of accreditation and standard-setting organizations in patient safety * Failure modes and effect analysis * Voluntary and regulatory oversight of medical error * Evidence-based outcomes and standards of care * Creation and preservation of reports, data, and device evidence in medical error situations * Claims management when dealing with patient safety events * Full disclosure * Patient safety in human research * Managing confidentiality in the face of litigation * Managing patient safety compliance through accountability-based credentialing for health care professionals * Planning for the future

Appointment Planning in Outpatient Clinics and Diagnostic Facilities provides a concise overview of the medical and mathematical aspects of appointment planning in healthcare. This SpringerBrief specifically focuses on outpatient clinics and diagnostic facilities. It begins by introducing the topic from a medical perspective, discussing the kinds of clinics and facilities that are out there, while exploring the appointment systems they use and the problems they face. Next, the mathematical aspects of appointment planning are examined, including Markov decision modelling, queueing theory, etc. Subsequently the book addresses implementation issues that may arise, whether they be technical, medical or cultural. Finally Appointment Planning in Outpatient Clinics and Diagnostic Facilities provides an outlook on the appointment systems of the future and what they will require as a consequence of current and future developments in the medical sector.

This edited volume captures and communicates the best thinking on how to improve healthcare by improving the delivery of services -- providing care when and where it is needed most -- through application of state-of-the-art scheduling systems. Over 12 chapters, the authors cover aspects of setting appointments, allocating healthcare resources, and planning to ensure that capacity matches needs for care. A central theme of the book is increasing healthcare efficiency so that both the cost of care is reduced and more patients have access to care. This can be accomplished through reduction of idle time, lessening the time needed to provide services and matching resources to the needs where they can have the greatest possible impact on health. Within their chapters, authors address: (1) Use of scheduling to improve healthcare efficiency. (2) Objectives, constraints and mathematical formulations. (3) Key methods and techniques for creating schedules. (4) Recent developments that improve the available problem solving methods. (5) Actual applications, demonstrating how the methods can be used. (6) Future directions in which the field of research is heading. Collectively, the chapters provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of models and methods for scheduling the delivery of patient care for all parts of the healthcare system. Chapter topics include setting appointments for ambulatory care and outpatient procedures, surgical scheduling, nurse scheduling, bed management and allocation, medical supply logistics and routing and scheduling for home healthcare.

The negative consequences of natural hazard events are staggering and growing. Governments are acting to increase community resilience, reduce losses, and facilitate recovery, but these actions do not always yield anticipated consequences. This book is a compelling interdisciplinary analysis of California s efforts to ensure that acute care hospitals survive earthquakes and continue to function in the aftermath. The book weaves together several threads essential to understanding the effectiveness of public policies intended to reduce the consequences of natural hazard events: public policy design and administration, the hazard mitigation investment decision made by targeted organizations, and contextual dynamics.

""A terrific study of shortfalls in the implementation of risk-reduction policy -- highly readable, full of insights, and very policy relevant." "Peter J. May, Donald R. Matthews Distinguished Professor of American Politics, University of Washington, Seattle USA

""This is an exceptional book by three of the leading hazard mitigation researchers and must reading for both scholars and practitioners in the field."" William A. Anderson, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences."

The thoroughly revised and updated fourth edition of "Foodservice Manual for Health Care Institutions" offers a review of the management and operation of health care foodservice departments. This edition of the book--which has become the standard in the field of institutional and health care foodservice--contains the most current data on the successful management of daily operations and includes information on a wide range of topics such as leadership, quality control, human resource management, product selection and purchasing, environmental issues, and financial management.

This new edition also contains information on the practical operation of the foodservice department that has been greatly expanded and updated to help institutions better meet the needs of the customer and comply with the regulatory agencies' standards.

