BACKGROUND The use of both heroin and cocaine has been associated with asthma exacerbations. However, the magnitude of this effect has not been adequately described. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between cocaine or heroin use and asthma severity. METHODS We conducted a retrospective chart review of adult patients who had been admitted to an inner-city hospital and w...

STUDY OBJECTIVE We evaluate recent trends in emergency department (ED) crowding and its potential causes by analyzing ED occupancy, a proxy measure for ED crowding. METHODS We analyzed data from the annual National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Surveys from 2001 to 2008. The surveys abstract patient records from a national sample of hospital EDs to generate nationally representative estima...

BACKGROUND The study objective was to compare physical function documented in the medical records with interview data, and also to evaluate hospital mortality predictions using pre-admission and on-admission functional status derived from these two data sources. METHODS A prospective cohort study of 1402 subjects aged 65 years and older to the general medicine department of an acute care hosp...

The rapid growth of digitalized medical records presents new opportunities for mining terra bytes of data that may provide new information & knowledge. The knowledge discovered as such could assist medical practitioners in a myriad of ways, for example in selecting the optimal diagnostic tool from among numerous possible choices. We analyzed the radiology department records of children who had ...

background and objectives: many iranian public hospitals are faced with serious financial challenges such as shortage of income and heavy debts. nevertheless, many of the healthcare services are often remained unearned for not being included in the clinical records or patient bill, resulting in considerable loss of legitimate hospital in­come. given the limited studies in this area in iran, the...

ISSUE ADDRESSED This retrospective study investigated the health conditions of a cohort of heavy vehicle drivers involved in a crash in Western Australia. METHODS Hospital separation records of heavy vehicle drivers admitted to hospital as a result of a road crash between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 2000 in Western Australia were analysed. Heavy vehicle drivers involved in a crash were fir...

background and objectives: standard clinical documentation is an integral part of quality patient care. this study aimed to explore compliance of two iranian teaching hospitals with the clinical documentation standards.   methods: a total of 400 records were surveyed. data were collected using a checklist of standard measures. the checklist comprised 15 items selected from relevant guidelines...

background and purpose: the emergency severity index (esi) triage system has been recommended by the ministry of health to classify patients at emergency departments. this study aimed to assess the validity of esi system (version 4) in the emergency department of a teaching hospital. outcome measures were hospitalization, emergency department (ed) length of stay, resource consumption, in-hospit...

Materials and methods This was a retrospective economic evaluation study. Type 2 diabetes patients of the universal coverage scheme who visited and followed up at general practice department of Nopparat Rajatanee hospital and the subcontractor private clinics for at least one year were recruited. The patient data were collected from medical records and from hospital computer systems from 1 Janu...

Introduction: Recording Medical information in hospital records are in fact documentation of the medical team activities in the hospital. Therefore, correct, accurate, and timely record of patients' information can play a vital role in improving educational, medical, research, legal, and statistical activities. This study aimed to investigate the type and amount of errors in medical records doc...