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Results for “Patient Escort Service”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Discharge planning. Armchair fan.

The establishment of a discharge lounge is believed to have reduced pressure on beds in the wards. All adult wards refer patients to the lounge, where the average wait is two hours. The establishment of the lounge has reduced delays for ambulance crews who no longer have to collect patients from several areas of the hospital. Running costs for the first year were 30,000 Pounds. An agreement with the hospital pharmacy has been pivotal to the success of the scheme.

Beds↗
PubMed1993

Improving the patient transfer process at Bellin Hospital.

PROJECT: To facilitate timely and efficient transfers of patients on the cardiac service. PRINCIPALS: Nursing staff from the intensive care (ICU), intermediate care (IMCU), and step down units. Process Improvement Method: VALUE PLUS+, a scientific, problem-solving model developed at Bellin that requires statistical thinking. Timeline: March 1990-August 1991. Key Findings or Improvements: Mid-morning, early afternoon, and early evening are the ideal times for patient transfers; late morning and mid-to-late afternoon transfers should be avoided. Unit staff can plan transfers for preferable times by predicting the number of transfers from ICU and IMCU, based on a percentage of the previous day's census. RESULTS: The number of process steps to transfer a patient was reduced from 21 to 13. 80 percent of transfers now occur during three designated time periods. The role of transport staff has been expanded to free up nursing time.

Cardiology Service, Hospital↗
PubMed1998

Discharges. Ready, steady, go.

Setting up a discharge lounge has proved popular with patients. Referrals from wards have increased but are still spasmodic. When under pressure some staff say they are too busy to transfer patients to the discharge lounge. The ambulance transport service has benefited from being able to pick up most patients awaiting discharge from a single area.

Ambulances↗
PubMed2006

Factors affecting recovery and discharge following ambulatory surgery.

PURPOSE: Recovery and discharge following ambulatory surgery are important components of the ambulatory surgery experience. This review provides contemporary perspectives on the issues of discharge criteria, fast-tracking, patient escort requirements, and driving after ambulatory anesthesia. SOURCE: A search was performed in the Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials, MEDLINE(R), EMBASE(R), CINAHL, and PsycINFO, to review factors delaying discharge following ambulatory surgery. The following subject headings were used: "ambulatory surgery, discharge, recovery, car driving, escort, transport, fast tracking, patient discharge, recovery, transportation of patients, hospital discharge, recovery room, patient transport, hospital discharge, recovery room, anesthetic recovery, patient transport, ambulatory surgical procedures, patient discharge, recovery of function, automobile driving, patient escort service, recovery room". Using the same search engines, the following keywords were used: "fast tracking, recovery, and discharge". PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The current literature supports that discharge scoring systems may be useful to guide discharge following ambulatory surgery. While fast-tracking has become common in some centres, further studies are required to justify more routine implementation of this practice in the management of patients undergoing ambulatory surgery. Patients at low risk for urinary retention can be discharged home without voiding. Patients should not drive until at least 24 hr postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Ensuring rapid postoperative recovery and safe discharge following ambulatory surgery are important components of the ambulatory surgical program. A clearly defined process should be established for each ambulatory surgical unit to ensure the safe and timely discharge of patients after anesthesia, in accordance with current best evidence.

Ambulatory Surgical Procedures↗
PubMed1992

A patient transport pilot quality improvement team.

The transportation of inpatients within the hospital is a critical component of the patient care process. A quality improvement (QI) team at Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) convened to improve this process and to pilot the QI approach there. Pilot QI projects have the burden of intense scrutiny by senior management at a point when the fundamentals needed for a successful QI project are scarce or not yet available. The authors, who were participants in this project, describe the methodology and outcomes of this pilot QI process as well as the lessons learned. The results confirm that, although difficult, it is possible to succeed in pilot projects and gain the support needed to move on to the next step in the QI journey.

Boston↗
PubMed2006

Chaperones in ENT out-patients; the patients' perspective.

Chaperones are used in order to avoid misunderstandings that can lead to false accusations. Consultations and examinations may be a minefield especially if the doctors are accused of sexual misconduct. The allegations may have irreparable effects on their reputation and may lead to removal from the medical register and to criminal charges being brought. We present the results of a questionnaire from 85 patients, exploring patient experience in ENT out-patients particularly with respect to examination of the ear under the microscope. This procedure necessitates close contact between the patient and doctor for several minutes and there may be inadvertent contact with intimate areas on the patient. Up to 30 per cent of patients expressed a preference for a chaperone during the ENT consultation. There was noticeably a greater proportion of men than women patients stating a preference for a chaperone during the consultation. Interestingly, there was a strong positive correlation between the presence of friends/relatives and the preference for a chaperone. Patients should be given the freedom to choose for or against the presence of a chaperone in clinic consultations. The most commonly predicted scenario requiring a chaperone is with the male doctor and female patient. This study shows that based on patient feedback, this scenario, although common is not the exclusive area in which chaperones should be used.

Female↗
PubMed2006

Postmenopausal women undergoing transvaginal ultrasound screening prefer not to have chaperones.

The Royal College of Radiologists has recommended chaperones of the appropriate gender for those undergoing intimate scans. This has significant implications for clinical and research programmes. Two hundred and fifty women undergoing scanning in a screening trial were sent postal questionnaires to determine their views as to the presence of chaperones and the gender of ultrasonographers. Ninety-five percent of 198 women stated that they would not like another person to be present during transvaginal scanning. Of greater consequence to women was the gender of the ultrasonographer, with 83.3% expressing a preference for a female ultrasonographer. This needs to be considered in making decisions about allocation of scarce resources.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Quality improvement for a hospital patient transportation system.

This article describes a method for organizing and staffing a hospitalwide patient transportation system in such a way as to minimize patient waiting times. The method stems from a quality improvement project and includes a centralized communication system, a queuing model to determine staffing requirements, and a computerized data collection and monitoring system. A case study demonstrates improvements in waiting times, costs, and customer satisfaction.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed2001

Attitudes of patients towards the use of chaperones in primary care.

There exists wide variation in practice regarding the use of chaperones for physical examination of the patient in primary care. Guidelines agree that a chaperone should be offered or used whenever a patient is undergoing an intimate examination. This paper aims to gauge patient views on the use of chaperones in primary care. Focus groups were used to identify themes surrounding the use of chaperones in primary care. Questionnaires were then mailed to 404 women and 400 men aged 16 years to 65 years identified from the lists of three research practices in the Northern and Yorkshire Region. The most important factor for the patient in an intimate examination is the attitude of the doctor; the patient views the offer of a chaperone as a sign of respect by the doctor. The development of shared decision-making within a consultation involving an intimate examination should be seen as more important than a rigid approach towards using a chaperone.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The influence of reference price on the acceptance of new healthcare services among the elderly.

Reference price has been postulated in the consumer behavior literature to be an important determinant of new product acceptance in the marketplace. This study was undertaken to assess the influence of reference price on the acceptance of new healthcare transportation services among the elderly. Over five hundred elderly, chosen at random, were studied in a major metropolitan area. The proposed new healthcare transportation services were: a shuttle service (from the hospital to a satellite healthcare center) and an escort service (from the hospital to the patient's home). The results show that reference price is the main influence on the acceptance of the shuttle service superseding the effects of the traditional demographic variables of gender and marital status. However, reference price was not found to be an influence on the acceptance of the escort service. It appears that the use of reference price as a guide in the acceptance of a new product is not universal but rather contingent on the product being offered.

Aged↗