Topics covered include: Leadership and Management SkillsMarketing and Revenue-Generating ServicesQuality Management and ImprovementPlanning and Decision MakingOrganization and Time ManagementTeam BuildingEffective CommunicationHuman Resource ManagementManagement Information SystemsFinancial ManagementEnvironmental Issues and SustainabilityMicrobial, Chemical, and Physical HazardsHACCP, Food Regulations, Environmental Sanitation, and Pest ControlSafety, Security, and Emergency PreparednessMenu PlanningProduct SelectionPurchasingReceiving, Storage, and Inventory ControlFood ProductionFood Distribution and ServiceFacility DesignEquipment Selection and Maintenance

Learning objectives, summary, key terms, and discussion questions included in each chapter help reinforce important topics and concepts. Forms, charts, checklists, formulas, policies, techniques, and references provide invaluable resources for operating in the ever-changing and challenging environment of the foodservice industry.

"Silent Ischemia, Current Concepts and Management" contains the proceedings of a conference held in Rottach-Egern, West Germany, March 5 to 7, 1987. We are most grateful to the authors for the effort to provide manuscripts before the meeting, to the sponsor, Bayer AG, for their generous support and to the publishers for their efficient collaboration, all of which have made the appearance of this book possible. When discussing silent myocardial ischemia, the first question is: "why is it silent?". To approach this question, a deeper look has to be taken into the pathophysiology of cardiac pain and the excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms involved. It has to be borne in mind that - in contradiction to what the poets have told us so beautifully for many centuries - the heart is a visceral and not a sensitive organ. If asymptomatic ischemia did not carry prognostic significance comparable to the symp tomatic manifestations of ischemia, then the problem of silent ischemia would be very academic and without consequences for treatment. Therefore studies on prognosis of silent ischemia are of great importance, as their results should indicate how aggressively patients are to be managed.

This book is based on the proceedings of the fourth Medical Microcomputer Workshop held at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School on 3-5 September 1986. The workshop was attended by clinicians and computer scientists with an interest in applying computer technology to current medical practice. The problems ranged from audit and patient management through to the more complex applications of data analysis obtained from current diagnos tic techniques. The choice of microcomputers has never been greater with low cost making them readily available. A single microcomputer has limita tions in clinical practice and the use of networks for multi-user tasks has expanded its capability but increased the complexity both in terms of hardware and the software needed to run it. Although comprehensive commercial packages are available, none of these are entirely suitable for medical applications without modification. Many of the chapters presented in this book describe the problems encountered and the solutions achieved by configuring and modifying applications software.

Medical Applications of Microcomputers deals with microcomputer applications in a wide area of clinical medicine. Recent developments are discussed in several clinical specialties including medicine, surgery, urology, anaesthesia and oncology. Topics include the storage of analysis of clinical audit data, the display of processing of data from direct physiological measurements and computers in control of therapy. The authors draw on their practical experience and knowledge of specific areas to which they have applied modern microcomputer techniques and give detailed descriptions of the means by which the problems that may be encountered may be overcome. Those wishing to implement their own computer systems will find this book a useful further source of ideas and techniques which add to those described in the earlier volume "Microcomputers in Medicine" by the same editors.

In Part I, the impact of an integro-differential operator on parity logic engines (PLEs) as a tool for scientific modeling from scratch is presented. Part II outlines the fuzzy structural modeling approach for building new linear and nonlinear dynamical causal forecasting systems in terms of fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs). Part III introduces the new type of autogenetic algorithms (AGAs) to the field of evolutionary computing. Altogether, these PLEs, FCMs, and AGAs may serve as conceptual and computational power tools.

