ArticleBMJ open2015
The importance of a medical chaperone: a quality improvement study exploring the use of a note stamp in a tertiary breast surgery unit.
Article in BMJ open, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Chaperone in breast examination: a comprehensive systematic review of patient and clinician perspectives, and documentation.Irish journal of medical science · 2024Pooled it
- Sustainable quality improvement interventions to ensure adequate physician documentation of chaperone presence in breast clinic: a multicycle clinical audit.International journal for quality in health care : journal of the International Society for Quality in Health Care · 2026Article
- Use of medical chaperones by colon and rectal surgeons in outpatient practice.Surgical endoscopy · 2022Article
- Documentation of chaperone presence in breast clinic, a complete audit cycle.Irish journal of medical science · 2022Article
- Improving the documentation of chaperones during intimate examinations in a surgical admissions unit: A four-stage approach.The International journal of risk & safety in medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe project aim was to determine current use and documentation of medical chaperones within a major breast service unit. It explored ways of improving adherence to professional guidelines concerning chaperones.
settingThe single centre quality improvement project was completed in a tertiary breast service unit in North West London. It was a three-stage project with initial audit in October 2013, 1st postintervention cycle in November 2013 and 2nd postintervention cycle in October 2014.
participantsIn each study cycle, data were collected from entries in clinic notes until at least 155 encounters with documented clinical examination were analysed. All notes were of female patients.
interventions(1) Intervention 1st cycle: presentation and discussion of chaperone guidelines alongside reminder posters and introduction of note stamp. (2) Intervention 2nd cycle: note stamp alone. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Documentation of chaperone offer, documentation of patient preference regarding chaperone, identifier (name or signature) of chaperone present and gender of examining clinician.
resultsIn the 1st postintervention cycle, 69.95% documentation of chaperone offer was recorded, p<0.001, CI (59.04% to 80.76%). This result was replicated in the 2nd postintervention cycle a year later with 74.86% documentation of chaperone offer recorded, p<0.001, CI (66.41% to 83.31%). The 4.91% difference was insignificant; p=0.294, CI (14.03% to 4.21%).
conclusionsThe authors suggest that a proforma approach to medical chaperones is an effective means of ensuring adherence to best practice guidelines. A stamp, or similar, that can be embedded into documentation structure is an effective example of such an approach. Improved documentation allows any problems with adherence to guidelines to be more easily identified, helping to ensure the safeguarding of patients and staff involved in intimate examinations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.