PCOMS and an Acute Care Inpatient Unit: Quality Improvement and Reduced Readm...Barry Duncan
High psychiatric readmission rates continue while evidence suggests that care is not perceived by patients as “patient centered.” Research has focused on aftercare strategies with little attention to the inpatient treatment itself as an intervention to reduce readmission rates. Quality improvement strategies based on patient-centered care may offer an alternative. We evaluated outcomes and readmission rates using a benchmarking methodology with a naturalistic data set from an inpatient psychiatric facility (N 2,247) that used a quality-improvement strategy called systematic patient feedback. A systematic patient feedback system, the Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS), was used. Overall pre-post effect sizes were d 1.33 and d 1.38 for patients diagnosed with a mood
disorder. These effect sizes were statistically equivalent to RCT benchmarks for feedback and depression.
Readmission rates were 6.1% (30 days), 9.5% (60 days), and 16.4% (180 days), all lower than national benchmarks. We also found that patients who achieved clinically significant treatment outcomes were less likely to be readmitted. We tentatively suggest that a focus on real-time patient outcomes as well as care that is “patient centered” may provide lower readmission rates.
PCOMS and an Acute Care Inpatient Unit: Quality Improvement and Reduced Readm...Barry Duncan
High psychiatric readmission rates continue while evidence suggests that care is not perceived by patients as “patient centered.” Research has focused on aftercare strategies with little attention to the inpatient treatment itself as an intervention to reduce readmission rates. Quality improvement strategies based on patient-centered care may offer an alternative. We evaluated outcomes and readmission rates using a benchmarking methodology with a naturalistic data set from an inpatient psychiatric facility (N 2,247) that used a quality-improvement strategy called systematic patient feedback. A systematic patient feedback system, the Partners for Change Outcome Management System (PCOMS), was used. Overall pre-post effect sizes were d 1.33 and d 1.38 for patients diagnosed with a mood
disorder. These effect sizes were statistically equivalent to RCT benchmarks for feedback and depression.
Readmission rates were 6.1% (30 days), 9.5% (60 days), and 16.4% (180 days), all lower than national benchmarks. We also found that patients who achieved clinically significant treatment outcomes were less likely to be readmitted. We tentatively suggest that a focus on real-time patient outcomes as well as care that is “patient centered” may provide lower readmission rates.
A document prepared by Dr. Mustafa Salih, the former director of the Directorate General of Health Policy, planning and research at the Federal ministry of Health in Sudan.
Patients' satisfaction towards doctors treatmentmustafa farooqi
The mood of the care recipient to see if the impression (expectations) of service are met by the patient may be defined as patient satisfaction. The current perspective on service efficiency tends to be that patient treatment meets public standards and requirements in terms of interpersonal support as well as professional assistance. (Hardy et al. 1996).
For various reasons, customer satisfactions in the healthcare industry have been investigated. First it was important to decide on the extent and the degree to which patient care seekers, the meeting of drugs criteria and the continuous use of these services have effect, satisfaction as a quality of service metric, as well as allowing doctors and health services to better appreciate and use the input of the patient. (Ong et al. 2000).
Consumer satisfaction with healthcare services is a multi-panel term that refers to the core facets of treatment and suppliers, while PS medical services with the quality enhancement systems from the patient context, full control of quality and the intended outcomes of services are considered to be of primary importance (Janicijevic et al. 2013).
The Pakistani health system is being changed somewhat and there are wonderful scope for applying standard of services to health care. Patients in Pakistan now have access to increased quality health care. Obviously, the staff and staff are the most important winners of a successful health care environment of every community sector framework (Bakari et al. 2019).
The medical clinic of today's study is the product of a long and complicated war of civilization to quantify produce and study and to give thought to the thoughtful (Fullman et al. 2017).
Code of ethics and legal practices has been very old element in the professional management of the doctor’s behaviour. The ethical practices or code shows a commitment to act with honesty in extreme situations. At the time patients seek medical treatment they are not just entering a normal social relationship, they often feel vulnerable but required to share and expose important aspects of their lives. Codes of ethical conducts provide some tangible safety to both doctors and patients in such circumstances. In the below report, the researcher is explaining ethical, legal and
professional guidelines and principles for health care as well as its implications in the healthcare sector of the United Kingdom. After reading this report, the reader would be able to understand how healthcare adopts ethical practices at the workplace and ensures protection of patients in their medical treatment.
