Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2010.

ackground. There are a number studies related to patients’ satisfaction with health care. Since the Baltic States regained independence in 1990, a reform of the health care system took place in which a serious consideration is paid to health care quality. Patients' views are becoming increasingly important in the current health system. They provide information on effectiveness of healthcare and how it may be improved.The main objective of this study was to investigate inpatients experiences with the care and treatment given in Klaipeda hospitals in order to improve the quality of care and patients’ satisfaction. Material and methods. A cross-sectional survey with questionnaires was made. The subjects of the investigation were patients (from 18 years old), hospitalized in internal and surgery departments in different Klaipeda city hospitals. The survey questions were divided into sections that broadly followed the patient's experience in the hospital. The analyses included descriptive statistics, interrelationship analysis between the different characteristics, and multiple logistic regression to estimate Odds for each of the independent variables in the model.Results. The study shows that 60-80 % of the respondents were satisfied with different parts and aspects of health care services. Satisfaction with getting enough time for discussion with the doctor was higher for younger, male and employed patients. Those from the city needed more understandable explanation from doctor about health condition or treatment plan. Doctors listened more to male patients compare to female. Those results were statistically significant. Conclusions. Majority of the patients were satisfied with hospitalization order in Klaipeda hospitals. Better physician communication skills can improve patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes. Physicians could more effectively facilitate patient involvement by more frequently using partnership-building and supportive communication. Hospital cleanliness is quite important factor to overall satisfaction with hospital care. Waiting time is a significant component of patient satisfaction and depends from patients’ characteristics and their behavior. Different aspects of reception can influence patients’ satisfaction and must be considered. Information about continuity of the treatment were needed more for patients with an increased need for follow up, younger and living alone patients. It is important to provide the setting customers expect and create an environment that meets or exceeds customer needs for safety, security, support, competence, physical comfort, and psychological comfort. / <p>ISBN 91-7997-146-6</p>

Bakgrund: En pågående trend inom hälso- och sjukvården är införandet av marknadsreformer. Den lag som ska tillämpas när ett vårdvalssystem införs är lagen om valfrihetssystem (LOV). På grund av att landstingen är självstyrande kan formerna för organisation och styrning variera. Syfte: Att undersöka och beskriva hur landsting praktiskt arbetar med att följa upp privata vårdgivare inom primärvården, med avseende på kvalitet i vården. Metod: Deskriptiv fallstudie med triangulering. Resultat: I alla de tre fallen framhålls att uppföljningen av de offentliga och privata vårdcentralerna är likadan. Det görs uppföljning av samtliga vårdcentraler en gång per år. Till denna samlas data in från olika källor. Stockholm och Sörmland gör även månadsvis mätningar av några indikatorer. Vilka indikatorer som används till uppföljningarna skiljer sig något mellan de olika landstingen. Om avvikelser upptäcks vidtas olika former av åtgärder, exempelvis utskick av skriftliga frågor eller möten där avvikelsen, eventuella orsaker samt vad som ska göras diskuteras. Andra åtgärder kan vara besök hos vårdgivaren, fördjupad granskning eller medicinsk revision. I landstingens förfrågningsunderlag finns beskrivet vad som följs upp. Vissa indikatorer kopplas till målrelaterad ersättning, viten eller bonus. Det framgår även under vilka förutsättningar ett avtal skulle kunna sägas upp i förtid. Förtida uppsägning baserat på kvalitetsskäl har endast skett i Stockholm. Exempel på ett område där samtliga landsting har pågående utvecklingsarbete är utformning av kvalitetsindikatorerna. Samarbeten sker med andra landsting i olika nätverk för utveckling av uppföljningsarbetet. Exempel på svårigheter som ses är att kvaliteten på data som rapporteras in kan brista, tillgång till olika datasystem samt att mäta och fråga rätt saker. Slutsats: Det finns likheter i hur landstingen har utformat sina uppföljningsverksamheter men också skillnader, exempelvis att Stockholm rutinmässigt gör uppföljningsbesök hos nystartade enheter och att Uppsala gör en generell fördjupad uppföljning. / Background: An ongoing trend in health care is the implementation of market reforms. The applicable law when implementing a system of choice is lagen om valfrihetssystem (LOV). Because of the fact that the county councils have home rule the forms of organization and governance can vary. Aim: To study and describe how county councils work with following up private actors in primary care, with regard to quality. Method: Descriptive case study with triangulation. Results: In all three cases it is stressed that the follow up is the same for private and public district health care centres. A follow up of each centre is carried out annualy. For this data is collected from different sources. Stockholm and Sörmland also measure some indicators monthly. Which indicators that are used in the follow ups differ somewhat between the county councils. If deviations are detected different steps are taken, for instance written questions or meetings where the deviation, possible causes and interventions are discussed. Other steps could be to visit the actor, have an intensed review or medical revision. The county councils’ rule books describe what is included in the follow ups. Some indicators are connected to a goal related payment, fine or bonus. It is also stated under what circumstances a contract could be terminaded prematurely. Premature termination based on quality reasons has only occurred in Stockholm. An example of an area where all county councils have an ongoing developement is formation of the quality indicators. There are cooperations with other county councils in different networks regarding development of the follow ups. Difficulties that have been noted are for example that the quality of data that is reported in might be lacking, access to different computer systems and measuring the correct things. Conclusion: There are similarities between the county councils with regard to how they have chosen to design their follow up work, but there are also differences, for instance that Stockholm routinely makes follow up visits to newly started units and that Uppsala does a general intensed review.

