Martin Charns - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Martin Charns

Diagnosis of rare, genetic diseases is challenging, but conceptual frameworks of the diagnostic p... more Diagnosis of rare, genetic diseases is challenging, but conceptual frameworks of the diagnostic process can be used to guide benchmarking and process improvement initiatives. Using the National Academy of Medicine diagnostic framework, we assessed the extent of, and reasons for diagnostic delays and diagnostic errors in schwannomatosis, a neurogenetic syndrome characterized by nerve sheath tumors and chronic pain. We reviewed the medical records of 97 people with confirmed or probable schwannomatosis seen in two U.S. tertiary care clinics. Time-to-event analysis revealed a median time from first symptom to diagnosis of 16.7 years (95% CI, 7.5-26.0 years) and median time from first medical consultation to diagnosis of 9.8 years (95% CI, 3.5-16.2 years). Factors associated with longer times to diagnosis included initial signs/symptoms that were intermittent, non-specific, or occurred at younger ages (p<0.05). Thirty-six percent of patients experienced a misdiagnosis of their underl...

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 2019

OBJECTIVE A site visit protocol was developed to assess recovery promotion in the organizational ... more OBJECTIVE A site visit protocol was developed to assess recovery promotion in the organizational climate and culture of programs for veterans with serious mental illnesses. METHOD The protocol was pilot-tested in 4 programs: 2 that had scored high on the pilot version of a staff survey measure of program-level recovery promotion and 2 that had scored low. Two-person teams conducted onsite visits and assigned global and organizational domain ratings. Interrater agreement was assessed by examining adjacent agreement and computing weighted kappa. RESULTS The on-site protocol had good interrater agreement and discriminated between sites that scored high and low on the staff survey. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE This site visit protocol and procedure shows promise for evaluating recovery promotion in milieu-based programs. After further refinement of this tool, adaptations could be developed for accreditation protocols or for program self-assessment and quality improvement efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 2019

Introduction: Screening and referral for Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (SDOH) are ... more Introduction: Screening and referral for Social and Behavioral Determinants of Health (SDOH) are increasingly recommended in clinical guidelines and consensus statements. It is important to understand barriers and facilitators to implementation of standardized SDOH screening and referral practices, as well as the scope of current existing SDOH screening. Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study to understand the current state of SDOH screening and to assess the barriers and facilitators to implementing a standardized SDOH screening and referral practice in Boston community health centers (CHCs) for pediatric patients. We requested all SDOH screening documents from 15 Boston CHCs and conducted provider and staff focus groups at intervention sites of an SDOH implementation pilot in Boston. Results: All CHCs screened in some form for SDOH, but there was no agreement on which domains to screen. Participating CHCs screened for a mean of 8 SDOH domains (range, 5 to 16). Overall, 16 SDOH domains emerged. From the focus groups, 5 themes emerged: 1) provider perspectives, 2) work flow, 3) prior experience, 4) site resources and staffing, and 5) sustainability. There was little agreement among participants within each theme, as all were seen as barriers and facilitators depending on the respondent. Discussion: This study highlights the various SDOH screening methods currently used in Boston CHCs, and the need for workflow and process individualization of SDOH screening and referral. Providers and clinical staff should be part of the discussion when implementing SDOH screening and referral procedures to ensure appropriate work flow, staff buy-in, and to maximize resources available. (J Am Board Fam Med 2019;32:297-306.

The American Journal of Surgery, 2019

Quality management in health care

Research on adverse events (AEs) in outpatient surgery has been limited. As part of a Veterans He... more Research on adverse events (AEs) in outpatient surgery has been limited. As part of a Veterans Health Administration (VA) project on AE surveillance, we chart-reviewed selected outpatient surgical cases to characterize the nature and severity of AEs. We abstracted financial year 2012-2015 VA outpatient surgery cases selected with high (n = 1185) and low (n = 1072) likelihood of an AE based on postoperative health care utilization. The abstraction tool included established AE definitions and validated harm and severity scales. We found AEs in 608 high-likelihood (51%) and 126 low-likelihood outpatient surgical procedures (12%). Among 1010 unique AEs, the most common were wound issues (n = 261, 26%), urinary retention (23%), and urinary tract infections (12%). While 63% of all AEs involved minimal harm, 28% required hospitalization, and 9% were severely harmful including 8 AEs requiring intervention to sustain life and 2 deaths. Overall, 102 AEs (10%) required, at minimum, a repeat su...

