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Issue

Vol 123 No 1314: 14 May 2010

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Issue Summary

SUMMARY

Opportunities to learn from medical incidents: a review of published reports from the Health and Disability Commissioner

Sara Temelkovski, Kathleen Callaghan

This article examines published investigations undertaken into complaints about doctors by the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC), New Zealands public watchdog for health consumer rights. These reports are classified to see where doctors are most commonly under-performing according to standards that the New Zealand Medical Council has for doctors. This paper shows public complaints most often involve concerns about the doctors role as a Medical Expert (92.9% of cases). Communication was identified as an issue in 48.7% of cases, and most cases examined had more than one area of concern (average of 1.8 areas). Overall the paper highlights difficulties with drawing conclusions from the HDC reports, which are often considered only in isolation, making it difficult to see trends and truly learn how to improve our health system.

SUMMARY

Sickness presenteeism in a New Zealand hospital

Lisa M Bracewell, Duncan I Campbell, Palmira R Faure, Emily R Giblin, Tessa A Morris, Liyana B Satterthwaite, Cameron D A Simmers, Caroline M Ulrich, John D Holmes

Healthcare workers have been shown to have higher rates of sickness presenteeism (turning up top work despite being unwell) and lower rates of sickness absenteeism when compared with other occupational groups. In this study (undertaken between 13 March and 9 April 2009) doctors were shown to be significantly more likely to exhibit sickness presenteeism than any other occupational group in the district health board. This study showed the most common reasons for staff not taking time off when ill were that they did not believe they were unwell enough to justify taking time off and that they did not want to increase the workload burden of their colleagues.

SUMMARY

Towards a reliable and accurate ethnicity database at district and national levels: progress in Canterbury

Laurence Malcolm

Canterbury PHOs/general practices, along with national PHOs, have reduced ethnicity not stated to almost negligible levels. The difference between the PHO and census figures for M ori is probably due to the different systems used by Statistics New Zealand for the census and for health classifications. Nationally there are now some 102,000 less in the PHO data as compared with census estimates. However the PHO general practice records should now be used to provide an accurate and up-to-date district and national database for analysis and funding. In doing so it ensures that calculated morbidity and other rates use an identical denominator and numerator.

SUMMARY

Distinguishing between tertiary and secondary facilities: a case study of cardiac diagnostic-related groups (DRGs)

Paul Rouse, Ajit Arulambalam, Ralph Correa, Cornelia Ullman

Although hospitals are categorised as tertiary and secondary there is no universally accepted definition of tertiariness. This research provides a theoretical foundation for tertiariness and tests this against 86,000 cardiac cases treated in New Zealand DHBs in 2006/07. Results indicate that five DHBs provided 40 percent of high cost, complex cardiac cases supporting their classification as tertiary providers and the need for additional funding in the form of a tertiary adjuster over and above funding based on volumes produced.

ALL ARTICLES
SUMMARY

Using information and communications technology to enable the exchange of information between New Zealand clinicians and health providers

Ross McKenna

Proceedings of the 202nd Scientific Meeting of the Otago Medical School Research Society, Thursday 6 May 2010

The first account of a bite by the New Zealand native spider Trite planiceps (Araneae: Salticidae)

Jos 00e9 G B Derraik, Phil J Sirvid, Marius Rademaker

The History of a Medical School: Part 1

In search of professionalism: implications for medical education

Andy Wearn, Hamish Wilson, Susan J Hawken, Stephen Child, Clinton J Mitchell

Opportunities to learn from medical incidents: a review of published reports from the Health and Disability Commissioner

Sara Temelkovski, Kathleen Callaghan

New Zealand Society of Gastroenterology statement on the use of biological therapy in inflammatory bowel disease

Michael Schultz, Richard Gearry, Russell Walmsley, Andrew S Day, Alan Fraser, John Wyeth, Murray Barclay, Geoff Clover, Cathryn Whiteside

Measuring the safety culture in a hospital setting: a concept whose time has come?

