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For frail older people, admission to hospital is an opportunity to review the indications for specific medications. This research investigates prescribing for 206 older people discharged into residential aged care facilities from 11 acute care hospitals in Australia. Patients had multiple comorbidities (mean 6), high levels of dependency, and were prescribed a mean of 7.2 regular medications at admission to hospital and 8.1 medications on discharge, with hyper-polypharmacy (≥10 drugs) increasing from 24.3% to 32.5%. Many drugs were preventive medications whose time until benefit was likely to exceed the expected lifespan. In summary, frail patients continue to be exposed to extensive polypharmacy and medications with uncertain risk-benefit ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Unplanned readmissions befall up to 25% of acutely hospitalised older patients, and many may be potentially preventable. Aim To assess the type and prevalence of quality of care factors associated with potentially preventable readmissions to a tertiary hospital general medicine service. Methods A retrospective case-control study was undertaken of hospital records of patients 65 years or older admitted acutely between 1 January 2005 and 31 December 2010. Readmissions up to 30 days postdischarge (cases) were purposively sampled according to frequencies of primary discharge diagnoses coded during the study period. Non-readmitted patients (controls), matched according to age, sex and primary discharge diagnosis on index admission, were selected in a 1.7:1 ratio. Results One hundred and thirteen cases and 198 controls were analysed, the former demonstrating a significantly higher comorbidity burden (mean (±standard deviation) comorbidity score 6.6 (±2.2) vs 5.6 (±2.4), P = 0.003) and a higher proportion of individuals with one or more hospitalisations over the preceding 6 months (55.7% vs 8.1%, P < 0.001). Among readmitted patients, 50 (44.3%) were associated with one or more quality factors versus 23 (11.6%) controls ( P < 0.001). The most common were: failure to develop/activate an advance care plan (18, 15.9% vs 2, 1.0%; P < 0.001); suboptimal management of presenting illness (13, 11.4% vs 0, 0%; P < 0.001); inadequate assessment of functional limitations (11, 9.7% vs 0, 0%; P < 0.001); and potentially preventable complication of therapy (8, 7.1% vs 1, 0.5%, P = 0.002). Conclusions Quality of care factors are more common among readmitted than among non-readmitted older patients suggesting potential for remedial strategies. Such strategies may still have limited effects as older, frail patients with advanced diseases and multimorbidity will likely retain a high propensity for readmission despite optimal care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate associations between the availability and timing of digitally available advance care planning (ACP) documents and hospital use and costs during the last 6 months of life., Design: Retrospective population-based cohort study using data linkage., Setting: 11 public hospitals in Queensland, Australia., Participants: 5586 decedents with ACP documents were directly matched 1:2 to 11 172 control decedents based on age category, sex, location, year of death and principal diagnosis code for the last-known hospital admission., Exposure: ACP discussions with documents uploaded to a widely accessible statewide digital platform. Directly matched subgroup analyses investigated differences between decedents with ACP documents available at three different times prior to death: ≥6 months, between 1 and 6 months, and <1 month., Main Outcomes and Measures: Emergency department (ED) presentations, hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and in-hospital deaths, expressed as adjusted OR (aOR). Secondary outcomes were hospital bed-days and costs., Results: ACP decedents with documents uploaded ≥6 months prior to death, compared with controls, had fewer ED presentations (aOR 0.90, 95% CI 0.81 to 1.00), hospitalisations (aOR 0.83, 95% CI 0.74 to 0.92), ICU admissions (aOR 0.23, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.48), and in-hospital deaths (aOR 0.56, 95% CI 0.51 to 0.63), and lower adjusted mean hospital costs per person over the last 6 months of life ($A2290 less (95% CI -$4116 to -$463)). Conversely, decedents with ACP documents uploaded less than 6 months prior to death showed higher rates of ED presentations and hospital admissions and greater hospital costs relative to controls., Conclusion: The association between digitally available ACP documents and health service use and cost differed based on the timing of ACP upload, with documents available ≥6 months prior to death being associated with less hospital use and costs., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: To assess feasibility, effectiveness, and safety of a multifaceted general practitioner (GP) led intervention to reduce potentially inappropriate polypharmacy in community-living older people., Design: Pragmatic, controlled, pre-post design., Setting: Five general practices in southeast Queensland, Australia., Participants: Ten GPs from three practices, two pharmacists, and 78 patients comprised the intervention group, and 10 GPs from two practices and 67 patients comprised the usual care group. Patients were aged 65 years or older, receiving five or more regularly prescribed medicines, and capable of participating in telephone interviews in English., Intervention: A 5-hour interactive deprescribing training workshop for clinicians; an extended deprescribing consultation between GPs and enrolled patients, entailing a comprehensive review of their medicines using a standardized software template codesigned by GPs; and comprehensive medicine review by a pharmacist, at the GP's discretion., Outcome Measures: Primary outcome was mean difference in number of regular medicines deprescribed (ie, ceased or dose reduced) per patient over an 18-week follow-up period. Medicine-specific and patient-reported outcomes, safety, and process measures were also evaluated., Results: At study completion, mean (SD) number of regular medicines deprescribed per patient was 0.99 (1.23) in the intervention group vs 0.43 (0.84) in the usual care group, equaling a mean difference of 0.55 (95% confidence interval = -0.90 to -0.21; P = .002). Crude totals showed 77 of 649 (11.9%) vs 29 of 571 (5.1%) regular medicines deprescribed in intervention and usual care groups, respectively (P < .001). Supplements, gastric acid suppressants, statins, oral hypoglycemics, and diuretics were medicine classes more frequently deprescribed. There were no statistically significant between-group differences in numbers of medicines commenced, self-reported unplanned hospitalizations, or worsened health-related quality of life. A subset of intervention patients reported greater certainty in the necessity and appropriateness of their medicines at study end., Conclusion: The deprescribing intervention appears feasible, was modestly effective, and was not associated with any major safety events. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:403-410, 2020., (© 2019 The American Geriatrics Society.)

