INTRODUCTION There is a growing international focus on patient- centered care. A model designed to facilitate this type of care in the primary care setting is the patient-centered medical home. This model of care strives to be patient-focused, comprehensive, team-based, coordinated, accessible, and focused on quality and safety of care. OBJECTIVE The objective of this paper is to identify the...

BACKGROUND Western publicly funded health care systems increasingly rely on interdisciplinary teams to support primary care delivery and management of chronic conditions. This knowledge synthesis focuses on what is known in the academic and grey literature about optimal structural characteristics of teams. Its goal is to assess which factors contribute to the effective functioning of interdisci...

The administration of vesicant drugs involves nurses and physicians as stakeholders in providing safe patient care. Improving communication often is the first step to increasing the awareness and problem-solving for the patient care team.

BACKGROUND The prevalence of multidisciplinary teams (MDT) for the delivery of cancer care is increasing globally. Evidence exists of benefits to patients and healthcare professionals. However, MDT working is time and resource intensive. This study aims to explore members' views on existing practices of urology MDT working, and to identify potential interventions for improving the efficiency an...

IDENTIFICATION: A primary AHRQ focus is to identify risks, hazards, and causes of patient injury associated with the delivery of health services. Indeed, one of the greatest challenges facing both practitioners and risk managers is the identification of previously unknown hazards. These threats to patient safety often lie at the apex of available knowledge and are rarely—if ever—obvious. With t...

Good communication is vital for safe patient care and good team functioning, not only in the Operating Room but also in all areas of healthcare, as well as in other safety critical industries. Examples from aviation demonstrate both the failures and the successes that can arise from poor and excellent communication. There are six components of effective teamwork: situational awareness, problem ...

Background: Nursing duties in a haemodialysis setting can be performed using two main models which are primary and team nursing. The study sought to determine the most appropriate nursing care model in an acute haemodialysis unit (AHU) of a large metropolitan teaching hospital where primary nursing was replaced by the team nursing model on a trial basis. Methods: Standard questionnaires were ad...

The first hour following the trauma is of crucial importance in trauma care. The sooner treatment begins, the better the ultimate outcome for the patient. Generally the initial treatment is handled by paramedical personnel arriving at the site of the accident with an ambulance. There is evidence to show that if the expertise of the on-site paramedic team can be supported by immediate and contin...