Introduction: Modern safety approaches in healthcare differentiate between daily practice (work-as-done) and the written rules and guidelines (work-as-imagined) as a means to further develop... Show moreIntroduction: Modern safety approaches in healthcare differentiate between daily practice (work-as-done) and the written rules and guidelines (work-as-imagined) as a means to further develop patient safety. Research in this area has shown case study examples, but to date lacks hooking points as to how results can be embedded within the studied context. This study uses Functional Analysis Resonance Method (FRAM) for aligning work-as-imagined with the work-as-done. The aim of this study is to show how FRAM can effectively be applied to identify the gap between work prescriptions and practice, while subsequently showing how such findings can be transferred back to, and embedded in, the daily ward care process of nurses. Methods: This study was part of an action research performed among ward nurses on a 38 bed neurological and neurosurgical ward within a tertiary referral centre. Data was collected through document analysis, in-field observations, interviews and group discussions. FRAM was used as an analysis tool to model the prescribed working methods, actual practice and the gap between those two in the use of physical restraints on the ward. Results This study was conducted in four parts. In the exploration phase, work-as-imagined and work-as-done were mapped. Next, a gap between the concerns named in the protocol and the actual employed methods of dealing with physical restraint on the ward was identified. Subsequently, alignment efforts led to the co-construction of a new working method with the ward nurses, which was later embedded in quality efforts by a restraint working group on the ward. Conclusion The use of FRAM proved to be very effective in comparing work-as-done with work-as-imagined, contributing to a better understanding, evaluation and support of everyday performance in a ward care setting. Show less
Damen, N.L.; Vos, M.S. de; Moesker, M.J.; Braithwaite, J.; Wijngaarden, R.A.F.D. van; Kaplan, J.; ... ; Clay-Williams, R. 2021
ObjectivesPreoperative anticoagulation management (PAM) is a complex, multidisciplinary process important to patient safety. The Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) is a novel method to... Show moreObjectivesPreoperative anticoagulation management (PAM) is a complex, multidisciplinary process important to patient safety. The Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) is a novel method to study how complex processes usually go right at the frontline (labeled Safety-II) and how this relates to predefined procedures. This study aimed to assess PAM in everyday practice and explore the usability and utility of FRAM. MethodsThe study was conducted at an Australian and European Cardiothoracic Surgery Department. A FRAM model of work-as-imagined was developed using (inter)national guidelines. Semistructured interviews with 18 involved professionals were used to develop models reflecting work-as-done at both sites, which were presented to staff for validation. Workload in hours was estimated per process step. ResultsIn both centers, work-as-done differed from work-as-imagined, such as in the division of tasks among disciplines (e.g., nurses/registrars rather than medical specialists), but control mechanisms had been developed locally to ensure safe care (e.g., crosschecking with other clinicians). Centers had organized the process differently, revealing opportunities for improvement regarding patient information and clustering of clinic visits. Presenting FRAM models to staff initiated discussion on improvement of functions in the model that are vital for success. Overall workload was estimated at 47 hours per site. ConclusionsThis FRAM analysis provided insight into PAM from the perspective of frontline clinicians, revealing essential functions, interdependencies and variability, and the relation with guidelines. Future studies are warranted to study the potential of FRAM, such as for guiding improvements in complex systems. Show less
Background Despite widespread use of quality indicators, it remains unclear to what extent they can reliably distinguish hospitals on true differences in performance. Rankability measures what part... Show moreBackground Despite widespread use of quality indicators, it remains unclear to what extent they can reliably distinguish hospitals on true differences in performance. Rankability measures what part of variation in performance reflects 'true' hospital differences in outcomes versus random noise. Objective This study sought to assess whether combining data into composites or including data from multiple years improves the reliability of ranking quality indicators for hospital care. Methods Using the Dutch National Medical Registration (2007-2012) for stroke, colorectal carcinoma, heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and total hiparthroplasty (THA)/ total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in osteoarthritis (OA), we calculated the rankability for in-hospital mortality, 30-day acute readmission and prolonged length of stay (LOS) for single years and 3-year periods and for a dichotomous and ordinal composite measure in which mortality, readmission and prolonged LOS were combined. Rankability, defined as (between-hospital variation/between-hospital+within hospital variation)x100% is classified as low (<50%), moderate (50%-75%) and high (>75%). Results Admissions from 555 053 patients treated in 95 hospitals were included. The rankability for mortality was generally low or moderate, varying from less than 1% for patients with OA undergoing THA/TKA in 2011 to 71% for stroke in 2010. Rankability for acute readmission was low, except for acute myocardial infarction in 2009 (51%) and 2012 (62%). Rankability for prolonged LOS was at least moderate. Combining multiple years improved rankability but still remained low in eight cases for both mortality and acute readmission. Combining the individual indicators into the dichotomous composite, all diagnoses had at least moderate rankability (range: 51%-96%). For the ordinal composite, only heart failure had low rankability (46% in 2008) (range: 46%-95%). Conclusion Combining multiple years or into multiple indicators results in more reliable ranking of hospitals, particularly compared with mortality and acute readmission in single years, thereby improving the ability to detect true hospital differences. The composite measures provide more information and more reliable rankings than combining multiple years of individual indicators. Show less
Hofstede, S.N.; Bodegom-Vos, L. van; Kringos, D.S.; Steyerberg, E.; Marang-van de Mheen, P.J. 2018
