OBJECTIVES There is a need for effective processes in healthcare clinics, especially in tertiary hospitals, that consist of a set of complex steps for outpatient care, in order to provide high quality care and reduce the time cost. This study aimed to discover the potential of a process mining technique to determine an outpatient care process that can be utilized for further improvements. MET...

OBJECTIVES To examine the effect of an advanced practice nurse (APN) intervention on restrictive side rail usage in four nursing homes and with a sample of 251 residents. A secondary question explored the association between restrictive side rail reduction and bed-related falls. DESIGN Pre- and posttest design. SETTING Four urban nursing homes. PARTICIPANTS All nursing home residents pres...

OBJECTIVE To assess the effects of joint consultation on referral behaviour of general practitioners (GPs) in a prospective cohort study. METHODS All patients with rheumatological complaints that 17 participating GPs, from the area of the University Hospital Maastricht, wanted to refer during a two year inclusion period (n=166) were eligible for inclusion. These patients were either referred ...

BACKGROUND There are no validated measuring tools to gauge the effectiveness of a Hospital Palliative Care Consultation Team (PCCT). One way would be to consider its effect on the consumption of opioids expressed in total amounts and different formulations administered. We perform this study to evaluate the impact of a hospital PCCT on the trends of opioid prescription in a University Hospital....