Background: Movement of emergency patients across the emergency department (ED)-inpatient ward interface influences compliance with National Emergency Access Targets (NEAT). Uncertainty exists as to how best measure patient flow, NEAT compliance and patient mortality across this interface., Objective: To compare the association of NEAT with new and traditional markers of patient flow across the ED-inpatient interface and to investigate new markers of mortality and NEAT compliance across this interface., Methods: Retrospective study of consecutive emergency admissions to a tertiary hospital (January 2012 to June 2014) using routinely collected hospital data. The practical access number for emergency (PANE) and inpatient cubicles in emergency (ICE) are new measures reflecting boarding of inpatients in ED; traditional markers were hospital bed occupancy and ED attendance numbers. The Hospital Standardised Mortality Ratio (HSMR) for patients admitted via ED (eHSMR) was correlated with inpatientNEAT compliance rates. Linear regression analyses assessed for statistically significant associations (expressed as Pearson R coefficient) between all measures and inpatient NEAT compliance rates., Results: PANE and ICE were inversely related to inpatient NEAT compliance rates (r = 0.698 and 0.734 respectively, P < 0.003 for both); no significant relation was seen with traditional patient flow markers. Inpatient NEAT compliance rates were inversely related to both eHSMR (r = 0.914, P = 0.0006) and all-patient HSMR (r = 0.943, P = 0.0001)., Conclusions: Traditional markers of patient flow do not correlate with inpatient NEAT compliance in contrast to two new markers of inpatient boarding in ED (PANE and ICE). Standardised mortality rates for both emergency and all patients show a strong inverse relation with inpatient NEAT compliance.