Relationships of Providers’ Accountability of Nursing Documentations in the C...IJEAB
Documentation demonstrates the unique contribution of nursing to the care of clients. This study investigated the relationships of Providers accountability of nursing documentations in the clinical settings. Judgmental and simple random sampling techniques were used to select documented nursing actions for 264 clients. One research question and four null hypotheses guided the study. The instrument used for data collection was checklist on Nursing documentation in the clinical setting. Descriptive statistics of frequency, means and standard deviation (SD) were used to summarize the variables. Pearson Product Moment correlation was used to answer the research question, while analyses of variance (ANOVA) was adopted in testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result indicated that significant correlation existed between legal implications of nursing documentation and the core principles of nursing documentation. Significant differences were also observed among providers’ accountability of nursing documentations with regard to promotion of interdisciplinary communication, legal implications of documentation, impacts on quality assurance and nursing science.
Perspectives on Transitional Care for Vulnerable Older Patients A Qualitative...Austin Publishing Group
Transitional care for vulnerable older patients is optimal if, on top of the organization of transitional care, these patients and their informal caregivers have trust in the professionals involved. Regarding the challenge of organizing increasingly complex transitional care for vulnerable older patients, the focus should shift towards optimizing trust.
Diagnoses and visit length in complementary and mainstream medicinehome
CM physicians differed from mainstream GPs in diagnoses, partly related to general and partly to
specific diagnoses. Between CM practices differences were found on specific domains of complaints. Visit length
was much longer in CM practices compared to mainstream GP visits, and such ample time may be one of the
attractive features of CM for patients
The pharmaceutical industry has made it very difficult to know what the clinical trial evidence actually is regarding psychotropics. Consequently, primary care physicians and other front-line practitioners are at a disadvantage when attempting to adhere to the ethical and scientific mandates of evidence based prescriptive practice. This article calls for a higher standard of prescriptive care derived from a risk/benefit analysis of clinical trial evidence. The authors assert that current prescribing practices are empirically unsound and unduly influenced by pharmaceutical company interests, resulting in unnecessary risks to patients. In the spirit of evidenced based medicine’s inclusion of patient values as well as the movement toward health home, we present a patient bill of rights for psychotropic prescription. We then offer guidelines to raise the bar of care equal to the available science for all prescribers of psychiatric medications.
Controladores y estrategias para evitar la sobreutilización sanitaria en Aten...Javier González de Dios
Objectives: Identify the sources of overuse from the point of view of the Spanish primary care professionals, and
analyse the frequency of overuse due to pressure from patients in addition to the responses when professionals
face these demands.
Design: A cross-sectional study.
Setting: Primary care in Spain.
Participants: A non-randomised sample of 2201 providers (general practitioners, paediatricians and nurses) was
recruited during the survey.
Primary and secondary outcome measures: The frequency, causes and responsibility for overuse, the frequency that patients demand unnecessary tests or procedures, the profile of the most demanding patients, and arguments for dissuading the patient.
Results: In all, 936 general practitioners, 682 paediatricians and 286 nurses replied (response rate 18.6%). Patient requests (67%) and defensive medicine (40%) were the most cited causes of overuse. Five hundred and twenty-two (27%) received requests from their patients almost every day for unnecessary tests or procedures, and 132 (7%) recognised granting the requests. The lack of time in consultation, and information about new medical advances and treatments
that patients could find on printed and digital media, contributed to the professional’s inability to adequately
counter this pressure by patients. Clinical safety (49.9%) and evidence (39.4%) were the arguments that dissuaded patients from their requests the most. Cost savings was not a convincing argument (6.8%), above all for paediatricians (4.3%). General practitioners resisted more pressure from their patients (x2 =88.8, P<0.001,
percentage difference (PD)=17.0), while nurses admitted to carrying out more unnecessary procedures (x2 =175.7,
P<0.001, PD=12.3).
Conclusion: Satisfying the patient and patient uncertainty about what should be done and defensive medicine practices explains some of the frequent causes of overuse. Safety arguments are useful to dissuade patients from their requests.
