The primary function of a hospital is to provide direct patient care. They also educate future healthcare providers, collaborate in their communities to address public health issues, and conduct clinical or laboratory research. However, the value of published research isn’t always apparent or easily quantifiable. There are various means by which research impacts healthcare, especially at a hospital-level of association of research and clinical quality.
About the Study and Research
Publication quality and quantity are among the most comprehensive markers of research productivity. A recent study aimed to evaluate hospital characteristics associated with publication volumes.
This study had three critical findings. Studies showed that only 40% of hospitals had a single publication, and having staff who publish in credible peer-reviewed journals isn’t the norm among US hospitals. The second finding was that most publications are produced by COTH and non-COTH teaching hospitals rather than non-teaching institutions. The third finding was that hospitals with staff who publish peer-reviewed journals have lower mortality rates and superior patient care scores. These metrics are determined after teaching intensity, hospital size, metro location, ownership, geographic region, payer mix, and nursing magnet recognition are considered.
The Benefits of Research Publications
Publications are measurable hospital characteristics often associated with academic medical centers, and it’s an objective structural metric of hospital quality that can become a consideration for patients when selecting a hospital provider. Funding agencies can also use it to assess the potential downstream value of research projects and hospitals that develop hospital quality measures.
Many healthcare activities have an immediate tangible impact that published research significantly lacks. It can also be viewed as costly without directly impacting the quality of patient care. However, research is extremely valuable in industry and business and readily affirmed by new products, increased sales, and profitability. Research can improve absorptive capacity, allowing businesses to access, assimilate, and apply new knowledge.
Clinical trial participation has extensively studied the association between research and clinical outcomes. These studies include the “bench to bedside” translational impact of clinical trials on enrolled patients.
It also includes additional indirect benefits, including enhanced education and interaction of hospital staff with knowledgeable national experts; greater use of protocol-driven, guideline-concordant care; satisfying trial requirements through hospital infrastructure upgrades; more systematic, granular patient follow-up; standardized quality and safety audits and monitoring; openness to new and innovative approaches; collaborative, team-based care; and greater attention to detail.
In closing, research publications invoke curiosity, innovation, critical thinking, and the desire to excel. Additionally, they create expertise and state-of-the-art content knowledge among co-authors and study staff. For publications with multiple authors and multi-institutional papers, each author gains additional knowledge and perspectives from their counterparts. Journal reviewers and editors also offer valuable insights.
SpecialtyCare Research
SpecialtyCare continues to be an industry leader in data and research. Whether it’s perfusion, intraoperative neuromonitoring, deep brain stimulation, or another field, our clinicians are teamed with surgeons in thousands of hospitals across the United States. We’re able to collect research on techniques that typically aren’t known in remote medical facilities or by other providers that may have a limited research range.
SpecialtyCare also has a secret weapon in data collection. We developed a clinical database called SCOPE™, the SpecialtyCare Operative Procedural Registry, the largest multi-institutional database of its kind. With nearly 1,500 clinicians supporting over 400,000 procedures every year, the amount of data we have the ability to collect is tremendous and serves a number of purposes. We collect data from every case, from every service line, to identify healthcare to continue to fine tune best practices across the country, set benchmarks, and lead the industry in OR innovation. Data and research are critical to improving patient outcomes, increasing OR efficiency, and minimizing costs to hospitals. Our clinicians benefit from this rich data to improve their skills in the OR to better serve their patients. The members of our medical office analyze case data and share the scientific findings to our clinical professionals so that the evidence-based trends and best practices can be shared with surgeons and OR teams across the country. Our clinicians benefit from this rich data to improve their skills in the OR to better serve their patients.
About SpecialtyCare
SpecialtyCare is committed to extensive clinical research to improve patient outcomes. We publish a significant amount of literature every year, which has led to better quality outcomes such as lower risk-adjusted mortality.
SpecialtyCare is a people company, dedicated to providing an exceptional patient experience, becoming the OR employer of choice, and leading the way in OR innovation.