Background: Appropriate and uniform prioritisation ('triaging') of outpatient referrals is critical to good patient outcomes, equity of access to services and efficient use of resources., Objective: To determine whether there is uniformity in the allocation of triage categories for hepatology outpatient referrals at public hospitals in Queensland., Methods: A series of 10 recent hepatology referrals were de-identified for both patient and referring clinician details and sent to nine gastroenterology or hepatology centres throughout Queensland. Consultant gastroenterologists and hepatologists (n=25) were asked to triage the referrals using the process in place in their centre. Responses were de-identified and analysed. Each case was reviewed and allocated an 'agreed triage category' based upon the majority view of respondents., Results: Nineteen responses were received. There was substantial variation amongst consultants in the allocation of triage categories. Although almost two-thirds of respondents agreed with the majority view in 60-80% of cases, none agreed with the majority for every case and some agreed in as few as 50% cases. Disagreement with the majority view of an appropriate triage category was not associated with geography or specialist experience., Conclusions: Variability in triage categorisation suggests that similar cases may be allocated different priorities by those responsible for determining the urgency of outpatient review. This has implications for equity of access to treatment. The development of triage guidelines and formal training in their implementation, along with periodic audits of triage practices in different centres, may reduce variability.

Aims: To evaluate efficacy of a pathway-based quality improvement intervention on appropriate prescribing of the low molecular weight heparin, enoxaparin, in patients with varying risk categories of acute coronary syndrome (ACS)., Methods: Rates of enoxaparin use retrospectively evaluated before and after pathway implementation at an intervention hospital were compared to concurrent control patients at a control hospital; both were community hospitals in south-east Queensland. The study population was a group of randomly selected patients (n = 439) admitted to study hospitals with a discharge diagnosis of chest pain, angina, or myocardial infarction, and stratified into high, intermediate, low-risk ACS or non-cardiac chest pain: 146 intervention patients (September-November 2003), 147 historical controls (August-December 2001) at the intervention hospital; 146 concurrent controls (September-November 2003) at the control hospital. Interventions were active implementation of a user-modified clinical pathway coupled with an iterative education programme to medical staff versus passive distribution of a similar pathway without user modification or targeted education. Outcome measures were rates of appropriate enoxaparin use in high-risk ACS patients and rates of inappropriate use in intermediate and low-risk patients., Results: Appropriate use of enoxaparin in high-risk ACS patients was above 90% in all patient groups. Inappropriate use of enoxaparin was significantly reduced as a result of pathway use in intermediate risk (9% intervention patients vs 75% historical controls vs 45% concurrent controls) and low-risk patients (9% vs 62% vs 41%; P < 0.001 for all comparisons). Pathway use was associated with a 3.5-fold (95% CI: 1.3-9.1; P = 0.012) increase in appropriate use of enoxaparin across all patient groups., Conclusion: Active implementation of an acute chest pain pathway combined with continuous education reduced inappropriate use of enoxaparin in patients presenting with intermediate or low-risk ACS.

Background: Hospital performance reports based on administrative data should distinguish differences in quality of care between hospitals from case mix related variation and random error effects. A study was undertaken to determine which of 12 diagnosis-outcome indicators measured across all hospitals in one state had significant risk adjusted systematic (or special cause) variation (SV) suggesting differences in quality of care. For those that did, we determined whether SV persists within hospital peer groups, whether indicator results correlate at the individual hospital level, and how many adverse outcomes would be avoided if all hospitals achieved indicator values equal to the best performing 20% of hospitals., Methods: All patients admitted during a 12 month period to 180 acute care hospitals in Queensland, Australia with heart failure (n = 5745), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (n = 3427), or stroke (n = 2955) were entered into the study. Outcomes comprised in-hospital deaths, long hospital stays, and 30 day readmissions. Regression models produced standardised, risk adjusted diagnosis specific outcome event ratios for each hospital. Systematic and random variation in ratio distributions for each indicator were then apportioned using hierarchical statistical models., Results: Only five of 12 (42%) diagnosis-outcome indicators showed significant SV across all hospitals (long stays and same diagnosis readmissions for heart failure; in-hospital deaths and same diagnosis readmissions for AMI; and in-hospital deaths for stroke). Significant SV was only seen for two indicators within hospital peer groups (same diagnosis readmissions for heart failure in tertiary hospitals and inhospital mortality for AMI in community hospitals). Only two pairs of indicators showed significant correlation. If all hospitals emulated the best performers, at least 20% of AMI and stroke deaths, heart failure long stays, and heart failure and AMI readmissions could be avoided., Conclusions: Diagnosis-outcome indicators based on administrative data require validation as markers of significant risk adjusted SV. Validated indicators allow quantification of realisable outcome benefits if all hospitals achieved best performer levels. The overall level of quality of care within single institutions cannot be inferred from the results of one or a few indicators.

