			Home About us Contact

Clinical Quality (clinical + quality)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	87%

Selected Abstracts

Clinical quality of removable dentures provided by dentists, denturists and laboratory technicians

JOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION, Issue 4 2003
R. Tuominen
summary, The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical quality of removable dentures of elderly Finnish men, which had been prepared either by dentists, denturists or dental laboratory technicians. The participants comprised 242 denture-wearing subjects, with 231 maxillary and 177 mandibular removable dentures which had been prepared either by dentists, denturists or dental laboratory technicians. Clinical examinations were carried out without the examining dentist knowing who had provided the dentures. Complete dentures which had been illegally provided by laboratory technicians had significantly poorer retention and fitted less well in tuber and alveolar areas than those provided by either dentists or denturists. Complete maxillary dentures which had been provided illegally by laboratory technicians had significantly (P < 0·01) higher occurrence (90%) of some unacceptable characteristics than those (43%) provided by dentists or denturists. The difference between complete mandibular dentures was also obvious, 86% versus 59%, although statistically non-significant. Of those partial maxillary dentures provided by dentists 53% had some unacceptable characteristics, compared with 80% of those illegally provided by denturists or laboratory technicians (NS). In the case of partial mandibular dentures, 36% of those provided by dentists and 32% of those by denturists or laboratory technicians had some unacceptable characteristic (NS). Illegal provision of removable dentures seemed to be related to decreased clinical quality. [source]

The Role of Clinical and Process Quality in Achieving Patient Satisfaction in Hospitals

DECISION SCIENCES, Issue 3 2004
Kathryn A. Marley
ABSTRACT Managers constantly struggle with where to allocate their resources and efforts in managing the complex service delivery system called a hospital. In the broadest sense, their decisions and actions focus on two important aspects of health care,clinical or technical medical care that emphasizes "what" the patient receives and process performance that emphasizes "how" health care services are delivered to patients. Here, we investigate the role of leadership, clinical quality, and process quality on patient satisfaction. A causal model is hypothesized and evaluated using structural equation modeling for a sample of 202 U.S. hospitals. Statistical results support the idea that leadership is a good exogenous construct and that clinical and process quality are good intermediate outcomes in determining patient satisfaction. Statistical results also suggest that hospital leadership has more influence on process quality than on clinical quality, which is predominantly the doctors' domain. Other results are discussed, such as that hospital managers must be mindful of the fact that process quality is at least as important as clinical quality in predicting patient satisfaction. The article concludes by proposing areas for future research. [source]

Measuring the productive efficiency and clinical quality of institutional long-term care for the elderly

HEALTH ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2005
Juha Laine
Abstract The authors consider the association between productive efficiency and clinical quality in institutional long-term care for the elderly. Cross-sectional data were collected from 122 wards in health-centre hospitals and residential homes in Finland in 2001. Productive efficiency was measured in terms of technical efficiency, which was defined as the unit's distance from the (best practice) production frontier. The analysis employed stochastic production frontier estimation, where technical inefficiency in the production function was specified to be a function of ward characteristics and clinical quality of care. Several quality indicators based on the Resident Assessment Instrument, such as prevalence of pressure ulcers and depression with no treatment, were used in the analysis. The results did not reveal systematic association between technical efficiency and clinical quality of care. However, the prevalence of pressure ulcers, indicating poor quality of care was associated with technical efficiency, a fact which highlights the importance of including quality measures in the assessment of efficiency in long-term care. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Embedding knowledge management in the NHS south-west: pragmatic first steps for a practical concept

HEALTH INFORMATION & LIBRARIES JOURNAL, Issue 2 2003
Caroline Plaice
Knowledge management, like clinical governance, is a practical science. Clinical governance, with its emphasis on creating an environment where clinical quality is monitored and acted upon, is one of the foundation stones of the new National Health Service (NHS). Both knowledge management and clinical governance need to share the same criteria in order to operate. Using these two pragmatic concepts and the premise of a practical approach, this article seeks to identify the drivers for knowledge management in the NHS, highlight national initiatives and focus on the steps libraries in the south-west of England have taken to make knowledge management a reality. In so doing, the central role of the library and information service has been reinforced and embedded and librarians have been recognized for their real worth to their organizations. [source]

Public disclosure of comparative clinical performance data: lessons from the Scottish experience

JOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 2 2003
Russell Mannion PhD
Abstract There is growing international interest in making information available on the clinical quality and performance of health care providers. In the United States of America, where public reporting is most advanced, comparative performance information in the form of ,report cards', ,provider profiles' and ,consumer reports' has been published for over a decade. In Europe, Scotland has been at the forefront of releasing clinical performance data and has disseminated such information since 1994. This paper reviews the Scottish experience of public disclosure and distils the key lessons for other countries seeking to implement similar programmes. It is based on the findings of the first empirical evaluation of a national clinical reporting initiative outside the United States. The study examined the impact of publication of Scottish (CRAG) clinical outcome indicators on four key stakeholder groups: health care providers, regional government health care purchasers, general practitioners and consumer advocacy agencies. We conclude that those responsible for developing clinical reporting systems should not only pay close attention to developing technically valid and professionally credible data which are tailored to the information needs of different end users, but should also focus on developing a suitable incentive structure and organizational environment that fosters the constructive use of such information. [source]