Artificial Intelligence for Improved Patient Outcomes provides new, relevant, and practical information on what AI can do in healthcare and how to assess whether AI is improving health outcomes. With clear insights and a balanced approach, this innovative book offers a one-stop guide on how to design and lead pragmatic real-world AI studies that yield rigorous scientific evidence-all in a manner that is safe and ethical. Daniel Byrne, Director of Artificial Intelligence Research at AVAIL (the Advanced Vanderbilt Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) and author of landmark pragmatic studies published in leading medical journals, shares four decades of experience as a biostatistician and AI researcher. Building on his first book, Publishing Your Medical Research, the author gives the reader the competitive advantage in creating reproducible AI research that will be accepted in prestigious high-impact medical journals. Provides easy-to-understand explanations of the key concepts in using and evaluating AI in medicine. Offers practical, actionable guidance on the mechanics and implementation of AI applications in medicine. Shares career guidance on a successful future in AI in medicine. Teaches the skills to evaluate AI tools and avoid being misled by the hype. For a wide audience of healthcare professionals impacted by Artificial Intelligence in medicine, including physician-scientists, AI developers, entrepreneurs, and healthcare leaders who need to evaluate AI applications designed to improve safety, quality, and value for their institutions. Enrich Your eBook Reading Experience Read directly on your preferred device(s), such as computer, tablet, or smartphone. Easily convert to audiobook, powering your content with natural language text-to-speech.

How to be a Nurse or Midwife Leader is an indispensable guide for all nurses and midwives who wish to develop and improve their practice as leaders. Written in collaboration with the NHS Leadership Academy, this practical book draws on the real experience of over 10,000 nurses and midwives to bring leadership dilemmas to life in specific situations. Key learning features include: * How to develop your self-awareness * How to develop your personal impact and presence * How to survive and thrive * How to get your message across * How to get the best out of others * How to work with and lead other professionals and patients * How to have courageous conversations * How to balance conflicting demands and needs Containing exercises and reflective questions to help apply theory to leadership practice, How to be a Nurse or Midwife Leader is an ideal companion for all nurses and midwives, whether you are newly qualified, or stepping into a team leader role.

Blood transfusion is considered a life-saving therapy since ancient times, but, at the same time, a high-risk procedure. Nowadays the common perception is that infection is the greatest risk, even if the blood has never been safer from this point of view. Currently, the residual risk of transfusion must be related mainly to immunological mechanisms underlying to AB0 and minor blood systems, to compatibility of blood transfused and to development of irregular antibodies in transfused patients. "Transfusion Medicine and Patient Safety" aims to provide the basic of immunohematology to readers and to analyze the transfusional process highlighting the most critical points, thus more exposed to errors. Screening on blood and blood components for infectious diseases along with the surveillance action on emerging viruses results in the drastic reduction of post-transfusion infection, together with the potential to further increase the level of security from infection through the inactivation of blood components. The text also describes the major diagnostic systems and organizational models that modern technology provides us with a correct immunohematological diagnosis and an appropriate trasfusional therapy.

The Well-Referred Dentist is a comprehensive guideline that helps dentists finally have the practice of their dreams. In The Well-Referred Dentist, Dr. Bita Saleh addresses the missing factor that is essential to patient compliance in all stages of dental treatment by identifying and resolving the patient's "triad" of obstacles - their fears, anxieties, and limiting beliefs. As a highly-skilled and dedicated dentist for 30 years, Dr. Saleh has discovered an effective process to alleviate the triad of obstacles experienced by patients. Now, she shares her step-by-step program to show dentists how to: Quickly recognize the hidden signs of fear, anxiety, and limiting beliefs Discuss this sensitive topic with patients so they can reach a mutual resolution Resolve their patient's triad of obstacles in the most time-efficient manner Help patients requiring urgent care reduce their fears and anxieties by 35% in 4 minutes Create a customized plan for each patient that identifies and resolves the root cause of their issues Create an easy-to-follow maintenance protocol

Despite its high cost, the US healthcare system produces relatively short life spans, and is wasteful, inefficient and has serious safety and quality issues. While other industries have surmounted similar challenges by transforming themselves through information technology, healthcare lags behind. Major reasons are that our approaches to care delivery and financial incentives were designed for a bygone era. Beyond that the technology offered to practitioners has often been overly expensive, poorly designed, overly proprietary, hard to implement and difficult to use. Spurred by a unique, one-time Federal stimulus and the new mobile, wireless and cloud technologies now available, this landscape is rapidly changing. To succeed going forward practitioners, and those interested in entering the field, need to understand the new driving forces and have a basic understanding of contemporary clinical informatics. Practitioners, in particular, need to understand the alternative technologies and approaches available for their use in individual patient care and more continuous management of their chronic disease patients. To efficiently meet these needs, this book provides an introduction to the rationale for care transformation through clinical informatics; its application to patient care outside of hospitals; and a look at its future. Key points are illustrated throughout by actual examples of open source and commercial health IT products and services. While written with practitioners and students entering the field of clinical informatics in mind, the book eschews technical terminology and is easily accessible by the lay reader not proficient in clinical medicine or information technology."

