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The Performance of an ICU

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Anesthesia, Pain, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine — A.P.I.C.E.

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Abstract

Intensive Care Units (ICUs) are extremely complex organisations with multiple internal and external functions. The focus in the assessment of ICU performance has, appropriately, been on external performance as indicated by patient outcome. However, many aspects of a unit’s function contribute to the overall external perception of its performance. Some of these, listed in Table 1, can be considered as measures of “internal” performance or non-clinical performance but there is evidence that they play a major part in determining the “external” or clinical performance of the unit. Comparisons between ICUs show the organisation of intensive care affects patient outcome [1–3] and that within a single unit changes in organisation affect the unit’s performance [4, 5].

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Authors
  1. G. J. Dobb
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Trieste University School of Medicine, Trieste, Italy

    Antonino Gullo M.D. (Head) (Head)

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© 2000 Springer-Verlag Italia

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Dobb, G.J. (2000). The Performance of an ICU. In: Gullo, A. (eds) Anesthesia, Pain, Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine — A.P.I.C.E.. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2286-7_60

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2286-7_60

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-0095-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-2286-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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