title: Impact on Patient Safety and Satisfaction of Implementation of an Outpatient Clinic in Interventional Radiology (IPSIPOLI-Study): A Quasi-Experimental Prospective Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Interventional radiology (IR) procedures are associated with high rates of preparation and planning errors. In many centers, pre-procedural consultation and screening of patients is performed by referring physicians. Interventional radiologists have better knowledge about procedure details and risks, but often only get acquainted with the patient in the procedure room. We hypothesized that patient safety (PS) and patient satisfaction (PSAT) in elective IR procedures would improve by implementation of a pre-procedural visit to an outpatient IR clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  IRB approval was obtained and informed consent was waived. PS and PSAT were measured in patients undergoing elective IR procedures before (control group; n = 110) and after (experimental group; n = 110) implementation of an outpatient IR clinic. PS was measured as the number of process deviations. PSAT was assessed using a questionnaire measuring Likert scores of three dimensions: interpersonal care aspects, information/communication, and patient participation. Differences in PS and PSAT between the two groups were compared using an independent t test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average number of process deviations per patient was 0.39 in the control group compared to 0.06 in the experimental group (p < 0.001). In 9.1 % patients in the control group, no legal informed consent was obtained compared to 0 % in the experimental group. The mean overall Likert score was significantly higher in the experimental group compared to the control group: 2.68 (SD 0.314) versus 2.48 (SD 0.381) (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PS and PSAT improve significantly if patients receive consultation and screening in an IR outpatient clinic prior to elective IR procedures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, P.O. Box 9600, 2300 RC, Leiden, The Netherlands, j.lutjeboer@lumc.nl.
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lutjeboer
authors.forename: Mark Christiaan
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Burgmans
authors.forename: Kaman
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Arian Robert
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: van Erkel
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061214:Patient Safety / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015642:Radiology, Interventional / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires