Quality indicators for a consultation-liaison psychiatry service

Abstract

This CLP service was evaluated by measuring utilisation rates, referral response timeliness and consumer feedback. Referral to contact time is a useful objective quality indicator but should be combined with subjective yet standardised measures surveying service recipients (patients and referring staff) to be comprehensive and meaningful.

Quality assessment of a consultation-liaison psychiatry service

“…A systematic review from 2014 [ 10 ] which included 13 studies examining staff feedback on CLP services, showed general satisfaction levels between 21 to 100%; the majority of studies reported satisfaction rates between 56 and 86%. A study from 2014 with 41 responses and a response proportion of 59% from consultants at a general hospital [ 15 ] showed overall satisfaction with the CLP service as being at 63 to 98% of staff members. Although slightly different rating scales were used, the levels of satisfaction studied were comparable with our results.…”

“…There is widespread agreement among professionals, managers and policy makers that an ongoing evaluation of CLP service quality using standardized measurements [ 13 ] is needed. Different measurement tools and quality indicators have been identified and developed in recent years, to assess consultee satisfaction [ 14 ], service utilization and efficiency [ 15 ], to secure quality improvement and accreditation [ 13 ], to improve service effectiveness [ 16 ] and to facilitate quality and outcome assessment and standardization of services [ 17 ]. However, a more widespread examination of CLP service quality across different countries [ 18 ], with an emphasis on using structured measurement tools [ 16 ] is needed.…”

“…However, a more widespread examination of CLP service quality across different countries [ 18 ], with an emphasis on using structured measurement tools [ 16 ] is needed. Since referrer satisfaction can be perceived as a proxy for a global measure of CLP service performance [ 19 ], it has been advocated that more attention should be paid to evaluating levels of staff satisfaction with different aspects of the CLP service [ 15 ].…”

“…Although staff feedback is recognized as important, there is a relative paucity of studies examining medical staff satisfaction with the CLP services. A review from 2014 identified only 13 studies on staff feedback between 1977 and 2011 [ 10 ], while in the more recent years only a few more studies have assessed consultee satisfaction [ 15 , 20 , 21 ]. Earlier studies solely focused on overall service evaluation rather than examining staff feedback on more specific aspects of the service [ 10 ].…”

Patient Satisfaction with a Psychology Consultation-Liaison Service at an Academic Medical Center

“…To meet these needs, psychological or psychiatric consultation-liaison (CL) services within inpatient medical settings are consulted for psychiatric and cognitive assessment, evaluation for capacity, medication or behavioral interventions for mood disorders/anxiety, pain, treatment non-adherence, coping/adjustment, and behavioral/conduct concerns (Carter et al, 2003;Kitts et al, 2013). CL services have positively impacted cost-effectiveness-length of stay (LOS) and hospital readmission rates (Andreoli et al, 2003;Aoki et al, 2004;Kishi et al, 2004;Muskin et al, 2016), psychological clinical outcomes-depression, anxiety, pain intensity, quality of life (Broadbent et al, 2009a(Broadbent et al, , 2009bEhlert et al, 1999;Paterson et al, 2018), treatment adherence (Gillies et al, 2015), and patient and consulting provider satisfaction (De Albuquerque et al, 2008;Gillies et al, 2015;Kitts et al, 2013;Wood & Wand, 2014).…”