RFP Journal of Hospital Administration

Central sterile supply department (CSSD) forms an important and integral part of a hospital. Efficient and effective sterilization and aseptic technique are in the fore front of the continuing battle against hospital acquired infection. Also since the demand of hospital services all over the world have increased tremendously, it was considered that all large and medium size hospital must have a properly  functioning CSSD. 

Keyword: CSSD; Sterilization; Infection.

A hospital information system (HIS) is an element of health informatics that  focuses mainly on the administrational needs of hospitals. HIS is a comprehensive, integrated information system designed to manage all the aspects of a hospital’s operation, such as medical, administrative, financial, and legal issues and the corresponding processing of services. With the help of HIS, dealing with patient records has become very easy  and manageable. The reliability, integrity, transparency and reproducibility of the records are best maintained accordingly. HIS provides a common source of information about a patient’s health history. We, at our Institute have learnt that proper HIS can indeed mitigate many pitfalls encountered in the traditional paper based patient information system and strongly advocate the use of computerized patient management system (CPMS).

Keywords: Hospital Information System; Computerized Patient Management System.

Quality in healthcare is an attribute; it is complex construct that has several tangible & intangible dimensions including individual patient interest and larger societal concerns about improvement in health outcomes. National Quality Assurance Program is an NHM initiative to provide accessible, affordable and equitablequality of services in Public Health Facilities. The program has been launched in November 2013 and implemented in all the States & Union Territories. Under NQAP, National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) have been formulated and incorporated in the tools prepared for conducting the assessments in public health facilities. Indian Healthcare system is 3 tier in nature, keeping it in view and for meeting the requirements, Quality Standards for District Hospitals, CHC, PHC/UPHC have been formulated in subsequent years for implementation. The entire framework of Quality Assurance Standards has been prepared by laying prominence on Donabedian Model of Structure Process and Outcome. The program lays emphasis on gap closure activities those are found during the assessment. There are 8 key features & explicit measurement system in the program. The entire focus of the program is on continual quality improvement of service delivery in public health facilities,
in years to come.

Conclusion: Quality Assurance Programmemeets the need of Public Health system in the country which is transparent, reliable & sustainable. The
program endeavor to serve the country by improving the ‘Quality of Care’
provided in public health facilities.

Keywords: National Quality Assurance Program; National Quality Assurance Standards

The Transplantation of Human Organs is used in treatment of patients who has irreversible damage to their organs. The demand of various organs for transplant patients far exceeds than the number of organs actually donated but transplantation is offered only to patients who have a prospect of achieving an acceptably good quality and duration of life after transplantation.Since the inception of organ transplantation, the huge gap between the demand and supply of organs has been widening exponentially. The growing need for transplantable organs necessitates finding sources other than heart beating donors (HBD), and living donors (LD). The other probable source of a transplantable organ from Non Heart Beating Cadaver (NHB) or a Donation after Cardiac Death (DCD) has not been explored extensively. An important aspect of organ donation is harvesting the selected organ within a stipulated time period, known as Warm Ischaemia Time (WIT). If an organ is retrieved by the organ retrieval team within the specific WIT attributed to different organs, then there are increased chances of their proper functioning post transplantation with reduced incidences of graft rejection. Thus, detecting the viability of an organ and its functionality within the accepted range of normal limits is of paramount importance for successful organ harvesting and its subsequent transplantation. The authors discuss about the various intricacies of harvesting organs from Non Heart Beating cadavers brought for autopsy, thereby utilizing a large pool of still inaccessible organs for the greater benefit of the entire society.

Keywords: Organ Retrieval; Therapeutic Transplantation; Non Heart Beating Cadaver; Warm Ischaemia Time. 

Patient safety is one of the most important and essential elements of quality in healthcare setting. A report by the Medial Council of India indicates that almost 5.2 million injuries happen every year due to medical errors and adverse events. Recent evidences suggest that majority of these errors and harm associated can be prevented by creating a culture of patient safety. The aim of the present study was to determine patient safety culture among nurses workingin a tertiary hospital, South India. Using a descriptive cross sectional survey design, 252 nurses were asked to complete hospital survey on patient safety culture (Response rate -84%). Analysis revealed that majority (92.8%) were working for less than 5 years in the current hospital and more than half of them (59.5%) had total professional experience between 1-5years. Safety dimensions with more than 50% positivity were identified and these were;organizational learning, teamwork within units, and feedback & communication  about error with the following percentages of positivity 86.5%, 80.95 %and 58.73% respectively. The dimensions with less than 25% positivity were non-punitive response to errors (13.63) and communication openness (21.83). The study recommends focusing on building leadership capacity that support open communication, blame free environment,and interdepartmental collaboration to nurture patient safety culture in hospitals.

Keywords: Medical errors, Harm, Adverse events, Patient safety culture. 

The study is aimed at understanding whether the accreditation of hospital in India (NABH) has any effect on its quality, as perceived by the patients. Primary data was collected from patients who took treatment in accredited and non-accredited hospitals, on their rating of Infrastructure, process and outcome of care at their hospital. The data was statistically analysed to determine if there is any significant difference in the rating given by accredited hospital’s patients from nonaccredited hospital’s patients. The study found that except infrastructure component, the mean rating and percentage of high rating were significantly higher for process and outcome component. The overall rating was also significantly higher by accredited hospitals patients.

Keywords: Accreditation; Hospital; Healthcare Quality; Patient Care.

Background: Non Communicable diseases especially cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and stroke, have emerged as a major public health problem in India. Interplay of unhealthy diet, vitamin-D deficiency, tobacco use and physical inactivity contributed to this elevated risk among Indians. Also these life-threatening yet modifiable/reversible risk factors routes quite early in life. A clear understanding of the existing risk in the population is crucial for appropriate designing and timely (before the initiation of atherosclerosis) implementation of any preventive interventions to control the rising tide of non communicable diseases.

Aim: Assess the physical activity and dietary patterns among school going adolescents.

Methods and Materials: The study was conducted in Thrissur district, Kerala, using a cross sectional survey approach. Data were collected using a structured self reported questionnaire. Analysis (descriptive and inferential statistics) was done using SPSS version 20.

Results and Conclusions: The mean age of adolescents participated in the study was 12.29±0.5 years, majority were boys (68.7%), and residing in rural area (74.6%). The mean dietary behaviour score was 32.71 ±3.32; boys 32.52±3.45, girls   33.13±2.3.There were no statistically significant differences in the mean score of dietary habits (t=0.127, p=0.899), dietary consumption (t=1.757, p=0.080), and total dietary behavior score (t=1.349, p=0.179) between boys and girls at 0.05 level of significance. The mean physical activity score was 1.76±0.3; boys 1.73±0.28, girls 1.77±0.31. Out of all, none of the boys and girls reported to have adequate levels of physical activity. Among them, 69% of them were actively commuting to school. A statistically significant higher number of boys were actively commuting to school when compared to girls (t=4.915) at 0.05 level. In conclusion, the findings from this study suggest that the physical activity and dietary behaviour among adolescents is largely inappropriate. So strategies need to be adopted from adolescent age itself to establish a lifestyle that promotes healthy levels of physical activity and eating behaviour.

Keywords: Non Communicable Diseases; Cardiovascular Disease; Physical Activity; Dietary Behavior; Adolescents.