Journal of patient safety, Jan 4, 2017

Little is known about patient safety risks in outpatient surgery. Inpatient surgical adverse even... more Little is known about patient safety risks in outpatient surgery. Inpatient surgical adverse events (AEs) risk factors include patient- (e.g., advanced age), process- (e.g., inadequate preoperative assessment), or structure-related characteristics (e.g., low surgical volume); however, these factors may differ from outpatient care where surgeries are often elective and in younger/healthier patients. We undertook an exploratory qualitative research project to identify risk factors for AEs in outpatient surgery. We developed a conceptual framework of patient, process, and structure factors associated with surgical AEs on the basis of a literature review. This framework informed our semistructured interview guide with (1) open-ended questions about a specific outpatient AE that the participant experienced and (2) outpatient surgical patient safety risk factors in general. We interviewed nationwide Veterans Health Administration surgical staff. Results were coded on the basis of categori...

Health Care Management Review, 2017

Background: Middle managers play key roles in hospitals as the bridge between senior leaders and ... more Background: Middle managers play key roles in hospitals as the bridge between senior leaders and frontline staff. Yet relatively little research has focused on their role in implementing new practices. Purpose: The aim of this study was to expand the understanding of middle managers’ influence in organizations by looking at their activities through the lens of two complementary conceptual frameworks. Methodology/Approach: We analyzed qualitative data from 17 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers with high and low potential to change organizational practices. We analyzed 98 interviews with staff ranging from senior leaders to frontline staff to identify themes within an a priori framework reflecting middle manager activities. Findings: Analyses yielded 14 emergent themes that allowed us to classify specific expressions of middle manager commitment to implementation of innovative practices (e.g., facilitate improvement innovation, garner staff buy-in). In comparing middle manager behaviors...

Medical Care, 2003

To investigate the impact of implementing service line organization on the delivery of mental hea... more To investigate the impact of implementing service line organization on the delivery of mental health services. Survey data on the implementation of service lines and facility-level administrative data on the delivery of mental health services at 139 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers (VAMCs), over a 6-year period, were used to examine the relationship between service line implementation and subsequent performance in 4 areas: 1) continuity of care (COC), 2) readmission after inpatient discharge, 3) emphasis on community-based mental health care (as contrasted with inpatient care), and 4) maintenance of proportionate funding for mental health care. Models were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling techniques to control for potential autocorrelation. Of 6 COC measures, 1 strongly improved in all years following service line implementation, and 3 of the 5 other measures demonstrated improvement in the first year. One of 2 readmission measures showed a decline in the first year after service line implementation. Service line implementation was associated with only 1 indicator of increased emphasis on community-based mental health care (and only in the first year), whereas 3 of the 4 other measures suggested a decline in such emphasis. Lastly, although there were increases in per capita mental health expenditures 3 or more years after service line implementation, 2 related measures indicated that service line implementation was associated with a decline in mental health expenditures relative to nonmental health services. Service line implementation was associated with significant, although predominantly short-term, improvement in patient level variables such as continuity of care and hospital readmission, but less so with regard to institutional measures addressing emphasis on outpatient care and maintaining proportionate funding of mental health services.

Health Care Management Review, 2001

In recent years we have witnessed an expanding array of organizational arrangements for providing... more In recent years we have witnessed an expanding array of organizational arrangements for providing health care services in the U.S. These arrangements integrate previously independent providers at one or more points on the continuum of care. The presence of so many of these arrangements raises the question of whether certain types are more effective than are others to help providers adapt to their environment. This article discusses contingency theory as a conceptual lens for guiding empirical studies of the effectiveness of different types of arrangements.

Written for health care administrators and clinical leaders, this study describes ways to improve... more Written for health care administrators and clinical leaders, this study describes ways to improve organizational effectiveness by fostering collaboration among different disciplines. It includes six original case studies that show how to apply integrative approaches in ...

Proceedings - Academy of Management, Aug 1, 2023

The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2021

Objectives: Healthcare organization leaders' support is critical for successful implementation of... more Objectives: Healthcare organization leaders' support is critical for successful implementation of new practices, including complementary and integrative health (CIH) therapies. Yet little is known about how to garner this support and what motivates leaders to support these therapies. We examined reasons leaders provided or withheld support for CIH therapy implementation, using a multilevel lens to understand motivations influenced by individual, interpersonal, organizational, and system determinants. Design and setting: We conducted qualitative interviews with leaders in seven Veterans Health Administration medical centers that offered at least three CIH therapies to Veterans and were identified as early adopters of CIH therapies. Subjects: Participants included 12 executive leaders and 34 leaders of key clinical services, including primary care, mental health, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and pain. Measures: We used a thematic analysis to examine leaders' narratives of barriers and facilitators to implementation including their attitudes toward CIH therapies, perceptions of evidence, engagement in implementation, and decisions to provide concrete support for CIH therapies. Drawing from Greenhalgh's Diffusion of Innovation framework, we organized themes according to the influence of individual determinants, two levels of inner setting, and outer system context on CIH implementation. Results: Leaders' decisions to provide or withhold support were driven by considerations across multiple levels including (1) individual attitudes/knowledge, perceptions of evidence, and personal experiences; (2) interpersonal interactions with trusted brokers, patients, and loved ones/colleagues/staff; (3) organizational concerns surrounding relative priorities, local resources, and metrics/quality/safety; and (4) system-level policy,