Criticisms of orthodox medical ethics, importance ofsupriyawable1
ethics is a very large and complex field of study with many branches .medical ethics is the branch of ethics that deals moral issues in medical practice. principles of medical ethics - autonomy ,beneficence ,confidentiality,do not harm,equity .importance of communication .
Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) - Challenge and potential solutions.
Why and how can medical device and pharmaceutical companies, as well as the entire healthcare sector, leverage patient engagement with next-generation ePRO solutions?
Discover our white paper...
A document prepared by Dr. Mustafa Salih, the former director of the Directorate General of Health Policy, planning and research at the Federal ministry of Health in Sudan.
Patients' satisfaction towards doctors treatmentmustafa farooqi
The mood of the care recipient to see if the impression (expectations) of service are met by the patient may be defined as patient satisfaction. The current perspective on service efficiency tends to be that patient treatment meets public standards and requirements in terms of interpersonal support as well as professional assistance. (Hardy et al. 1996).
For various reasons, customer satisfactions in the healthcare industry have been investigated. First it was important to decide on the extent and the degree to which patient care seekers, the meeting of drugs criteria and the continuous use of these services have effect, satisfaction as a quality of service metric, as well as allowing doctors and health services to better appreciate and use the input of the patient. (Ong et al. 2000).
Consumer satisfaction with healthcare services is a multi-panel term that refers to the core facets of treatment and suppliers, while PS medical services with the quality enhancement systems from the patient context, full control of quality and the intended outcomes of services are considered to be of primary importance (Janicijevic et al. 2013).
The Pakistani health system is being changed somewhat and there are wonderful scope for applying standard of services to health care. Patients in Pakistan now have access to increased quality health care. Obviously, the staff and staff are the most important winners of a successful health care environment of every community sector framework (Bakari et al. 2019).
The medical clinic of today's study is the product of a long and complicated war of civilization to quantify produce and study and to give thought to the thoughtful (Fullman et al. 2017).
Code of ethics and legal practices has been very old element in the professional management of the doctor’s behaviour. The ethical practices or code shows a commitment to act with honesty in extreme situations. At the time patients seek medical treatment they are not just entering a normal social relationship, they often feel vulnerable but required to share and expose important aspects of their lives. Codes of ethical conducts provide some tangible safety to both doctors and patients in such circumstances. In the below report, the researcher is explaining ethical, legal and
professional guidelines and principles for health care as well as its implications in the healthcare sector of the United Kingdom. After reading this report, the reader would be able to understand how healthcare adopts ethical practices at the workplace and ensures protection of patients in their medical treatment.
Relationships of Providers’ Accountability of Nursing Documentations in the C...IJEAB
Documentation demonstrates the unique contribution of nursing to the care of clients. This study investigated the relationships of Providers accountability of nursing documentations in the clinical settings. Judgmental and simple random sampling techniques were used to select documented nursing actions for 264 clients. One research question and four null hypotheses guided the study. The instrument used for data collection was checklist on Nursing documentation in the clinical setting. Descriptive statistics of frequency, means and standard deviation (SD) were used to summarize the variables. Pearson Product Moment correlation was used to answer the research question, while analyses of variance (ANOVA) was adopted in testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result indicated that significant correlation existed between legal implications of nursing documentation and the core principles of nursing documentation. Significant differences were also observed among providers’ accountability of nursing documentations with regard to promotion of interdisciplinary communication, legal implications of documentation, impacts on quality assurance and nursing science.
Perspectives on Transitional Care for Vulnerable Older Patients A Qualitative...Austin Publishing Group
Transitional care for vulnerable older patients is optimal if, on top of the organization of transitional care, these patients and their informal caregivers have trust in the professionals involved. Regarding the challenge of organizing increasingly complex transitional care for vulnerable older patients, the focus should shift towards optimizing trust.