This volume marks the end of an eight-year program of research on population issues, launched in 1990 by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research: The NWO Priority Program on Population Issues. Initiatives for this program of research were taken over ten years ago by Hans Van Ginkel-who became the first program chair - and Dirk Van De Kaa. The Dutch community of population scientists is deeply indebted to them for their early efforts. At the time, the program carried the name "Between Individual Development and Social Solidarity: Pop ulation and Society in a Period of Transition. " The goals of the Priority Program were threefold: To reduce the fragmentation of research on population issues; to increase collabora tion among population researchers with different disciplinary back grounds; and to strengthen the position of population studies in Dutch academe and in international forums. Looking back over eight years of programed research, we can safely say that the Priority Program has given an enormous impetus to population research in the Netherlands - as this volume attests. This program of research could not have been carried out success fully without the valuable contributions and constructive input of a large group of scientists. The scope and the focus of the Priority Program were defined by a preparatory committee chaired by Gerard Frinking."

Intensive care medicine is one of the fastest growing services provided by hospitals and perhaps one of the most expensive. Yet in response to the global financial crisis of the last few years, healthcare funding is slowing or decreasing throughout the world.

How we manage health care resources in the intensive care unit (ICU) now and in a future that promises only greater cost constraints is the subject of this book, the third in an informal series of volumes providing a global perspective on difficult issues arising in the ICU.

Taking 12 developed countries as their focus, leading experts provide a country-by-country analysis of current ICU resource allocation. A second group of experts use the chapters as a departure point to analyze current ICU resource allocation at the level of the global medical village. The process is repeated, but with an eye toward the future - first country by country, then at the global level - that takes into account initiatives and reforms now underway.

A fictional healthcare plan, the "Fair & Equitable Healthcare Plan," is put forth to address weaknesses in existing approaches, and healthcare experts and ethicists are invited to respond to its often provocative provisions.

Itself structured as a dialogue, the book is an excellent way to start or to continue serious discussion about the allocation of ICU healthcare resources now and in the years ahead.

"

This document was commissioned by the Facility Guidelines Institute as the sole reference for acoustics in health care facilities. It was written by the Health Care Acoustics Working Group, a permanent committee of the Acoustics Research Council (ARC), comprised of members of leading professional societies in acoustics, noise control engineering, acoustical consulting and related professions. ARC organized the health care Working Group in 2004-5 drawing its members from ten constituencies that range from medicine to law, public policy, architecture, design and engineering in order to provide constructive, guidance on sound and vibration based on research and best practices. "Sound and Vibration 2.0" has been adopted as the sole reference standard for acoustics in health care facilities by: the 2010 FGI/ASHE "Guidelines for the Design and Construction of Healthcare Facilities" (used in 60 countries); the US Green Building Council s "LEED for Healthcare" (used in 87 countries); The Green Guide for Health Care V2.2; and the International Code Council's IGCC (2011).

Sound and vibration are topics of increasing prominence in the design, construction, and operation of healthcare facilities. A satisfactory acoustical environment in a healthcare facility is now viewed as an essential component of effective healthcare.

Sensible acoustical and privacy planning in the early design stages of a healthcare facility project can be solved effectively and affordably with a few strokes of the designer's pencil. The recommended minimum design requirements presented in this work are therefore intended to aid designers in achieving satisfactory acoustical and privacy environments in healthcare facilities. This handbook includes comprehensive, practical, and measureable guidelines for all aspects of acoustics in the design, construction, and evaluation of all types of healthcare facilities, including large general hospitals, specialized patient care facilities, and ambulatory patient care facilities.

