Delivering safe and effective test-result communication, management and follow-up: a mixed-methods study protocol

Maria R Dahm; Andrew Georgiou; Johanna Westbrook; David Greenfield; Andrea R. Horvath; Denis Wakefield; Ling Li; Ken Hillman; Patrick Bolton; Anthony Brown; Graham Jones; Robert Herkes; Robert Lindeman; Michael Legg; Meredith Makeham; Daniel Moses; Dauda Badmus; Craig Campbell; Rae-Anne Hardie; Yu Jia Li; Euan McCaughey; Gorkem Sezgin; Judith Thomas; Nasir Wabe

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020235

Delivering safe and effective test-result communication, management and follow-up: a mixed-methods study protocol

Maria R Dahm^*, Andrew Georgiou, Johanna Westbrook, David Greenfield, Andrea R. Horvath, Denis Wakefield, Ling Li, Ken Hillman, Patrick Bolton, Anthony Brown, Graham Jones, Robert Herkes, Robert Lindeman, Michael Legg, Meredith Makeham, Daniel Moses, Dauda Badmus, Craig Campbell, Rae-Anne Hardie, Yu Jia LiEuan McCaughey, Gorkem Sezgin, Judith Thomas, Nasir Wabe

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

25 Citations (Scopus)

82 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Introduction: The failure to follow-up pathology and medical imaging test results poses patient-safety risks which threaten the effectiveness, quality and safety of patient care. The objective of this project is to: (1) improve the effectiveness and safety of test-result management through the establishment of clear governance processes of communication, responsibility and accountability; (2) harness health information technology (IT) to inform and monitor test-result management; (3) enhance the contribution of consumers to the establishment of safe and effective test-result management systems.

Methods and analysis: This convergent mixed-methods project triangulates three multistage studies at seven adult hospitals and one paediatric hospital in
Australia. Study 1 adopts qualitative research approaches including semistructured interviews, focus groups and ethnographic observations to gain a better understanding of test-result communication and management practices
in hospitals, and to identify patient-safety risks which require quality-improvement interventions. Study 2 analyses linked sets of routinely collected healthcare data to examine critical test-result thresholds and test-result notification processes. A controlled before-and-after study across three emergency departments will measure the impact of interventions (including
the use of IT) developed to improve the safety and quality of test-result communication and management processes. Study 3 adopts a consumer-driven approach, including semistructured interviews, and the convening of consumer-reference groups and community forums. The qualitative data will identify mechanisms to enhance the role of consumers in test-management governance
processes, and inform the direction of the research and the interpretation of findings.

Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been granted by the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee and Macquarie
University. Findings will be disseminated in academic, industry and consumer journals, newsletters and conferences.

Original language	English
Article number	e020235
Pages (from-to)	1-10
Number of pages	10
Journal	BMJ Open
Volume	8
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020235
Publication status	Published - 2018

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2018. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

information technology
patient safety
quality in healthcare

Access to Document

10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020235Licence: CC BY-NC

Publisher versionFinal published version, 611 KBLicence: CC BY-NC

Cite this

Dahm, M. R., Georgiou, A., Westbrook, J., Greenfield, D., Horvath, A. R., Wakefield, D., Li, L., Hillman, K., Bolton, P., Brown, A., Jones, G., Herkes, R., Lindeman, R., Legg, M., Makeham, M., Moses, D., Badmus, D., Campbell, C., Hardie, R.-A., ... Wabe, N. (2018). Delivering safe and effective test-result communication, management and follow-up: a mixed-methods study protocol. BMJ Open, 8(2), 1-10. Article e020235. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020235

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abstract = "Introduction: The failure to follow-up pathology and medical imaging test results poses patient-safety risks which threaten the effectiveness, quality and safety of patient care. The objective of this project is to: (1) improve the effectiveness and safety of test-result management through the establishment of clear governance processes of communication, responsibility and accountability; (2) harness health information technology (IT) to inform and monitor test-result management; (3) enhance the contribution of consumers to the establishment of safe and effective test-result management systems. Methods and analysis: This convergent mixed-methods project triangulates three multistage studies at seven adult hospitals and one paediatric hospital in Australia. Study 1 adopts qualitative research approaches including semistructured interviews, focus groups and ethnographic observations to gain a better understanding of test-result communication and management practices in hospitals, and to identify patient-safety risks which require quality-improvement interventions. Study 2 analyses linked sets of routinely collected healthcare data to examine critical test-result thresholds and test-result notification processes. A controlled before-and-after study across three emergency departments will measure the impact of interventions (including the use of IT) developed to improve the safety and quality of test-result communication and management processes. Study 3 adopts a consumer-driven approach, including semistructured interviews, and the convening of consumer-reference groups and community forums. The qualitative data will identify mechanisms to enhance the role of consumers in test-management governance processes, and inform the direction of the research and the interpretation of findings. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been granted by the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee and Macquarie University. Findings will be disseminated in academic, industry and consumer journals, newsletters and conferences.",