The implementation of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) may lead to improved quality of primary health care. To investigate this, we conducted a mixed methods study of eighteen Toronto family physicians who implemented EMRs in 2006 and nine comparison family physicians who continued to use paper records. We used a controlled before-after design and two focus groups. We examined five preventive services with Pay for Performance incentives: Pap smears, screening mammograms, fecal occult blood testing, influenza vaccinations and childhood vaccinations. There was no difference between the two groups: after adjustment, combined preventive services for the EMR group increased by 0.7% less than for the non-EMR group (p=0.55, 95% CI -2.8, 3.9). Physicians felt that EMR implementation was challenging.

The implementation of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) may lead to improved quality of primary health care. To investigate this, we conducted a mixed methods study of eighteen Toronto family physicians who implemented EMRs in 2006 and nine comparison family physicians who continued to use paper records. We used a controlled before-after design and two focus groups. We examined five preventive services with Pay for Performance incentives: Pap smears, screening mammograms, fecal occult blood testing, influenza vaccinations and childhood vaccinations. There was no difference between the two groups: after adjustment, combined preventive services for the EMR group increased by 0.7% less than for the non-EMR group (p=0.55, 95% CI -2.8, 3.9). Physicians felt that EMR implementation was challenging.

Syfte: Studiens syfte var att undersöka vad patienterna har för upplevelser av sjukvården, samt vilka förbättringar de föreslår. Metod: Undersökningsgruppen bestod av 50 patienter som svarat på de öppna frågorna i en nationell patientenkät. Svaren analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Analysen av materialet resulterade i fem kategorier och elva underkategorier. De fem kategorierna bestod av: bemötande, sjukhusmaten, vårdmiljön under sjukhusvistelsen, in- och utskrivning samt väntetider under vårdtiden och samarbete mellan professioner. Patienter som vårdades inom slutenvården ansåg att det bemötande de erhöll i huvudsak varit gott, men att det förekom vissa negativa attityder som bör förändras till det bättre. Förbättringar av måltider och sjukhusmiljön önskades, dessa områden upplevdes otillfredsställande. Vidare föreslogs förbättringar rörande information och kommunikation. Dessa två faktorer spelade, enligt patienter, roll för hur trygga de kände sig inom vården. Väntetiderna upplevdes vara alltför långa och patienterna önskade att dessa ska bli kortare. Slutsats: Patienterna i denna studie hade både positiva och negativa upplevelser av slutenvården, samt föreslog förbättringar på ett antal områden. Detta resultat, samt framtida patientundersökningar, kan vara ett underlag för sjuksköterskors kvalitetsförbättringsarbete i den kliniska verksamheten då det identifierar områden i behov av förbättring. / Aim: The aim of this study was to examine patients’ experiences of health care, and which improvements they propose. Method: The study group consisted of 50 patients who answered the open-ended questions in a national patient satisfaction questionnaire. The patients’ answers were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in five categories and eleven subcategories. The five categories were:  social interaction with staff, hospital food, hospital environment during the stay, admission, discharge and delays and collaboration with other professions. Patients who received hospital care generally considered themselves treated well by staff, but some experienced negative attitudes from staff which leaves room for improvement. Other areas considered dissatisfying were the hospital food and the hospital environment. Furthermore, suggestions were made concerning the improvement of information and communication. These factors, according to patients, affect whether they feels safe or not when receiving health care. Patients also expressed that waiting times and delays were too long, and ought to be shortened. Conclusion: Patients in this study had both positive and negative experiences of their hospital stay. They suggest improvements in several areas. These results, together with future patient satisfaction surveys, can develop a basis for nurses to improve the quality of care in clinical practice since they identify areas in need of improvement.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This thesis describes a study of the utilisation of computers by individual general practitioners (GPs) in Australia, and compares the practice behaviour of GPs who use a computer as a clinical tool, either by prescribing, ordering tests, or storing patient data in an electronic medical record format, with those who do not use a computer for these functions. A survey of individual GP’s use of computers was conducted among 1,336 GPs who participated in the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) program between October 2003 and March 2005. The GPs were then assigned to groups according to their clinical use (or not) of a computer, and were compared on a range of variables including the characteristics of the GPs themselves, their practices, their patients, the morbidity they managed for their patients, and the managements they provided. Their behaviour was also compared, using a set of quality indicators designed for use with the BEACH data, and applicable in a primary care setting, to determine whether the clinical use of a computer has an affect on the quality of care GPs provide to their patients. Finally, GPs who use clinical software with embedded pharmaceutical advertising were compared with GPs not exposed to advertisements via this media, to determine whether such advertising influences the prescribing behaviour of GPs to favour advertised brands. From 44 quality indicators examined, clinical computer users performed ‘better’ on four and ‘worse’ on four. For the remaining 36 they exhibited no difference. Exposure to pharmaceutical advertising embedded in clinical software did not influence the prescribing behaviour of the GPs so exposed. Despite the belief espoused in the literature that computer use will improve the quality of patient care, I have found no evidence to demonstrate that the use of a computer for clinical activity has (as yet) affected, either positively or negatively, the quality of care GPs provide to their patients. The current push to computerise general practice will mean that this method of assessment will be difficult to replicate in the future, given the absence of control groups. Other research methods will need to be developed.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Univ., 2002. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2003. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Univ., 2001. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.