Tentative estimates suggest that one in ten patients suffers from an adverse event in hospital. In Germany, approx. 1.8 million out of approx. 18 million inpatients suffer from adverse events; 50 percent of these cases are estimated to be avoidable. In the US, nearly 100,000 people die from the consequences of mistreatment. The intensive care units record 1.7 medical errors per patient and day. The most affected disciplines are the operative disciplines, particularly general surgery. Medical errors mainly occur when the indication for surgery is being made, during surgery and post-surgery. Suspicious oncological diagnostic results and post-operative complications are also often ignored. This book deals with complications and typical medical errors in surgery. It shows solutions and ways of dealing effectively with these errors and how to establish an efficient security management system.

At the 1975 Winter Conference on Brain Research a series of workshops were held to discuss the role of the sensory environment in the etiology and therapy of brain dysfunction. The participants represented a broad range of disciplines ranging from basic neuro science through human development psychology. They were linked by a common belief that the role of the sensory environment in brain dysfunction had received insufficient attention. Each had made contributions to this question in their own respective disciplines and it was hoped that this meeting would provide an opportunity for cross fertilization and synthesis. From these workshops this book evolved. Its production would have been impossible without the help of many people. Anna Taylor's flexibility allowed the holding of a larger than normal workshop, while the authors bore up well under editorial pressure to meet deadlines. Linda Coleman and Phyllis Straw provided excellent support from Plenum while Therese Linden gave editorial assistance. Valarie Munden, Rosemary Schmele, and Estelle Hoffman did an excellent job of typing. RNW was supported by a Fellowship from the Foundations' Fund for Research in Psychiatry. As always, our families provided continuous support and encouragement. To all these people and more we say thank you. Roger N. Walsh M.D., B.Med.Sc., Dip.Psychol., Ph.D. William T. Greenough, Ph.D."

Team training has become a tradition in healthcare, where it has helped produce significantly positive results in patient safety. It is widely acknowledged that medical teamwork is essential, yet the coordination, communication, and cooperation behind it has never been carefully examined. This book provides a comprehensive study of the science behind improving team performance in the delivery of clinical care. Leaders in the field, Eduardo Salas and Karen Frush, have assembled scholars, practitioners, and professionals to offer a combination of practical advice and insight as well as a look into the scientific foundation of teamwork. Chapters offer helpful guidelines and lessons on how to improve performance in the team setting, including how to measure success, how to monitor training, pitfalls and challenges, and how the different needs of various clinical situations.

Computer-based infectious disease surveillance systems are capable of real-time or near real-time detection of serious illnesses and potential bioterrorism agent exposures and represent a major step forward in disease surveillance. Infectious Disease Informatics: Syndromic Surveillance for Public Health and Bio-Defense is an in-depth monograph that analyzes and evaluates the outbreak modeling and detection capabilities of existing surveillance systems under a unified framework, and presents the first book-length coverage of the subject from an informatics-driven perspective. Individual chapters consider the state of the art, including the facilitation of data collection, sharing and transmission; a focus on various outbreak detection methods; data visualization and information dissemination issues; and system assessment and other policy issues. Eight chapters then report on several real-world case studies, summarizing and comparing eight syndromic surveillance systems, including those that have been adopted by many public health agencies (e.g., RODS and BioSense). The book concludes with a discussion of critical issues and challenges, with a look to future directions. This book is an excellent source of current information for researchers in public health and IT. Government public health officials and private-sector practitioners in both public health and IT will find the most up-to-date information available, and students from a variety of disciplines, including public health, biostatistics, information systems, computer science, and public administration and policy will get a comprehensive look at the concepts, techniques, and practices of syndromic surveillance.

