Maria Flink

Organizational culture: an important context for addressing and improving hospital to community patient discharge

Background:Organizational culture is seen as having a growing impact on quality and safety of health care, but its impact on hospital to community patient discharge is relatively unknown. Objectives:To explore aspects of organizational culture to develop a deeper understanding of the discharge process. Research Design:A qualitative study of stakeholders in the discharge process. Grounded Theory was used to analyze the data. Subjects:In 5 European Union countries, 192 individual and 25 focus group interviews were conducted with patients and relatives, hospital physicians, hospital nurses, general practitioners, and community nurses. Results:Three themes emerged representing aspects of organizational culture: a fragmented hospital to primary care interface, undervaluing administrative tasks relative to clinical tasks in the discharge process, and lack of reflection on the discharge process or process improvement. Nine categories were identified: inward focus of hospital care providers, lack of awareness to needs, skills, and work patterns of the professional counterpart, lack of a collaborative attitude, relationship between hospital and primary care providers, providing care in a “here and now” situation, administrative work considered to be burdensome, negative attitude toward feedback, handovers at discharge ruled by habits, and appreciating and integrating new practices. Conclusions:On the basis of the data, we hypothesize that the extent to which hospital care providers value handovers and the outreach to community care providers is critical to effective hospital discharge. Community care providers often are insufficiently informed about patient outcomes. Ongoing challenges with patient discharge often remain unspoken with opportunities for improvement overlooked. Interventions that address organizational culture as a key factor in discharge improvement efforts are needed.

Improving patient discharge and reducing hospital readmissions by using Intervention Mapping

BackgroundThere is a growing impetus to reorganize the hospital discharge process to reduce avoidable readmissions and costs. The aim of this study was to provide insight into hospital discharge problems and underlying causes, and to give an overview of solutions that guide providers and policy-makers in improving hospital discharge.MethodsThe Intervention Mapping framework was used. First, a problem analysis studying the scale, causes, and consequences of ineffective hospital discharge was carried out. The analysis was based on primary data from 26 focus group interviews and 321 individual interviews with patients and relatives, and involved hospital and community care providers. Second, improvements in terms of intervention outcomes, performance objectives and change objectives were specified. Third, 220 experts were consulted and a systematic review of effective discharge interventions was carried out to select theory-based methods and practical strategies required to achieve change and better performance.ResultsIneffective discharge is related to factors at the level of the individual care provider, the patient, the relationship between providers, and the organisational and technical support for care providers. Providers can reduce hospital readmission rates and adverse events by focusing on high-quality discharge information, well-coordinated care, and direct and timely communication with their counterpart colleagues. Patients, or their carers, should participate in the discharge process and be well aware of their health status and treatment. Assessment by hospital care providers whether discharge information is accurate and understood by patients and their community counterparts, are important examples of overcoming identified barriers to effective discharge. Discharge templates, medication reconciliation, a liaison nurse or pharmacist, regular site visits and teach-back are identified as effective and promising strategies to achieve the desired behavioural and environmental change.ConclusionsThis study provides a comprehensive guiding framework for providers and policy-makers to improve patient handover from hospital to primary care.

The key actor: a qualitative study of patient participation in the handover process in Europe

Background Patient safety experts have postulated that increasing patient participation in communications during patient handovers will improve the quality of patient transitions, and that this may reduce hospital readmissions. Choosing strategies that enhance patient safety through improved handovers requires better understanding of patient experiences and preferences for participation. Objective The aim of this paper is to explore the patients’ experiences and perspectives related to the handovers between their primary care providers and the inpatient hospital. Methods A qualitative secondary analysis was performed, based on individual and focus group patient interviews with 90 patients in five European countries. Results The analysis revealed three themes: patient positioning in the handover process; prerequisites for patient participation and patient preferences for the handover process. Patients’ participation ranged from being the key actor, to sharing the responsibility with healthcare professional(s), to being passive participants. For active participation patients required both personal and social resources as well as prerequisites such as information and respect. Some patients preferred to be the key actor in charge; others preferred their healthcare professionals to be the key actors in the handover. Conclusions Patients’ participation is related to the healthcare system, the activity of healthcare professionals’ and patients’ capacity for participation. Patients prefer a handover process where the responsibility is clear and unambiguous. Healthcare organisations need a clear and well-considered system of responsibility for handover processes, that takes into account the individual patients need of clarity, and support in relation to his/hers own recourses.