Background: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is an increasingly prevalent poor-prognosis condition for which effective interventions are available. It is -therefore important to determine the extent to which patients with CHF receive appropriate care in Australian hospitals and identify ways for improving suboptimal care, if it exists., Aim: To evaluate the quality of in-hospital acute care of patients with CHF using explicit quality indicators based on published guidelines., Methods: A retrospective case note review was -performed, involving 216 patients admitted to three teaching hospitals in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, between October 2000 and April 2001. Outcome measures were process-of-care quality -indicators calculated as proportions of all, or strongly -eligible (ideal), patients who received -specific interventions., Results: Assessment of underlying causes and acute precipitating factors was undertaken in 86% and 76% of patients, respectively, and objective evaluation of left ventricular function was performed in 62% of patients. Prophylaxis for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) was used in only 29% of ideal patients. Proportions of ideal patients receiving pharmacological treatments at discharge were: (i) angiotensin--converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) (82%), (ii) target doses of ACEi (61%), (iii) alternative vasodilators in patients ineligible for ACEi (20%), (iv) beta-blockers (40%) and (v) warfarin (46%)., Conclusions: Opportunities exist for improving quality of in-hospital care of patients with CHF, -particularly for optimal prescribing of: (i) DVT prophylaxis, (ii) ACEi, (iii) second-line vasodilators, (iv) beta-blockers and (v) warfarin. More research is needed to identify methods for improving quality of in-hospital care.

Background: Measurement and improvement of quality of care is a priority issue in health care. Patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) constitute a high-risk population whose care, if shown to be suboptimal on the basis of available research evidence, may benefit from quality improvement interventions., Aim: To evaluate the quality of in-hospital care for patients with ACS, using explicit quality indicators., Methods: Retrospective case note review was undertaken of 397 patients admitted to three teaching hospitals in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, between 1 October 2000 and 17 April 2001. The main outcome measures were 12 process-of-care quality indicators, calculated as either: (i) the proportion of all patients who received specific interventions or (ii) the proportion of ideal patients who received specific interventions (i.e. patients with clear indications and lacking contraindications)., Results: Quality indicators with values above 80% included: (i) patient selection for thrombolysis (100%) and discharge prescription of beta-blockers (84%), (ii) antiplatelet agents (94%) and (iii) lipid-lowering agents (82%). Indicators with values between 50% and 80% included: (i) timely performance of electrocardiogram (ECG) on admission (61%), (ii) early coronary angiography (75%), (iii) measurement of serum lipids (71%) and (iv) discharge prescription of angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (73%). Indicators with values <50% included: (i) timely administration of thrombolysis (35%), (ii) non-invasive risk assessment (23%) and (ii) formal in-hospital, and post-hospital cardiac rehabilitation (47% and 7%, respectively)., Conclusion: There were delays in performing ECG and administering thrombolysis to patients who presented to emergency departments with ACS. Improvement is warranted in use of non-invasive procedures for identifying high-risk patients who may benefit from coronary revascularization as well as use of serum lipid measurements, ACE inhibitors and cardiac rehabilitation.