Zwingende Voraussetzung der Zulassung eines neuen Arzneimittels ist dessen vorherige klinische Prufung. Diese ist jedoch - trotz der hohen Sorgfaltsanforderungen - mit gesundheitlichen Risiken fur die Studienteilnehmer verbunden. Zur Kompensation prufungsbedingter Gesundheitsschaden sieht die (deutsche) Rechtsordnung eine Kombination von Ersatzanspruchen gegen die Beteiligten der klinischen Arzneimittelprufung und die gem. 40 Abs. 1 S. 3 Nr. 8, Abs. 3 AMG abzuschliessende Probandenversicherung vor. Dieses kombinatorische System als Teilaspekt des Probandenschutzes wird im Rahmen der vorliegenden Arbeit einer umfassenden Untersuchung unterzogen. Dabei werden Voraussetzungen, Umfang und Durchsetzbarkeit moeglicher Entschadigungsanspruche des Probanden analysiert. Die Verfasserin gelangt zu dem Ergebnis, dass das derzeitige Schadensausgleichsmodell in weiten Teilen unangemessen ist und stellt Reformuberlegungen an.

After many years of relative neglect, the importance of study of factors governing blood flow has at last achieved recognition; in this volume are documented many of the techniques, and the basic scientific and clinical observations, which have helped to open up understanding of this highly important aspect of human physiology and pathology in recent years. The text is logically divided into five sections beginning with blood cell deformability, then moving on to theoretical consideration of blood rheology, followed by accounts of the interrelationships between rheology, blood flow and vascular occlusion. The final two sections deal with blood rheology in clinical practice and therapeutic aspects of the study of blood flow. As regards blood cell deformability (Section A), the basic problem is set out by Kiesewetter and colleagues in the first paragraph of chapter 1 (p. 3), in which they point out that whereas human erythrocytes at rest have a diameter of approxi mately 7. 5 /-tm, nutritive capillaries have diameters ranging from 3-5 /-tm, and chapters in section A give an account of the ways in which the red cell can undergo deformation to permit capillary perfusion and the maintenance of the microcirculation."

This book is dedicated to improving healthcare through reducing delays experienced by patients. With an interdisciplinary approach, this new edition, divided into five sections, begins by examining healthcare as an integrated system. Chapter 1 provides a hierarchical model of healthcare, rising from departments, to centers, regions and the "macro system." A new chapter demonstrates how to use simulation to assess the interaction of system components to achieve performance goals, and Chapter 3 provides hands-on methods for developing process models to identify and remove bottlenecks, and for developing facility plans.

Section 2 addresses crowding and the consequences of delay. Two new chapters (4 and 5) focus on delays in emergency departments, and Chapter 6 then examines medical outcomes that result from waits for surgeries. Section 3 concentrates on management of demand. Chapter 7 presents breakthrough strategies that use real-time monitoring systems for continuous improvement. Chapter 8 looks at the patient appointment system, particularly through the approach of advanced access. Chapter 9 concentrates on managing waiting lists for surgeries, and Chapter 10 examines triage outside of emergency departments, with a focus on allied health programs

Section 4 offers analytical tools and models to support analysis of patient flows. Chapter 11 offers techniques for scheduling staff to match patterns in patient demand. Chapter 12 surveys the literature on simulation modeling, which is widely used for both healthcare design and process improvement. Chapter 13 is new and demonstrates the use of process mapping to represent a complex regional trauma system. Chapter 14 provides methods for forecasting demand for healthcare on a region-wide basis. Chapter 15 presents queueing theory as a method for modeling waits in healthcare, and Chapter 16 focuses on rapid delivery of medication in the event of a catastrophic event.

Section 5 focuses on achieving change. Chapter 17 provides a diagnostic for assessing the state of a hospital and using the state assessment to select improvement strategies. Chapter 18 demonstrates the importance of optimizing care as patients transition from one care setting to the next. Chapter 19 is new and shows how to implement programs that improve patient satisfaction while also improving flow. Chapter 20 illustrates how to evaluate the overall portfolio of patient diagnostic groups to guide system changes, and Chapter 21 provides project management tools to guide the execution of patient flow projects.

This book examines how healthcare organisations shape, adapt and resist developments in healthcare policy and practice. This is an international text bringing together contributions from around the globe and covers a wide range of different discussions in relation to the policy/practice gap.