A grande procura pelo Serviço de Emergência e a conseqüente permanência dos pacientes em repetidas admissões representam entraves para os enfermeiros, os quais são responsáveis pelo gerenciamento desses serviços. Objetivos: Caracterizar o perfil dos pacientes readmitidos em um Serviço de Emergência de um hospital filantrópico; identificar o perfil sócio-demográfico e de morbidade dos pacientes readmitidos; caracterizar a utilização do Serviço de Emergência e identificar os fatores relacionados às readmissões. Casuística e Método: estudo transversal, descritivo e exploratório realizado em um Serviço de Emergência de um hospital filantrópico de ensino, de atenção terciária, na cidade de São Paulo. A amostra foi composta por pacientes maiores de 14 anos considerados internados no Serviço de Emergência, com mais de uma admissão, nos seis meses anteriores ao dia da coleta de dados. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de instrumento estruturado com questões abertas e fechadas, e as informações foram obtidas do prontuário do paciente e por entrevista direta ao paciente ou familiares, durante todo o mês de maio de 2004. Resultados: a incidência de readmissões foi de 23,3%. Houve predomínio de pacientes do sexo masculino (61,9%), idade de 40 a 90 anos (85,9%), baixa escolaridade (57,8%) e 46,7% pertenciam à área de regionalização do SUS para o serviço estudado. Quase a totalidade (92,8%) não era cadastrada no PSF, sendo que grande parte (45,4%) referiu desconhecer o programa. As principais hipóteses diagnósticas foram as doenças do aparelho circulatório (33,7%) seguidas pelas neoplasias (24,1%). A maioria dos pacientes (57,6%) foi readmitido com o mesmo diagnóstico e 23,9% devido a complicações. Na visão dos entrevistados, como fatores desencadeantes da readmissão, 40,9% referiram causas potencialmente evitáveis. A maioria dos entrevistados referiu que seu problema não foi resolvido na internação anterior, sendo o principal motivo a continuidade dos sintomas. Conclusões: A incidência de readmissões foi elevada, podendo ter sido ocasionada por evolução da doença crônico-degenerativa, idade avançada, baixo seguimento das orientações recebidas, complicações pós-operatórias, necessidade de cuidado domiciliar e não resolução do problema na admissão anterior / The great need for the Emergency Department and the resultant length of stay of the patients in repeated admissions become a hard situation for nurses, who are responsible for the administration on this units. Objectives: characterize the readmitted patients at the Emergency Department in a philanthropyc hospital; identify the socialdemographic and morbity profile of the readmitted patients; characterize the use of the Emergency Department; identify factors associated with readmissions. Methods: transversal, descriptive and exploratory study, at the Emergency Department on a tertiary health service of a philanthropic teaching hospital in São Paulo city, the sample was made by patients over fourteen years old that became inpatient at the Emergency Department, with over than one admission until six months before the data collection day. It was used an instrument with opened and closed questions for the data collection. Data were obtained from patient records and by interview to the patient or responsible, during May 2004. Results: the readmission incidence was 23,3%. The patients were predominantly males (61,9%), age 40 to 90 years old (85,9%), low level education (57,8%); 46,7% lived at areas regarding the regionalization of the health service. Almost of all (92,8%) wasn’t registered at Family Health Program, and a high proportion of patients (45,4%) were unaware of this program. The main diagnosis were circulatory disease (33,7%) followed by cancer (24,1%). Most of patients (57,6%) was readmitted with the same diagnosis and 23,9% due to complications. On the perception of 40,9% of the patients, the related factors to readmissions were classified as potentially avoidable causes. Conclusions: The readmission incidence was raised, it was can be caused by problems in adherence to treatment, gravity of chronic disease, not enough orientation, or by complications

