Check on Emergency Room treatment

RESEARCHERS will compare the outcomes for patients with chest pains who attend the states main public hospitals ERs in a bid to improve services

As part of a study aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of hospital services around Australia University of Adelaide researchers will compare patient outcomes and investigate differences in patient treatment at each hospital

Study leader health economist Professor Jon Karnon said some hospitals achieved better outcomes at lower cost for specific conditions such as patients presenting with chest pains quotTheres good evidence to suggest that there is variation in the quality of health services provided by different hospitalsquot Prof Karnon said

quotThis has a significant impact on patient outcomes and health services costsquot

He and his team have developed a method where data from patients will be collected and the costs and effectiveness of patient care compared including whether patients later return to emergency or died


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Once the best performers are established the researchers will decipher the differences in approach between the hospitals

quotThis will enable us to see which hospitals are performing better than othersquot Prof Karnon said quotEven if we can make small improvements to provision of service it would make a big differencequot

The study will compare the process of treatment of chest pains at the Royal Adelaide Hospital Flinders Medical Centre Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Lyell McEwin Hospital as well as private hospital St Andrews

About 20000 patients are expected to be involved in the study in the next 12 months

Date : 16 Apr, 2012
Reference : http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/check-on-emergency-room-treatment/story-e6frea83-

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