Improving the quality and safety of care on the medical ward

The medical ward is at the heart of inpatient care in hospital, but the evidence base for the organisation of care here is disjointed.  This paper, "Improving the quality and safety of care on the medical ward: a review and synthesis of the evidence base"is the first review of the literature on this subject.  The authors found five common themes where interventions could be targeted: staffing levels and team composition; interdisciplinary communication and collaboration; standardisation of care; early recognition and treatment of the deteriorating patient; and local safety climate.  The authors emphasise that clinicians should be open to incorporating evidence based practice at the ward level.

Ask your health librarian for a full-text copy of the article:

Pannick S, Beveridge I, Wachter RM, Sevdalis N.  European Journal of Internal Medicine. 2014;25(10):874-87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejim.2014.10.013