BACKGROUND Citizens, patients and their representatives are increasingly insisting on working with health professionals to organize and discuss research protocols. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors recommended setting up a public clinical trial registry where anyone can find key information about a trial. Around the world, governments have, in fact, now begun to legislate m...

BACKGROUND & AIM Strategic planning has been presented as an important management practice. However, evidence of its deployment in healthcare systems in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited. This study investigated the strategic management process in Iranian hospitals. METHODS The present study was accomplished in 24 teaching hospitals in Tehran, Iran from September 2012 ...

Breaking bad news can be an intimidating task for any physician. The aim of this study was to record the practices of breaking bad news to the patients by Pakistani radiologists and trainees. The radiologists and trainees attending the 26th National Radiological Conference in October 2010 in Karachi, Pakistan, were surveyed. The response rate was 76%. The respondents included residents (51%), p...

BACKGROUND The incidence and prevalence of knee arthrodesis (fusion) in the United States is largely unknown, in spite of numerous case reports and review articles that have called attention to this life altering procedure. PURPOSE This study was conducted to determine long-term knee arthrodesis incidence and patient populations, and to characterize the associated healthcare burden. METHODS...

BACKGROUND Clinical audit is an important tool to improve patient care and outcomes in health service. A significant proportion of time and economic resources are spent on activities related to clinical audit. Completion of audit cycle is essential to confirm the improvements in healthcare delivery. We aimed this study to evaluate audits carried out within trauma and orthopaedic unit of a teach...

OBJECTIVE Recent critiques of incident reporting suggest that its role in managing safety has been over emphasized. The objective of this study was to examine the perceived effectiveness of incident reporting in improving safety in mental health and acute hospital settings by asking staff about their perceptions and experiences. DESIGN Qualitative research design using documentary analysis an...

At the time of writing, the author was a modern matron in a surgical division of an NHS teaching hospital in London. This article considers the differences between leadership and management, and discusses the skills required by modern matrons to lead safe and successful clinical services. It also examines three leadership styles – transactional, transformational and situational – and their rele...

There is one disturbing similarity between the two very dissimilar hospitals. In both cases industrial relations have been complicated and embittered by a degree of interunion competition that seems to have left management virtually powerless to effect improvements in the departments and sections concerned. _011|Rainhill is a 1550-bedded psychiatric hospital in the St Helens and Knowsley AHA, m...

IMPORTANCE Handoffs have significantly increased in number following Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) work-hour restrictions. Studies have shown correlations between the number of handoffs and errors/patient harm. Distractions are common during handoffs and may interfere with handoff quality and effectiveness. OBJECTIVE To examine the frequency of distractions and ...

Australia's major academic health centres not only provide excellent healthcare, but are also involved in one of the most important aspects of the healthcare system -the training of our future health professionals. Most teaching hospitals are also involved in basic and clinical research, and many have major research institutes on their campuses. This symbiosis of healthcare, research and traini...