Diagnoses and visit length in complementary and mainstream medicinehome
CM physicians differed from mainstream GPs in diagnoses, partly related to general and partly to
specific diagnoses. Between CM practices differences were found on specific domains of complaints. Visit length
was much longer in CM practices compared to mainstream GP visits, and such ample time may be one of the
attractive features of CM for patients
The pharmaceutical industry has made it very difficult to know what the clinical trial evidence actually is regarding psychotropics. Consequently, primary care physicians and other front-line practitioners are at a disadvantage when attempting to adhere to the ethical and scientific mandates of evidence based prescriptive practice. This article calls for a higher standard of prescriptive care derived from a risk/benefit analysis of clinical trial evidence. The authors assert that current prescribing practices are empirically unsound and unduly influenced by pharmaceutical company interests, resulting in unnecessary risks to patients. In the spirit of evidenced based medicine’s inclusion of patient values as well as the movement toward health home, we present a patient bill of rights for psychotropic prescription. We then offer guidelines to raise the bar of care equal to the available science for all prescribers of psychiatric medications.
Controladores y estrategias para evitar la sobreutilización sanitaria en Aten...Javier González de Dios
Objectives: Identify the sources of overuse from the point of view of the Spanish primary care professionals, and
analyse the frequency of overuse due to pressure from patients in addition to the responses when professionals
face these demands.
Design: A cross-sectional study.
Setting: Primary care in Spain.
Participants: A non-randomised sample of 2201 providers (general practitioners, paediatricians and nurses) was
recruited during the survey.
Primary and secondary outcome measures: The frequency, causes and responsibility for overuse, the frequency that patients demand unnecessary tests or procedures, the profile of the most demanding patients, and arguments for dissuading the patient.
Results: In all, 936 general practitioners, 682 paediatricians and 286 nurses replied (response rate 18.6%). Patient requests (67%) and defensive medicine (40%) were the most cited causes of overuse. Five hundred and twenty-two (27%) received requests from their patients almost every day for unnecessary tests or procedures, and 132 (7%) recognised granting the requests. The lack of time in consultation, and information about new medical advances and treatments
that patients could find on printed and digital media, contributed to the professional’s inability to adequately
counter this pressure by patients. Clinical safety (49.9%) and evidence (39.4%) were the arguments that dissuaded patients from their requests the most. Cost savings was not a convincing argument (6.8%), above all for paediatricians (4.3%). General practitioners resisted more pressure from their patients (x2 =88.8, P<0.001,
percentage difference (PD)=17.0), while nurses admitted to carrying out more unnecessary procedures (x2 =175.7,
P<0.001, PD=12.3).
Conclusion: Satisfying the patient and patient uncertainty about what should be done and defensive medicine practices explains some of the frequent causes of overuse. Safety arguments are useful to dissuade patients from their requests.
Criticisms of orthodox medical ethics, importance ofsupriyawable1
ethics is a very large and complex field of study with many branches .medical ethics is the branch of ethics that deals moral issues in medical practice. principles of medical ethics - autonomy ,beneficence ,confidentiality,do not harm,equity .importance of communication .
Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) - Challenge and potential solutions.
Why and how can medical device and pharmaceutical companies, as well as the entire healthcare sector, leverage patient engagement with next-generation ePRO solutions?
Discover our white paper...
Rennrad-Urlaub in den besten Bike Hotels und den schönsten Regionen: Road Bike Holidays ist spezialisiert auf Radsporturlaub in geprüften Radhotels in Österreich, Italien, Luxemburg, Deutschland, der Schweiz und Spanien. Inklusive Touren und Routen für den nächsten Urlaub mit dem Rennrad.
Patients' satisfaction towards doctors treatmentmustafa farooqi
The mood of the care recipient to see if the impression (expectations) of service are met by the patient may be defined as patient satisfaction. The current perspective on service efficiency tends to be that patient treatment meets public standards and requirements in terms of interpersonal support as well as professional assistance. (Hardy et al. 1996). For various reasons, customer satisfactions in the healthcare industry have been investigated. First it was important to decide on the extent and the degree to which patient care seekers, the meeting of drugs criteria and the continuous use of these services have effect, satisfaction as a quality of service metric, as well as allowing doctors and health services to better appreciate and use the input of the patient. (Ong et al. 2000). Consumer satisfaction with healthcare services is a multi-panel term that refers to the core facets of treatment and suppliers, while PS medical services with the quality enhancement systems from the patient context, full control of quality and the intended outcomes of services are considered to be of primary importance (Janicijevic et al. 2013). The Pakistani health system is being changed somewhat and there are wonderful scope for applying standard of services to health care. Patients in Pakistan now have access to increased quality health care. Obviously, the staff and staff are the most important winners of a successful health care environment of every community sector framework (Bakari et al. 2019). The medical clinic of today's study is the product of a long and complicated war of civilization to quantify produce and study and to give thought to the thoughtful (Fullman et al. 2017).
