BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Proper documentation of patient safety events is important to be able to provide changes that can prevent events from occurring again. The Philippine General Hospital launched an online platform for reporting patient safety events in 2017. This paper aimed to describe the patient safety events, initial response to the event, and preventive actions done in the institution.

This is a retrospective descriptive study of patient safety event records from August 2017 to April 2022. General data of the patients, details surrounding the events, response to the event, and preventive measures done after the event were documented. Descriptive analysis was performed.

There was a total of 625 events reported with 525 total unique reports. There was an increased rate of patient safety event reports from 2021 to 2022. The average rate was 23.8 and 25.7 reports per month, respectively. Most reports were for in-patient cases and were type 3 preventable adverse events. The general initial response of healthcare personnel to the adverse events is to provide the appropriate clinical care. Preventive measures include re-orientation and event specific actions.

Documentation is crucial for patient safety events to provide solutions and prevent reoccurrence of these events that can cause harm to patients.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The burden of treatment delay in breast cancer is high, especially among developing countries. Despite adversely affecting morbidity and mortality, treatment delay remains unexplored in the Philippines. This study aimed to determine treatment delays among breast cancer patients in a tertiary hospital during surgery, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and adjuvant chemotherapy, and to identify predictors of delay.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among breast cancer patients seen between January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2018. The following outcomes were investigated: ≥90 days from initial diagnosis to surgery, ≥8 weeks from diagnosis to initiation of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and >120 days from diagnosis to initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy. Summary statistics were reported as percent for categorical data and as mean for continuous data. The individual correlations were performed using Chi-square for qualitative data and t-test for quantitative data while predictors were determined through logistic regression.

A total of 324 patients were included in this study. The majority of the patients were less than 65 years old living in urban areas. More than half of the patients were overweight or obese, hypertensive, and diabetic. The following delays were observed: 61.1% (n = 198) with any type of delay, 23.8% (n = 53) with delay in surgery, 53.8% (n = 120) with delay in adjuvant chemotherapy, and 74.3% (n = 75) with delay in neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The patients noted to have any type of delay were more likely to be hypertensive (p = 0.046) and residing in urban areas (p = 0.041). There were no differences in the distribution of age, body mass index, and presence of co-morbid conditions such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, coronary artery disease, and heart failure among those with any form of delay compared with no delay.

The present study shows the presence of treatment delay among breast cancer patients and may be used to enact policy changes to optimize breast cancer care delivery. Further studies may be done to identify other factors affecting these delays and policy changes are recommended to address these gaps in surgery and chemotherapy administration among breast cancer patients.

OBJECTIVES: To develop a quality control indicator system for neonatal screening of inherited metabolic diseases in obstetric settings, so as to provide a standardized tool for quality control in clinical neonatal screening of inherited metabolic diseases. METHODS: From March to May 2024, a literature review combined with expert clinical experience was conducted to develop a preliminary questionnaire on quality control indicators for neonatal screening of inherited metabolic diseases. The final indicator system was established after two rounds of the Delphi method, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to determine indicator weights. RESULTS: Sixteen questionnaires were distributed in each of the two consultation rounds, with a valid response rate of 100% for both. The expert authority coefficients were 0.863 and 0.876, respectively. Kendall's coefficient of concordance for the importance and feasibility of the indicators ranged from 0.091 to 0.125. The final indicator system comprised 3 primary indicators, 8 secondary indicators, and 28 tertiary indicators for neonatal screening of inherited metabolic diseases in obstetric settings. CONCLUSIONS The quality control indicator system developed using the Delphi method demonstrates a strong systematic structure, high clinical adaptability, and strong operability, and can be effectively applied to quality control in neonatal screening of inherited metabolic diseases in obstetric settings.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Neonatal Screening/standards* ; Quality Control ; Metabolism, Inborn Errors/diagnosis* ; Metabolic Diseases/diagnosis* ; Delphi Technique ; Female ; Quality Indicators, Health Care ; Pregnancy

