This week on The Rounds Table we are examining two important studies: the first looking at an association between wait times for hip fracture surgery and mortality, and the second examining clinician denials of patient requests.

Hip fractures are a relatively common injury among our aging population. As our elderly population increases, hip fractures are going to become more prevalent in our society. Interestingly, wait times for hip fracture surgery have been linked to mortality, but there is controversy about the duration of wait time that leads to increased mortality and other complications. Laura Walker takes listeners through a study that set out to determine the optimal time window in which to perform hip fracture surgery before the risks of complications and mortality increased.

Next, Kieran takes listeners through a study examining clinician denials of patient requests. Of course clinical outcomes such as survival and quality of life are important, but patient satisfaction, regardless of the outcome is also paramount, so much so that some healthcare systems link patient satisfaction scores with financial incentives. In this study, denials of requests for referral, pain medication, other new medication, and laboratory tests were associated with worse patient satisfaction with the clinician when compared with fulfillment of the respective request type.

Finally, the Good Stuff segment. Anthony Maher interviews Daniel Maughan on evaluating sustainability within the healthcare context.

If you like what you hear, rate us on iTunes! Chat with us on Twitter @roundstable and tweet at Kieran @kieranlquinn and Laura @l_walk5.

The Papers

1. Hip Fracture Surgery and Wait Times: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2664460?redirect=true

2. Clinical Denial of Patient Requests: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2664068?redirect=true

Good Stuff

1. Sustainable Healthcare: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-016-0994-3

Music Credits

The Rounds Table Theme Music by Brendan Quinn, Creative Director and Composer, Vapor RMW