Survey Results: Doctors' Patient Safety Efforts Blocked by Many Obstacles

    TAMPA, Fla., May 2 /PRNewswire/ -- One doctor says his hospital is
 "reusing disposable instruments in the OR (operating room) to save a little
 money."
     Another acknowledges that radiologists order additional tests for a
 patient even if the diagnosis is confirmed: "It's clearly a way of making
 additional revenue."
     And one physician says his hospital's young chief operating officer
 once compared the hospital to a donut shop. The COO told the physician:
     "We are like a donut shop. Our job is to sell donuts. If we don't sell
 a lot of donuts we go out of business. Your job, as chief of emergency
 services, is to convince patients they need to be in the hospital and to
 convince doctors they have to admit patients. It is not your job to decide
 if the admission is good for patients."
     Those are just a few of the thousands of comments shared by physician
 leaders across the country who filled out the American College of Physician
 Executives' 2007 Quality of Care Survey.
     The survey was completed by 1,155 physicians in hospitals, group
 practices and other health care organizations. It explored a wide range of
 quality and patient safety issues, particularly the obstacles physicians
 encounter as they try to improve patient care.
     Money was among the top four obstacles identified by the physicians:
 
     1. Lack of resources and money
     2. Patient compliance and awareness of healthy habits
     3. Poor communication among physicians, nurses and paraprofessionals
     4. A desire to maintain the status quo
     About 20 percent of physicians in the survey said decisions about
 quality and patient safety frequently favor the organization rather than
 what's best for the patients.
     Among the hundreds of other cost-cutting moves that impact patient care
 that were pointed out by the survey participants included:
     -- "War readiness occasionally trumps patient care and quality in a
         military setting."
     -- "[We] discharge of patients prematurely because hospital will lose
        money."
     -- "We really need to upgrade our defibrillators for safety reasons but
        due to finances this was nixed."
     Physicians in the survey indicated that one of the most pervasive
 problems affecting good care is patient flow, often involving huge backups
 in the emergency departments.
     "The hospital is overcrowded, resulting in closure of the ED to new
 patients 30% of the time," one physician wrote. "Patients are kept in the
 ED holding beds for up to two days, waiting for beds in the hospital. More
 inpatient beds are available, but floors are kept closed because staffing
 them would cost too much."
     The survey was conducted in February and the results are being
 published in the May/June issue of The Physician Executive Journal of
 Medical Management published by the American College of Physician
 Executives.
     To receive a copy of the ACPE 2007 Quality of Care Survey results,
 including more than 2,000 comments posted by the doctors, please email Bill
 Steiger, ACPE VP Communications, at bsteiger@acpe.org' target='_blank' title='bsteiger@acpe.org'>bsteiger@acpe.org
     Contact:
     Bill Steiger
     bsteiger@acpe.org' target='_blank' title='bsteiger@acpe.org'>bsteiger@acpe.org or 800-562-8088
     http://www.acpe.org
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SOURCE American College of Physician Executives