Beliefs and experiences can influence patient participation in handover between primary and secondary care—a qualitative study of patient perspectives

Background Communication between healthcare settings at patient transfers between primary and secondary care, ‘handover’, is a critical and risky process for patients. Patients’ views on their roles in these processes are often lacking despite the knowledge that patient participation contributes to enhanced safety and wellbeing. Objective This study aims to improve the knowledge and understanding of patients’ perspectives about their participation in handover. Methods Twenty-three Swedish patients with chronic diseases were individually interviewed about their experiences with handovers between three clinical microsystems: emergency room, emergency ward and primary healthcare centres. Data were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis. Results Patients participated within the microsystems by exchanging information, and between microsystems by making contact with and conveying information to their next healthcare provider. Enablers for participation included positive encounters with providers, patient empowerment and beliefs about organisational factors. Patients’ trust in their providers, and providers’ attitudes were important factors in patients’ willingness to communicate. Patients who thought medical records access was shared across microsystems volunteered less information to their providers. Patients with experiences of non-effective handovers took more responsibility in the handover to ensure continuity of care. Conclusions Patients participate actively in handovers when they feel a need for involvement to ensure continuity of care, and are less active when they perceive that their contribution is unnecessary or not valued. In acute care settings with short hospital stays and less time to establish a trusting relationship between patients and their providers, discharge encounters may be important enablers for patient engagement in handovers. The advantages of a redundant handover process need to be considered.

Training in client-centeredness enhances occupational therapist documentation on goal setting and client participation in goal setting in the medical records of people with stroke

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare client-centeredness as it was documented by the occupational therapists in the units randomized to the intervention clusters with documentation by occupational therapists in the control clusters. Design: Comparison of medical records. Setting: The study is conducted in a context of a randomized controlled trial in Sweden, with 16 post-stroke rehabilitation units cluster randomized to intervention or control group. Subjects: Occupational therapist documentation in medical records of 279 clients with stroke. Main measures: The medical records were reviewed for their level of client-centeredness using a protocol developed from the Stewart et al model. The occupational therapists in the intervention groups participated in a workshop training to enhance their client-centeredness. Results: Occupational therapists with training in client-centeredness documented significantly more on goal setting (OR = 4.1; 95% CI, 1.87-8.81), on client participation in goal setting (OR=11.34; 95% CI, 5.97-21.57), on how the goals could be reached (OR=2.8; 95% CI, 1.7-4.62), on client participation in how goals could be reached (OR=4.56; 95% CI, 2.73-7.64), on the follow-up on goals (OR=5.77; 95% CI, 2.78-11-98) and on client participation in follow-up on goals (OR=7.44, 95% CI, 4.33-12.8). This association remained after adjustment for healthcare setting, client socio-demographic variables, and stroke severity. Conclusion: Documentation of goal setting and client participation in goal setting can be influenced by training.

The case of value-based healthcare for people living with complex long-term conditions

BackgroundThere is a trend towards value-based health service, striving to cut costs while generating value for the patient. The overall objective comprises higher-quality health services and improved patient safety and cost efficiency. The approach could align with patient-centred care, as it entails a focus on the patient’s experience of her or his entire cycle of care, including the use of well-defined outcome measurements. Challenges arise when the approach is applied to health services for people living with long-term complex conditions that require support from various healthcare services. The aim of this work is to critically discuss the value-based approach and its implications for patients with long-term complex conditions. Two cases from clinical practice and research form the foundation for our reasoning, illustrating several challenges regarding value-based health services for people living with long-term complex conditions.DiscussionAchieving value-based health services that provide the health outcomes that matter to patients and providing greater patient-centredness will place increased demands on the healthcare system. Patients and their informal caregivers must be included in the development and establishment of outcome measures. The outcome measures must be standardized to allow evaluation of specific conditions at an aggregated level, but they must also be sensitive enough to capture each patient’s individual needs and goals. Healthcare systems that strive to establish value-based services must collaborate beyond the organizational boundaries to create clear patient trajectories in order to avoid fragmentation.SummaryThe shift towards value-based health services has the potential to align healthcare-service delivery with patient-centred care if serious efforts to take the patient’s perspective into account are made. This is especially challenging in fragmented healthcare systems and for patients with long-term- and multi-setting-care needs.

Health Economic Evaluations of Patient Education Interventions A Scoping Review of the Literature

OBJECTIVES To provide a comprehensive overview of health economic evaluations of patient education interventions for people living with chronic illness. METHODS Relevant literature published between 2000 and 2016 has been comprehensively reviewed, with attention paid to variations in study, intervention, and patient characteristics. RESULTS Of the 4693 titles identified, 56 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in this scoping review. Of the studies reviewed, 46 concluded that patient education interventions were beneficial in terms of decreased hospitalization, visits to Emergency Departments or General Practitioners, provide benefits in terms of quality-adjusted life years, and reduce loss of production. Eight studies found no health economic impact of the interventions. CONCLUSIONS The results of this review strongly suggest that patient education interventions, regardless of study design and time horizon, are an effective tool to cut costs. This is a relatively new area of research, and there is a great need of more research within this field. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS In bringing this evidence together, our hope is that healthcare providers and managers can use this information within a broad decision-making process, as guidance in discussions of care quality and of how to provide appropriate, cost-effective patient education interventions.

