Planning, organization, and management: percentage of days without the physical presence of an intensivist 24 hours/day.

This measure is used to assess the percentage of days without the physical presence of an intensivist 24 hours/day.

The aim of intensive care medicine is to provide critical patients with the healthcare that they need, ensuring the quality and safety of care. Intensive care medicine is one of the principal components of modern healthcare systems. There is an increasing demand for this resource, which involves high costs.

The quality of care has gradually come to be the central focus of healthcare, and in recent years patient safety has come to represent one of the key aspects of quality. In the case of intensive care medicine, this interest in quality is even more evident, not only because of its social and economic impact, but also because some of the dimensions involved in the quality of care of critical patients take on greater importance: critical patients are more vulnerable, access to critical care is more limited so efforts to distribute resources equitably are more important, scant scientific evidence is available, and the efficiency is limited.

The presence of an intensivist in the intensive care unit (ICU) 24 hours/day guarantees the quality of care, decreasing mortality and stay among critical patients.

Planning; organization; management; physically present intensivist

365 days (see the related "Denominator Inclusions/Exclusions" field)

Number of days with the physical presence of an intensivist 24 hours/day (see the related "Numerator Inclusions/Exclusions" field)

Unspecified

Unspecified

Does not apply to this measure

Unspecified

Inclusions
365 days

Population: All days of the year during the period reviewed.

Exclusions
Unspecified

Inclusions
Number of days with the physical presence of an intensivist 24 hours/day

Note:

• Intensivist: Physician who is a certified specialist in critical care, excluding specialists in training.
• Physical presence is considered necessary.

Exclusions
Unspecified

Unspecified

Standard: 100%

Presence of an intensivist in the ICU 24 h per day.

Boehringer Laboratories

Work Group for Planning, Organization, and Management

• María Cruz Martín Delgado
• Luis Ángel Domínguez Quintero
• Francisca Prieto Valderrey
• Emilio Moreno Millán
• Francisco Fernández Dorado
• Blanca Obón Azuara
• Isabel Gutiérrez Cia
• Roser Anglés Coll
• Miguel Soto Ibáñez
• Juan Roca Guiseris
• Paz Merino de Cos
• Joaquín Álvarez Rodríguez

Scientific Coordination:

• Maria Cruz Martín Delgado
• Jesús Blanco Varela
• Lluís Cabré Pericas
• Pedro Galdos Anuncibay
• Federico Gordo Vidal

Unspecified

This measure was not adapted from another source.

Unspecified

2016 Jul

This is the current release of the measure.

The measure developer reaffirmed the currency of this measure in July 2015.

Source available in English  and Spanish  from the Spanish Society of Intensive and Critical Care and Units Coronary (SEMICYUC) Web site.

For more information, contact SEMICYUC at Paseo de la Reina Cristina, 36, 4^o D, Madrid, Spain; Phone: +34-91-502-12-13; Fax: +34-91-502-12-14; Web site: www.semicyuc.org ; E-mail: secretaria@semicyuc.org.

This NQMC summary was completed by ECRI Institute on April 2, 2014. The information was verified by the measure developer on April 25, 2014.

The information was reaffirmed by the measure developer on July 2, 2015.

This NQMC summary is based on the original measure, which is subject to the measure developer's copyright restrictions.

The Quality Indicators in Critically Ill Patients update 2011 can be used by any private or public body only for the purposes of research, clinical management, teaching and education, and will not be used for any other purpose. In all cases, full credit to the Spanish Society of Intensive Care Medicine (SEMICYUC) will be granted. The commercial use of the Quality Indicators in Critically Ill Patients update 2011 is explicitly forbidden.