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The assessment of usefulness of the qualification card and ultrasonographic consultation

Zbigniew Pilecki1, Grzegorz Pilecki2, Józef Dzielicki1, Wiesław Jakubowski3

Affiliation and address for correspondence
J Ultrason 2012; 12 (50): 276–285
Abstract

The result of therapeutic success is always the effect of medical professionals cooperation. The creation of adequate mechanisms of cooperation of these teams demands time and appropriate examples. In the understanding of differentiated behaviors in the line patient – diagnostician – surgeon, particularly the mechanism of the cascade of errors formation, giving simple examples may help – their awareness will facilitate the formation of an adequate pattern of diagnostic‑therapeutic chain. The therapeutic team formed in this way provides optimal forms of cooperation and positive result. One of the elements of the cooperation is the surgical procedure qualification card which is an example of the communication between surgeon and diagnostician. The propagation of proven examples seems to be justified by practical reasons. The introduction of the surgical procedure qualification card enabled maintaining of the preoperative and postoperative diagnoses in the range from 88.4% to 89.29%, the barrier of 90% however is still not achieved. The  diagnoses discrepancy is still the most often occurring patient safety incident and our results should head towards its mineralization. In particularly complicated cases we come back to a well‑known form of medical consultation, that is the form of examination and treatment establishment basing on simultaneous physical and ultrasound examination – hence the colloquial name of ultrasound consultation. The universality of medical consultation makes out of it an excellent tool, particularly in cases of significant discrepancy between physical and ultrasound examination. This is excellent form of the experience exchange and learning about mutual possibilities. We believe that the mechanisms presented will influence the improvement of patient security.

Keywords
qualification card, therapeutic team, consultation, cascade of errors, patient safety