Antimicrobial Resistance & Infection Control, 2019

Background: Guidelines recommend discontinuation of antimicrobial prophylaxis within 24 h after i... more Background: Guidelines recommend discontinuation of antimicrobial prophylaxis within 24 h after incision closure in uninfected patients. However, how facility and surgical specialty factors affect the implementation of these evidence-based surgical prophylaxis guidelines in outpatient surgery is unknown. Thus, we sought to measure how facility complexity, including ambulatory surgical center (ASC) status and availability of ancillary services, impact adherence to guidelines for timely discontinuation of antimicrobial prophylaxis after outpatient surgery. A secondary aim was to measure the association between surgical specialty and guideline compliance. Methods: A multi-center, national Veterans Health Administration retrospective cohort from 10/1/2015-9/30/2017 including any Veteran undergoing an outpatient surgical procedure in any of five specialties (general surgery, urology, ophthalmology, ENT, orthopedics) was created. The primary outcome was the association between facility complexity and proportion of surgeries not compliant with discontinuation of antimicrobials within 24 h of incision closure. Data were analyzed using logistic regression with adjustments for patient and procedural factors. Results: Among 153,097 outpatient surgeries, 7712 (5.0%) received antimicrobial prophylaxis lasting > 24 h after surgery; rates ranged from 0.4% (eye surgeries) to 13.7% (genitourinary surgeries). Cystoscopies and cystoureteroscopy with lithotripsy procedures had the highest rates (16 and 20%), while hernia repair, cataract surgeries, and laparoscopic cholecystectomies had the lowest (0.2-0.3%). In an adjusted logistic regression model, lower complexity ASC and hospital outpatient departments had higher odds of prolonged antimicrobial prophylaxis compared to complex hospitals (OR ASC, 1.3, 95% CI: 1.2-1.5). Patient factors associated with higher odds of noncompliance with antimicrobial discontinuation included younger age, female sex, and white race. Genitourinary and ear/nose/throat surgeries were associated with the highest odds of prolonged antimicrobial prophylaxis.

Implementation Science, 2018

Background: Middle managers are in a unique position to promote the implementation of evidence-ba... more Background: Middle managers are in a unique position to promote the implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in healthcare organizations, yet knowledge of middle managers' role in implementation and determinants (e.g., individual-, organizational-, and system-level factors) which influence their role remains fractured, spanning decades and disciplines. To synthesize understanding, we undertook a systematic review of studies of middle managers' role in healthcare EBP implementation and determinants of that role. Methods: We searched MEDLINE/PubMed and Business Source Complete (Ebsco) for literature on middle managers' role in healthcare EBP implementation and its determinants. We abstracted data from records that met inclusion criteria (i.e., written in English, peer-reviewed, and reporting either a protocol or results of an empirical study) into a matrix for analysis. We summarized categorical variables using descriptive statistics. To analyze qualitative data, we used a priori codes and then allowed additional themes to emerge. Results: One hundred five records, spanning across several countries and healthcare settings and relating to a range of EBPs, met our inclusion criteria. Studies of middle managers' role in healthcare EBP implementation and its determinants substantially increased from 1996 to 2015. Results from included studies suggest that middle managers shape implementation climate in addition to fulfilling the four roles hypothesized in extant theory of middle managers' role in implementation. However, extant studies offered little understanding of determinants of middle managers' role. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that middle managers may play an important role in facilitating EBP implementation. Included studies offered little understanding regarding the relative importance of various roles, potential moderators of the relationship between middle managers' roles and EBP implementation, or determinants of middle managers' role in EBP implementation. Future studies should seek to understand determinants and moderators of middle managers' role. Clearer understanding may facilitate the translation of evidence into practice.

PloS one, 2016

In service to its core mission of improving the health and well-being of veterans, Veterans Affai... more In service to its core mission of improving the health and well-being of veterans, Veterans Affairs (VA) leadership is committed to supporting research best practices in the VA. Recognizing that the behavior of researchers is influenced by the organizational climates in which they work, efforts to assess the integrity of research climates and share such information with research leadership in VA may be one way to support research best practices. The Survey of Organizational Research Climate (SOuRCe) is the first validated survey instrument specifically designed to assess the organizational climate of research integrity in academic research organizations. The current study reports on an initiative to use the SOuRCe in VA facilities to characterize the organizational research climates and pilot test the effectiveness of using SOuRCe data as a reporting and feedback intervention tool. We administered the SOuRCe using a cross-sectional, online survey, with mailed follow-up to non-respon...