We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Identifying hot spots for harm and blind spots across the care pathway from patient complaints about general practice.
- Authors
O'Dowd, Emily; Lydon, Sinéad; Lambe, Kathryn; Rudland, Chris; Hilton, Aoife; O'Connor, Paul
- Abstract
<bold>Introduction: </bold>Healthcare complaints are underutilized for quality improvement in general practice. Systematic analysis of complaints has identified hot spots (areas across the care pathway where issues occur frequently) and blind spots (areas across the care pathway that cannot be observed by staff) in secondary care. The Healthcare Complaints Analysis Tool (HCAT) has been adapted to the HCAT(GP).<bold>Aims: </bold>This study aimed to: (i) assess whether the HCAT(GP) can systematically analyze complaints about general practice; and (ii) identify hot spots and blind spots in general practice.<bold>Methods: </bold>GP complaints were sampled. Complaints were coded with the HCAT(GP), classified by HCAT(GP) category (e.g. Safety, Environment, Listening), stage of care (e.g. accessing care, referral/follow-up), severity (e.g. low, medium, high), and harm (e.g. none, major). Descriptive statistics were run to identify discrete issues. A chi-square test of independence identified hot spots, and logistic regression was used for blind spots.<bold>Results: </bold>A total of 230 complaints, encompassing 432 issues (i.e. unique problems within complaints), were categorized. Relationship issues (e.g. problems with listening, communication, and patient rights) emerged most frequently (n = 174, 40%). Hot spots were identified in the consultation and the referral/follow-up stages (χ 2(5, n = 432) = 17.931, P < 0.05). A blind spot for multiple issues was identified, with the likelihood of harm increasing with number of issues (odds ratio = 2.02, confidence interval = 1.27-3.23, P < 0.05).<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Complaints are valuable data for improving general practice. This study demonstrated that the HCAT(GP) can support the systematic analysis of general practice complaints, and identify hot spots and blind spots in care.
- Subjects
FAMILY medicine; PATIENT satisfaction; MEDICAL protocols; MEDICAL referrals; COMMUNICATION; RESEARCH funding
- Publication
Family Practice, 2022, Vol 39, Issue 4, p579
- ISSN
0263-2136
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1093/fampra/cmab109