The aim of this study was to develop and trial a method to monitor the evolution of clinical reasoning in a PBL curriculum that is suitable for use in a large medical school. Termed Clinical Reasoning Problems (CRPs), it is based on the notion that clinical reasoning is dependent on the identification and correct interpretation of certain critical clinical features. Each problem consists of a clinical scenario comprising presentation, history and physical examination. Based on this information, subjects are asked to nominate the two most likely diagnoses and to list the clinical features that they considered in formulating their diagnoses, indicating whether these features supported or opposed the nominated diagnoses. Students at different levels of medical training completed a set of 10 CRPs as well as the Diagnostic Thinking Inventory, a self-reporting questionnaire designed to assess reasoning style. Responses were scored against those of a reference group of general practitioners. Results indicate that the CRPs are an easily administered, reliable and valid assessment of clinical reasoning, able to successfully monitor its development throughout medical training. Consequently, they can be employed to assess clinical reasoning skill in individual students and to evaluate the success of undergraduate medical schools in providing effective tuition in clinical reasoning.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of quality improvement interventions on inhospital mortality after admission for acute myocardial infarction (AMI)., Design: Before-and-after study (with concurrent controls) based on hospital discharge data from a routinely maintained, administrative database., Setting: All Queensland public hospitals, July 1991 - June 1999., Study Population: Patients with AMI admitted through the emergency department., Intervention: Development and promulgation of clinical practice guidelines at one hospital, combined with regular audit and feedback, commencing November 1995., Main Outcome Measures: Inhospital mortality (adjusted for age, sex and comorbidities) for four-year periods before (1991-92 to 1994-95) and after (1995-96 to 1998-99) initiation of quality improvement interventions., Results: Before the intervention, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for inhospital death at the intervention hospital was about the same as at other public hospitals (adjusted OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.80-1.24), but was more than 40% lower after the intervention (adjusted OR, 0.59; 95% Cl, 0.45-0.78). After the intervention, the risk of death at the intervention hospital was lower compared with hospitals with cardiologists as admitting practitioners (adjusted OR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.48-0.83), with onsite revascularisation facilities (adjusted OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.49-0.88), and with large numbers (> or = 250 per year) of annual admissions of patients with AMI (adjusted OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.54-0.97)., Conclusions: Quality improvement interventions lower the risk of inhospital death in patients with AMI. Implementation of such interventions in all hospitals may confer a risk of death lower than that achieved by admitting all patients under the care of cardiologists, or to hospitals with revascularisation facilities or a high volume of admissions of patients with AMI.

We describe an acute fatal human case of melioidosis acquired in Ipswich, a city at 27.5 degrees S in southern Queensland, south of the area traditionally considered endemic for melioidosis in Australia. Molecular typing revealed that this patient isolate was genetically distinct from 2 other human and 1 bovine isolates of Burkholderia pseudomallei from the same region and from 4 tropical northern Australian strains. This finding suggests that if B. pseudomallei has been introduced to the region from northern Australia, it was not in recent times, and there has not been a point source of infection. Burkholderia pseudomallei is present in temperate southern Queensland, which hitherto has not been well appreciated. Clinicians should consider the diagnosis of acute melioidosis in patients with severe pneumonia or septicemia acquired in subtropical areas such as southern Queensland, particularly after heavy summer rains with flooding.

Disease management is a systematic approach to improving care of populations of patients with specific clinical conditions. Critical to success are the formation of collaborative teams of health care stakeholders, development and promulgation of clinical practice guidelines, and performance measurement and feedback to providers as a process of continuous practice improvement. This article describes a disease management program for patients with coronary artery disease in a provincial health district with a population of 180,000. It discusses the rationale and methods behind the operationalisation of the main program elements, benefits achieved to date and challenges confronted.

Two simultaneous human cases of fatal melioidosis in temperate south-eastern Queensland involved patients who had had pre-existing multisystem illnesses, had sustained cutaneous lesions before illness onset, and died from overwhelming sepsis. Onset of disease was preceded by unseasonably heavy rainfall. These and other features of these cases suggest that the source of infection was local, in which case the endemicity of Burkholderia pseudomallei in temperate regional Australia may be broader than is currently recognised, and melioidosis may need to be considered in at-risk patients in these areas, as well as in tropical and subtropical areas, who present with severe pneumonia and septicaemia.