A grande procura pelo Serviço de Emergência e a conseqüente permanência dos pacientes em repetidas admissões representam entraves para os enfermeiros, os quais são responsáveis pelo gerenciamento desses serviços. Objetivos: Caracterizar o perfil dos pacientes readmitidos em um Serviço de Emergência de um hospital filantrópico; identificar o perfil sócio-demográfico e de morbidade dos pacientes readmitidos; caracterizar a utilização do Serviço de Emergência e identificar os fatores relacionados às readmissões. Casuística e Método: estudo transversal, descritivo e exploratório realizado em um Serviço de Emergência de um hospital filantrópico de ensino, de atenção terciária, na cidade de São Paulo. A amostra foi composta por pacientes maiores de 14 anos considerados internados no Serviço de Emergência, com mais de uma admissão, nos seis meses anteriores ao dia da coleta de dados. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de instrumento estruturado com questões abertas e fechadas, e as informações foram obtidas do prontuário do paciente e por entrevista direta ao paciente ou familiares, durante todo o mês de maio de 2004. Resultados: a incidência de readmissões foi de 23,3%. Houve predomínio de pacientes do sexo masculino (61,9%), idade de 40 a 90 anos (85,9%), baixa escolaridade (57,8%) e 46,7% pertenciam à área de regionalização do SUS para o serviço estudado. Quase a totalidade (92,8%) não era cadastrada no PSF, sendo que grande parte (45,4%) referiu desconhecer o programa. As principais hipóteses diagnósticas foram as doenças do aparelho circulatório (33,7%) seguidas pelas neoplasias (24,1%). A maioria dos pacientes (57,6%) foi readmitido com o mesmo diagnóstico e 23,9% devido a complicações. Na visão dos entrevistados, como fatores desencadeantes da readmissão, 40,9% referiram causas potencialmente evitáveis. A maioria dos entrevistados referiu que seu problema não foi resolvido na internação anterior, sendo o principal motivo a continuidade dos sintomas. Conclusões: A incidência de readmissões foi elevada, podendo ter sido ocasionada por evolução da doença crônico-degenerativa, idade avançada, baixo seguimento das orientações recebidas, complicações pós-operatórias, necessidade de cuidado domiciliar e não resolução do problema na admissão anterior / The great need for the Emergency Department and the resultant length of stay of the patients in repeated admissions become a hard situation for nurses, who are responsible for the administration on this units. Objectives: characterize the readmitted patients at the Emergency Department in a philanthropyc hospital; identify the socialdemographic and morbity profile of the readmitted patients; characterize the use of the Emergency Department; identify factors associated with readmissions. Methods: transversal, descriptive and exploratory study, at the Emergency Department on a tertiary health service of a philanthropic teaching hospital in São Paulo city, the sample was made by patients over fourteen years old that became inpatient at the Emergency Department, with over than one admission until six months before the data collection day. It was used an instrument with opened and closed questions for the data collection. Data were obtained from patient records and by interview to the patient or responsible, during May 2004. Results: the readmission incidence was 23,3%. The patients were predominantly males (61,9%), age 40 to 90 years old (85,9%), low level education (57,8%); 46,7% lived at areas regarding the regionalization of the health service. Almost of all (92,8%) wasn’t registered at Family Health Program, and a high proportion of patients (45,4%) were unaware of this program. The main diagnosis were circulatory disease (33,7%) followed by cancer (24,1%). Most of patients (57,6%) was readmitted with the same diagnosis and 23,9% due to complications. On the perception of 40,9% of the patients, the related factors to readmissions were classified as potentially avoidable causes. Conclusions: The readmission incidence was raised, it was can be caused by problems in adherence to treatment, gravity of chronic disease, not enough orientation, or by complications

Background: The purpose of drug treatment is to reduce morbidity and mortality, and to improve health-related quality of life. However, there are frequent problems associated with drug treatment, especially among the elderly. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the impact of clinical pharmacy services within a multiprofessional healthcare team on quality and safety of patients’ drug therapy, and to study the frequency and nature of medication history errors on admission to hospital. Methods: A model for clinical pharmacy services within a multiprofessional healthcare team (the Lund Integrated Medicines Management model, LIMM) was introduced in three hospital wards. On admission of patients to hospital, clinical pharmacists conducted medication reconciliation (i.e. identified the most accurate list of a patient’s current medications) to identify any errors in the hospital medication list. To identify, solve and prevent any other drug-related problems, the clinical pharmacists interviewed patients and performed medication reviews and monitoring of drug therapy. Drug-related problems were discussed within the multiprofessional team and the physicians adjusted the drug therapy as appropriate. Results: On admission to hospital, drug-related problems, such as low adherence to drug therapy and concerns about treatment, were identified. Different statistical approaches to present results from ordinal data on adherence and beliefs about medicines were suggested. Approximately half of the patients were affected by errors in the medication history at admission to hospital; patients who had many prescription drugs had a higher risk for errors. Medication reconciliation and review reduced the number of inappropriate medications and reduced drug-related hospital revisits. No impact on all-cause hospital revisits was demonstrated. Conclusion: Patients admitted to hospital are at high risk for being affected by medication history errors and there is a high potential to improve their drug therapy. By reducing medication history errors and improving medication appropriateness, clinical pharmacy services within a multiprofessional healthcare team improve the quality and safety of patients’ drug therapy. The impact of routine implementation of medication reconciliation and review on healthcare visits will need further evaluation; the results from this thesis suggest that drug-related hospital revisits could be reduced. / Läkemedelsgenomgångar och läkemedelsavstämning - LIMM-modellen

No / Hospitals are under pressure to reduce waiting times and costs. One strategy that may be effective focuses on optimising the flow of emergency patients. We undertook a patient flow analysis of older emergency patients to identify and address delays in ensuring timely care, without additional resources. Prospective systems redesign study over 2 years. The Geriatric Medicine Directorate in an acute hospital (Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) with 1920 beds. Older patients admitted as emergencies. Diagnostic patient flow analysis followed by a series of Plan Do Study Act cycles to test and implement changes by a multidisciplinary team using time series run charts. 60% of patients aged 75+ years arrived in the Emergency Department during office hours, but two-thirds of the admissions to GM wards were outside office hours highlighting a major delay. Three changes were undertaken to address this, Discharge to Assess, Seven Day Working and the establishment of a Frailty Unit. Average bed occupancy fell by 20.4 beds (95% confidence interval (CI) -39.6 to -1.2, P = 0.037) for similar demand. The risk of hospital mortality also fell by 2.25% (before 11.4% (95% CI 10.4-12.4%), after 9.15% (95% CI 7.6-10.7%) which equates to a number needed to treat of 45 and a 19.7% reduction in relative risk of mortality. The risk of re-admission remained unchanged. Redesigning the system of care for older emergency patients led to reductions in bed occupancy and mortality without affecting re-admission rates or requiring additional resources.