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the global disease burden of cervical cancer and the association between screening coverage and the quality of disease management. METHODS: The data of global burden of cervical cancer 2021 and the data of cervical cancer screening 2019 were obtained from IHME Global Burden of Disease (GBD) and the WHO global health observatory, respectively. The age-standardized disease burden index was calculated, the quality of care index (QCI) was determined with principal component analysis, and the correlation between QCI and cervical cancer screening coverage was examined with linear regression analysis by regions and populations. RESULTS: The burden of cervical cancer and the quality of management exhibited significant variability across countries with differing levels of social development. The indicators of cervical cancer burden in China were close to the average level of countries with higher socio-demographic index (SDI). The global QCI was 22.22 (10.50, 35.43), and that of China was 26.30. The global screening coverage rate for cervical cancer was 42% (12%, 86%) and that in China was 31%. After adjusting for the social development level of countries, the coverage level of cervical cancer screening was associated with QCI (β=0.27, P<0.01), with no difference between low and high SDI countries (P>0.05). The association was significantly stronger among 25-30 years old women (β=1.48, P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS There are discrepancies in both the disease burden of cervical cancer and the quality of disease management among countries with different socioeconomic levels, and there is still considerable room for improvement in China. Expanding coverage of cervical cancer screening may be an effective strategy to enhance the management quality of cervical cancer, particularly among younger women where the screening benefits are most pronounced.
Humans ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/prevention & control* ; Female ; Early Detection of Cancer ; Global Burden of Disease ; China/epidemiology* ; Mass Screening ; Quality of Health Care ; Disease Management ; Adult ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the perception of dental outpatient care quality from multiple perspectives of administrators, physicians, nurses, and patients and propose nursing care quality evaluation indices that are consistent with the clinical reality to provide reference for the construction of a scientific, systematic, and comprehensive dental outpatient care quality evaluation system. METHODS: A total of 39 interviewees, including 7 administrators, 11 doctors, 11 nurses, and 10 patients, were selected for semi-structured in-depth interviews in five regionally representative tertiary-level A stomatological specialty hospitals nationwide during January-April 2024 by using a multistage sampling method. Colaizzi 7-step analysis was used to analyze and summarize the interview data. Themes were extracted on the basis of the Structure-Process-Outcome (SPO) three-dimensional quality assessment model. RESULTS: Five main themes and 15 secondary themes were extracted from three quality dimensions: structure, process, and result. The related topics of structural quality were as follows: disinfection and isolation norms, equipment and consumable management, nursing manpower ratio and nurse education structure, and emergency capability. The related topics of process quality were as follows: pre-diagnosis risk assessment, patient triage and guidance, communication and attitude, health education, humanistic care, continuous care, specialty operation, and four-hand operation. The related topics of result quality were as follows: satisfaction, adverse event management and analysis, effective complaints and disputes. CONCLUSIONS Structure quality is the foundation, process quality is the core, and result quality is the key in the evaluation of the quality of oral outpatient care. The standardization of disinfection and isolation, equipment and consumable management, allocation of reasonable nursing manpower and post capacity, implementation of high-quality nursing services, and improvement of the quality and satisfaction of medical cooperation are necessary guarantees to ensure the quality of oral outpatient care.
Humans ; Quality of Health Care ; Ambulatory Care/standards* ; Dental Care/standards* ; Outpatients

BACKGROUND: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a leading cause of admission and mortality in a tertiary care hospital in the Philippines. The significant burden of the disease necessitates that evidence-based care set by international and local guidelines be met to improve service delivery and quality of care (QOC). Institution-specific QOC studies showed gaps between guideline recommendations and compliance. Development and utilization of a clinical pathway are among the identified strategies to improve compliance. It is also crucial for implementation of standard-of-care set specific to a hospital setting based on its needs and resources. METHODS: This is a descriptive research on the development of a clinical pathway for ACS appropriate for the emergency room setting of a tertiary care hospital from March 2021 to August 2022. Local QOC studies and evidence behind the latest international guideline recommendations on the management of ACS were reviewed to create the interim ACS Pathway. Two-level content validation of the interim pathway was done: internal validation with the consultants and fellows of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and external validation through focused group discussions with different hospital units and stakeholders to assess applicability and feasibility based on the resources of the setting, identify hindrances, and propose solutions in its implementation. RESULTS: An evidence-based clinical pathway for ACS that encompasses identification and management of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and non–ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome with judicious use of locally available and feasible resources applicable for local emergency room hospital setting was created. CONCLUSION Review of local QOC studies and interdepartmental collaboration are necessary components in developing institution-specific clinical pathway for ACS.
Acute Coronary Syndrome ; Critical Pathways ; Quality of Health Care