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note = "Copyright the Author(s) 2018. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.",

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Dahm, MR, Georgiou, A , Westbrook, J, Greenfield, D, Horvath, AR, Wakefield, D, Li, L, Hillman, K, Bolton, P, Brown, A, Jones, G, Herkes, R, Lindeman, R, Legg, M, Makeham, M, Moses, D, Badmus, D, Campbell, C, Hardie, R-A, Li, YJ, McCaughey, E, Sezgin, G, Thomas, J & Wabe, N 2018, 'Delivering safe and effective test-result communication, management and follow-up: a mixed-methods study protocol', BMJ Open, vol. 8, no. 2, e020235, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020235

TY - JOUR

T1 - Delivering safe and effective test-result communication, management and follow-up

T2 - a mixed-methods study protocol

AU - Dahm, Maria R

AU - Georgiou, Andrew

AU - Westbrook, Johanna

AU - Greenfield, David

AU - Horvath, Andrea R.

AU - Wakefield, Denis

AU - Li, Ling

AU - Hillman, Ken

AU - Bolton, Patrick

AU - Brown, Anthony

AU - Jones, Graham

AU - Herkes, Robert

AU - Lindeman, Robert

AU - Legg, Michael

AU - Makeham, Meredith

AU - Moses, Daniel

AU - Badmus, Dauda

AU - Campbell, Craig

AU - Hardie, Rae-Anne

AU - Li, Yu Jia

AU - McCaughey, Euan

AU - Sezgin, Gorkem

AU - Thomas, Judith

AU - Wabe, Nasir

N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2018. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Introduction: The failure to follow-up pathology and medical imaging test results poses patient-safety risks which threaten the effectiveness, quality and safety of patient care. The objective of this project is to: (1) improve the effectiveness and safety of test-result management through the establishment of clear governance processes of communication, responsibility and accountability; (2) harness health information technology (IT) to inform and monitor test-result management; (3) enhance the contribution of consumers to the establishment of safe and effective test-result management systems. Methods and analysis: This convergent mixed-methods project triangulates three multistage studies at seven adult hospitals and one paediatric hospital in Australia. Study 1 adopts qualitative research approaches including semistructured interviews, focus groups and ethnographic observations to gain a better understanding of test-result communication and management practices in hospitals, and to identify patient-safety risks which require quality-improvement interventions. Study 2 analyses linked sets of routinely collected healthcare data to examine critical test-result thresholds and test-result notification processes. A controlled before-and-after study across three emergency departments will measure the impact of interventions (including the use of IT) developed to improve the safety and quality of test-result communication and management processes. Study 3 adopts a consumer-driven approach, including semistructured interviews, and the convening of consumer-reference groups and community forums. The qualitative data will identify mechanisms to enhance the role of consumers in test-management governance processes, and inform the direction of the research and the interpretation of findings. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been granted by the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee and Macquarie University. Findings will be disseminated in academic, industry and consumer journals, newsletters and conferences.

AB - Introduction: The failure to follow-up pathology and medical imaging test results poses patient-safety risks which threaten the effectiveness, quality and safety of patient care. The objective of this project is to: (1) improve the effectiveness and safety of test-result management through the establishment of clear governance processes of communication, responsibility and accountability; (2) harness health information technology (IT) to inform and monitor test-result management; (3) enhance the contribution of consumers to the establishment of safe and effective test-result management systems. Methods and analysis: This convergent mixed-methods project triangulates three multistage studies at seven adult hospitals and one paediatric hospital in Australia. Study 1 adopts qualitative research approaches including semistructured interviews, focus groups and ethnographic observations to gain a better understanding of test-result communication and management practices in hospitals, and to identify patient-safety risks which require quality-improvement interventions. Study 2 analyses linked sets of routinely collected healthcare data to examine critical test-result thresholds and test-result notification processes. A controlled before-and-after study across three emergency departments will measure the impact of interventions (including the use of IT) developed to improve the safety and quality of test-result communication and management processes. Study 3 adopts a consumer-driven approach, including semistructured interviews, and the convening of consumer-reference groups and community forums. The qualitative data will identify mechanisms to enhance the role of consumers in test-management governance processes, and inform the direction of the research and the interpretation of findings. Ethics and dissemination: Ethical approval has been granted by the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee and Macquarie University. Findings will be disseminated in academic, industry and consumer journals, newsletters and conferences.

KW - information technology

KW - patient safety

KW - quality in healthcare

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UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85051984483

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DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-020235

M3 - Article

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AN - SCOPUS:85051984483

SN - 2044-6055

VL - 8

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JO - BMJ Open

JF - BMJ Open

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M1 - e020235

ER -

Delivering safe and effective test-result communication, management and follow-up: a mixed-methods study protocol

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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