Waiting Time Screening in Diagnostic Medical Imaging - A Case-Based View

Due to the high standards expected from diagnostic medical imaging, the analysis of information regarding waiting lists via different information systems is of utmost importance. Such analysis, on the one hand, may improve the diagnostic quality and, on the other hand, may lead to the reduction of waiting times, with the concomitant increase of the quality of services and the reduction of the inherent financial costs. Hence, the purpose of this study is to assess the waiting time in the delivery of diagnostic medical imaging services, like computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Thereby, this work is focused on the development of a decision support system to assess waiting times in diagnostic medical imaging with recourse to operational data of selected attributes extracted from distinct information systems. The computational framework is built on top of a Logic Programming Case-base Reasoning approach to Knowledge Representation and Reasoning that caters for the handling of in-complete, unknown, or even self-contradictory information.

A Case Based approach to assess Waiting Time Prediction at an Intensive Care Unity

Waiting time at an intensive care unity stands for a key feature in the assessment of healthcare quality. Nevertheless, its estimation is a difficult task, not only due to the different factors with intricate relations among them, but also with respect to the available data, which may be incomplete, self-contradictory or even unknown. However, its prediction not only improves the patients’ satisfaction but also enhance the quality of the healthcare being provided. To fulfill this goal, this work aims at the development of a decision support system that allows one to predict how long a patient should remain at an emergency unit, having into consideration all the remarks that were just stated above. It is built on top of a Logic Programming approach to knowledge representation and reasoning, complemented with a Case Base approach to computing.

Qualidade e triagem de Manchester : Estudo de caso Hospital CUF Descobertas

A saúde em Portugal encontra-se no caminho da mudança, rumo à excelência, pois questiona-se o sistema, a sua estrutura, os seus processos e os resultados. Uma das condições que mais influencia a competitividade entre instituições da saúde é a qualidade. Sendo a sociedade cada vez mais exigente, medi-la e avalia-la é um imperativo da época actual. O presente estudo teve como objectivo, contribuir para a realização de um diagnóstico de um processo de melhoria implementado num hospital privado de Lisboa - Hospital CUF Descobertas (HCD), no Serviço de Atendimento Permanente (SAP), à luz dos princípios da qualidade total. O procedimento da Triagem de Manchester é um processo que tem como principal objectivo o estabelecimento de prioridades, ou seja, identificar critérios de gravidade, de forma objectiva e sistematizada, que indicam a prioridade clínica com que o cliente deve ser atendido e o respectivo tempo de espera alvo recomendado até observação médica. Não se trata de estabelecer diagnósticos. Para o efeito, utilizou-se uma abordagem metodológica, suportada pelo modelo de auto-avaliação, designado Modelo Common Assessment Framework (CAF). Neste sentido, privilegiando-se a utilização dos critérios de meios deste modelo. Foi aplicado um questionário aos colaboradores do Serviço de Atendimento Permanente do Hospital CUF Descobertas. O Tratamento de dados estatísticos foi realizado com o apoio do SPSS, versão 16.0 e do Microsoft Excel. Os resultados deste estudo culminam com a identificação de pontos fortes, pontos fracos e sugestões de melhorias para o serviço em estudo. Neste sentido, este trabalho serviu de diagnóstico para se poder identificar em que ponto se situa e que rumo se deve seguir para se atingir um patamar de excelência relativamente à qualidade. Abstract: Health in Portugal finds itself on the path toward change, trying to find excellence while challenging the system and its structure, processes, and results. One of the conditions that most influences the competitiveness between the institutes of health is quality because society is becoming more demanding. Measuring and evaluating this change is happening in this current time. The present study has the objective of contributing and establishing a diagnostic tool relative to the process of improvement. This tool was used in a private hospital in Lisbon, Hospital CUF Descobertas, in the Emergency Room, in looking at the principles of total quality. This process designed through the Manchester Triage System has the main objective of the establishment of priorities through which we want to identify criteria of seriousness in an objective and systematic way that indicate a clinical priority with which the client is attended to in respect to the waiting time, giving a recommended time until medical observation. ln this sense, we do not diagnose patients in triage. For this effect, we used a methodological overview supported by the model of self-evaluation, the Common Assessment Framework (CAF}, in which we used the criteria: Leadership, Planning and Strategy, People, Resources and Processes. To arrive at this, a questionnaire was used by the collaborators of the emergency room of Hospital CUF Descobertas. The statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS version 16.0 and Microsoft Excel. The results of this study culminated with the identification of strong points, weak points, and suggestions for improvements for the work in study. ln this way, with this study, we can identify in where an organization finds itself and the path it should take in order to achieve a high level of quality excellence.