This study aimed to explore key quality control factors that affected the prognosis of intensive care unit (ICU) patients in Chinese mainland over six years (2015-2020). The data for this study were from 31 provincial and municipal hospitals (3425 hospital ICUs) and included 2 110 685 ICU patients, for a total of 27 607 376 ICU hospitalization days. We found that 15 initially established quality control indicators were good predictors of patient prognosis, including percentage of ICU patients out of all inpatients (%), percentage of ICU bed occupancy of total inpatient bed occupancy (%), percentage of all ICU inpatients with an APACHE II score ⩾15 (%), three-hour (surviving sepsis campaign) SSC bundle compliance (%), six-hour SSC bundle compliance (%), rate of microbe detection before antibiotics (%), percentage of drug deep venous thrombosis (DVT) prophylaxis (%), percentage of unplanned endotracheal extubations (%), percentage of patients reintubated within 48 hours (%), unplanned transfers to the ICU (%), 48-h ICU readmission rate (%), ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) (per 1000 ventilator days), catheter related blood stream infection (CRBSI) (per 1000 catheter days), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) (per 1000 catheter days), in-hospital mortality (%). When exploratory factor analysis was applied, the 15 indicators were divided into 6 core elements that varied in weight regarding quality evaluation: nosocomial infection management (21.35%), compliance with the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines (17.97%), ICU resources (17.46%), airway management (15.53%), prevention of deep-vein thrombosis (14.07%), and severity of patient condition (13.61%). Based on the different weights of the core elements associated with the 15 indicators, we developed an integrated quality scoring system defined as F score=21.35%xnosocomial infection management + 17.97%xcompliance with SSC guidelines + 17.46%×ICU resources + 15.53%×airway management + 14.07%×DVT prevention + 13.61%×severity of patient condition. This evidence-based quality scoring system will help in assessing the key elements of quality management and establish a foundation for further optimization of the quality control indicator system.
Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Cross Infection/epidemiology* ; Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data* ; Quality Control ; Quality Indicators, Health Care/statistics & numerical data* ; Sepsis/therapy* ; East Asian People/statistics & numerical data*

Child ; Humans ; Consensus ; Quality of Health Care

Healthcare delivery is moving towards a more personalised and patient-centric approach. There is now an appropriate emphasis on providing value in our healthcare system. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) assess our patients' perceptions of the status of their health and quality of life, measured over a period of time. PROM is an integral component of a value-driven and value-based healthcare system and is key if we want to practise value-based medicine. In paediatrics and child health, PROMs, if implemented well with appropriate measurement tools that are regularly updated and validated in a self-learning healthcare ecosystem, will help to enhance personalised healthcare delivery and collectively improve the health of the community at large. This review covers the role of PROMs in paediatrics, as well as their role in value-based medicine.
Humans ; Child ; Quality of Life ; Ecosystem ; Delivery of Health Care ; Patient Reported Outcome Measures ; Pediatrics

In recent years, with the emphasis on breast cancer screening and the improvement of standardized diagnosis and treatment, cure rate and survival time of breast cancer patients have been significantly improved in China. Accompanied by prolonged follow-up period, patients are facing increasing cancer and other related health issues, which calls for a more accurate and long-term follow-up plan and focus on broader health risks. Health issues on cardiovascular system, bone density, blood lipid and psychology caused by anti-cancer treatment, senescence or changes in hormone levels have become new challenges in the management of patients with breast cancer, not only affecting the life quality, but also impacting disease recurrence and death. Therefore, in addition to standardized treatment, scientific and standardized follow-up, comprehensive management of patients' concomitant diseases, interdisciplinary cooperation and holistic rehabilitation are also vital links to treatment. This could improve the therapeutic efficacy of anti-cancer treatment and the quality of life of patients. Based on the current landscape of treatment and follow-up of breast cancer patients in China, the experts committee updated the "Comprehensive Management Guideline for Breast Cancer Follow-up and Concomitant Diseases (2019 edition)" and revised it as "Guidelines for breast cancer follow-up and health management in China (2022 edition)" according to the latest literature and guidelines and medical advice from interdisciplinary experts. This new guideline is composed of four parts: path diagram, follow-up management, comprehensive healthcare management, and patient reported outcome. It aims to standardize the long-term follow-up of breast cancer patients, guide clinicians to actively provide comprehensive interdisciplinary healthcare management, and further improve the prognosis and life quality of breast cancer patients in China.
Breast Neoplasms/therapy* ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Prognosis ; Quality of Life