title: Measuring ward round quality in urology.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ward rounds are the traditional process by which clinical information is interpreted and management plans made in the inpatient setting and the only time during which patient-doctor interaction can reliably occur. Efforts to improve quality and safety have started looking at the ward round but this has mainly been in the acute medical setting.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To begin the quality improvement process for Urological ward rounds.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty indicators thought to relate to quality were recorded for every weekday ward round by the Urology team for one month.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty ward rounds, 93 patient encounters, were reviewed. A consultant was present for 37% of the patient encounters. 84% of observation charts were reviewed; drug charts 28% and antibiotics 70%. Plans were communicated to the doctors, patient and nursing staff. All notes were typed directly onto the electronic system, 20% of notes were checked by the lead clinician. Mean time per patient was 6 minutes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By starting a discussion about ward rounds we aim to align the process with the broader values of the organisation. Ward rounds can be the cornerstone of delivering safe, clean and personal care and measuring this process is vital to understanding efforts to improve them.
authors.affiliation: Health Education North West, Manchester, UK Accident and Emergency, The Royal Oldham Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Darbyshire
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Salford Royal Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barrett
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Salford Royal Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Salford Royal Hospital, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shackley
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D061214:Patient Safety; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D056164:Teaching Rounds / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D014573:Urology Department, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards
keywords: Urology; audit; patient safety; quality improvement; ward round