The Supporting Patient Activation in Transition to Home (sPATH) intervention : A study protocol of a randomised controlled trial using motivational interviewing to decrease re-hospitalisation for patients with COPD or heart failure

Introduction Deficient hospital discharging and patients struggling to handle postdischarge self-management have been identified as potential causes of re-hospitalisation rates. Despite an increased interest in interventions aiming to reduce re-hospitalisation rates, there is yet no best evidence on how to support patients in being active participants in their self-management postdischarge. The aim of this paper is to describe the study protocol for an upcoming randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the Supporting Patient in Activation to Home (sPATH) intervention. Methods/analysis The described study is a randomised, controlled, analysis-blinded, two-site trial, with primary outcome re-hospitalisation within 90 days. In total, 290 participants aged 18 years or older with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or congestive heart failure who are admitted to hospital and who are living in an own home will be eligible for inclusion into an intervention (n=145) or control group (n=145). Patients who need an interpreter to communicate in Swedish, or who have a diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment, will be excluded from inclusion. The sPATH intervention, developed with a theoretical base in the self-determination theory, consists of five postdischarge motivational interviewing sessions (face to face or by phone). The intervention covers the self-management areas medication management, follow-up/care plan, symptoms/signs of worsening condition and relations/contacts with healthcare providers. This RCT will add to the literature on evidence to support patient activation in postdischarge self-management. Ethics and dissemination The study is approved by the Regional Research Ethics Committee (No. 2014/1498-31/2) in Stockholm, Sweden. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at international and national scientific conferences. Trial registration number NCT02823795; Pre-results.

Safe medication management in specialized home healthcare - an observational study

BackgroundMedication management is a complex, error-prone process. The aim of this study was to explore what constitutes the complexity of the medication management process (MMP) in specialized home healthcare and how healthcare professionals handle this complexity. The study is theoretically based in resilience engineering.MethodData were collected during the MMP at three specialized home healthcare units in Sweden using two strategies: observation of workplaces and shadowing RNs in everyday work, including interviews. Transcribed material was analysed using grounded theory.ResultsThe MMP in home healthcare was dynamic and complex with unclear boundaries of responsibilities, inadequate information systems and fluctuating work conditions. Healthcare professionals adapted their everyday clinical work by sharing responsibility and simultaneously being authoritative and preserving patients’ active participation, autonomy and integrity. To promote a safe MMP, healthcare professionals constantly re-prioritized goals, handled gaps in communication and information transmission at a distance by creating new bridging solutions. Trade-offs and workarounds were necessary elements, but also posed a threat to patient safety, as these interim solutions were not systematically evaluated or devised learning strategies.ConclusionsTo manage a safe medication process in home healthcare, healthcare professionals need to adapt to fluctuating conditions and create bridging strategies through multiple parallel activities distributed over time, space and actors. The healthcare professionals’ strategies could be integrated in continuous learning, while preserving boundaries of safety, instead of being more or less interim solutions. Patients’ and family caregivers’ as active partners in the MMP may be an underestimated resource for a resilient home healthcare.

Measuring care transitions in Sweden: validation of the care transitions measure

Abstract Objective To translate and assess the validity and reliability of the original American Care Transitions Measure, both the 15-item and the shortened 3-item versions, in a sample of people in transition from hospital to home within Sweden. Design Translation of survey items, evaluation of psychometric properties. Setting Ten surgical and medical wards at five hospitals in Sweden. Participants Patients discharged from surgical and medical wards. Main outcome measure Psychometric properties of the Swedish versions of the 15-item (CTM-15) and the 3-item (CTM-3) Care Transition Measure. Results We compared the fit of nine models among a sample of 194 Swedish patients. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.946 for CTM-15 and 0.74 for CTM-3. The model indices for CTM-15 and CTM-3 were strongly indicative of inferior goodness-of-fit between the hypothesized one-factor model and the sample data. A multidimensional three-factor model revealed a better fit compared with CTM-15 and CTM-3 one factor models. The one-factor solution, representing 4 items (CTM-4), showed an acceptable fit of the data, and was far superior to the one-factor CTM-15 and CTM-3 and the three-factor multidimensional models. The Cronbach’s alpha for CTM-4 was 0.85. Conclusions CTM-15 with multidimensional three-factor model was a better model than both CTM-15 and CTM-3 one-factor models. CTM-4 is a valid and reliable measure of care transfer among patients in medical and surgical wards in Sweden. It seems the Swedish CTM is best represented by the short Swedish version (CTM-4) unidimensional construct.