Gillian Robb, Mary Seddon

Realising the research power of complaints data

Marie M Bismark, David M Studdert

University of Otago Faculty of Medicine Freemasons Postgraduate Fellowships in Paediatrics and Child Health for 2011

Lessons from complaints: implications for medical education

Ron Paterson

Medical image. Angina bullosa haemorrhagica

Anthony Bertram

Building on myths: an economist's response to the Ministerial Review Group Report on the Health System

Rhema Vaithianathan

Myocarditis following katipo spider bite

Ruth Crook, Nigel Harrison, Derek Gibbons

Four policies to end the sale of cigarettes and smoking tobacco in New Zealand by 2020

Murray Laugesen, Marewa Glover, Trish Fraser, Ross McCormick, John Scott

Under One Roof: A History of Waikato Hospital (John Armstrong)

H Bramwell Cook

The benefits and risks of DHBs contracting out elective procedures to private providers

Toni Ashton

Sickness presenteeism in a New Zealand hospital

Lisa M Bracewell, Duncan I Campbell, Palmira R Faure, Emily R Giblin, Tessa A Morris, Liyana B Satterthwaite, Cameron D A Simmers, Caroline M Ulrich, John D Holmes

Making ‘safety’ the focus of investigations into adverse events in health care

Kathleen Callaghan, Graham Hunt

Towards a reliable and accurate ethnicity database at district and national levels: progress in Canterbury

Laurence Malcolm

Drug advertisements: what a physician should know

Raktim Kumar Ghosh, Samhati Mondal Ghosh

Distinguishing between tertiary and secondary facilities: a case study of cardiac diagnostic-related groups (DRGs)

Paul Rouse, Ajit Arulambalam, Ralph Correa, Cornelia Ullman

SUMMARY

Opportunities to learn from medical incidents: a review of published reports from the Health and Disability Commissioner

Sara Temelkovski, Kathleen Callaghan

This article examines published investigations undertaken into complaints about doctors by the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC), New Zealands public watchdog for health consumer rights. These reports are classified to see where doctors are most commonly under-performing according to standards that the New Zealand Medical Council has for doctors. This paper shows public complaints most often involve concerns about the doctors role as a Medical Expert (92.9% of cases). Communication was identified as an issue in 48.7% of cases, and most cases examined had more than one area of concern (average of 1.8 areas). Overall the paper highlights difficulties with drawing conclusions from the HDC reports, which are often considered only in isolation, making it difficult to see trends and truly learn how to improve our health system.

SUMMARY

Sickness presenteeism in a New Zealand hospital

Lisa M Bracewell, Duncan I Campbell, Palmira R Faure, Emily R Giblin, Tessa A Morris, Liyana B Satterthwaite, Cameron D A Simmers, Caroline M Ulrich, John D Holmes

Healthcare workers have been shown to have higher rates of sickness presenteeism (turning up top work despite being unwell) and lower rates of sickness absenteeism when compared with other occupational groups. In this study (undertaken between 13 March and 9 April 2009) doctors were shown to be significantly more likely to exhibit sickness presenteeism than any other occupational group in the district health board. This study showed the most common reasons for staff not taking time off when ill were that they did not believe they were unwell enough to justify taking time off and that they did not want to increase the workload burden of their colleagues.

SUMMARY

Towards a reliable and accurate ethnicity database at district and national levels: progress in Canterbury

Laurence Malcolm

Canterbury PHOs/general practices, along with national PHOs, have reduced ethnicity not stated to almost negligible levels. The difference between the PHO and census figures for M ori is probably due to the different systems used by Statistics New Zealand for the census and for health classifications. Nationally there are now some 102,000 less in the PHO data as compared with census estimates. However the PHO general practice records should now be used to provide an accurate and up-to-date district and national database for analysis and funding. In doing so it ensures that calculated morbidity and other rates use an identical denominator and numerator.

SUMMARY

Distinguishing between tertiary and secondary facilities: a case study of cardiac diagnostic-related groups (DRGs)

Paul Rouse, Ajit Arulambalam, Ralph Correa, Cornelia Ullman

Although hospitals are categorised as tertiary and secondary there is no universally accepted definition of tertiariness. This research provides a theoretical foundation for tertiariness and tests this against 86,000 cardiac cases treated in New Zealand DHBs in 2006/07. Results indicate that five DHBs provided 40 percent of high cost, complex cardiac cases supporting their classification as tertiary providers and the need for additional funding in the form of a tertiary adjuster over and above funding based on volumes produced.

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