Quantitative/Mixed-Methods
American InterContinental University
March 27, 2018
Running head: QUANTITATIVE/MIXED-METHODS
1
QUANTITATIVE/MIXED-METHODS
2
Quantitative/Mixed-Methods
Abstract
Case studies which are done in the field of medicine work towards improving the health of the population. There are some of the parts contained in case studies which are abstract, results, limitations of results, conclusions, and applications. The common statistical methods used in research are descriptive numerical and qualitative thematic analyses. The results of the studies show that equal participation of individuals in the health sector will help boost public health. Limitations of results are that although some strategies may work towards improving health sector, not all of them are effective.
Public health is an important sector in any country for it directly affects the economy of the nation. There need to be certain ways which should be employed with the aim of supporting and improving public health. In this paper, I am going to examine 4 contemporary peer-reviewed articles which employ quantitative or mixed-methods concerning ways on how to improve the health of the public. The interest of the paper is to aid in achieving the best impact in public health sector via using programs which will improve health outcomes drastically. Enhancement of public health will in return help to improve the well-being of populations across the world. Public health awareness on how to avoid unhealthy lifestyles should be created.
In the articles, samples and populations used were appropriate for it showed the real representative of the population at hand. All the samples used in the 4-contemporary peer-reviewed articles fulfilled the rule of thumb hence making them appropriate. The samples used were suitable for they were used to estimate the population parameters for it stood for the entire inhabitants. The samples used were larger but not too large to consume more resources of money and time. The larger sample has helped to produce accurate results making the samples valid and appropriate. The appropriateness of the samples used in these articles, it has been proved via usage of target variance. In using target variance an estimate to be derived from the model eventually attained.
Each article which has been used includes having results, limitations of results, conclusions, and applications. The first contemporary peer-reviewed article is entitled, Refugee women’s involvements of maternity-care facilities in Canada: a methodical review using a description synthesis written by Gina MA Higginbottom, Myfanwy Morgan, Miranda Alexandre, Yvonne Chiu, Joan Forgeron, Deb Kocay and Rubina Barolia. The article was published 11 February 2015. The results show that there needs to have a healthier understanding of the aspects that produce discrepancies in availability, adequacy, and outcomes during parenthood care (Higginbottom, Morgan, Alexandre, Chiu, Forg ...
RESEARCH ARTICLE Open AccessHealthcare professionals’ view.docxrgladys1
RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access
Healthcare professionals’ views on patient-
centered care in hospitals
Mathilde Berghout*, Job van Exel, Laszlo Leensvaart and Jane M. Cramm*
Abstract
Background: Patient-centered care (PCC) is a main determinant of care quality. Research has shown that PCC is a
multi-dimensional concept, and organizations that provide PCC well report better patient and organizational
outcomes. However, little is known about the relative importance of PCC dimensions. The aim of this study was
therefore to investigate the relative importance of the eight dimensions of PCC according to hospital-based
healthcare professionals, and examine whether their viewpoints are determined by context.
Methods: Thirty-four healthcare professionals (16 from the geriatrics department, 15 from a surgical intensive care
unit, 3 quality employees) working at a large teaching hospital in New York City were interviewed using Q
methodology. Participants were asked to rank 35 statements representing eight dimensions of PCC extracted from
the literature: patient preferences, physical comfort, coordination of care, emotional support, access to care,
continuity and transition, information and education and family and friends. By-person factor analysis was used to
reveal patterns of communality in statement rankings, which were interpreted and described as distinct viewpoints.
Results: Three main viewpoints on elements important for PCC were identified: “treating patients with dignity and
respect,” “an interdisciplinary approach” and “equal access and good outcomes.” In these viewpoints, not all dimensions
were equally important for PCC. Furthermore, the relative importance of the dimensions differed between departments.
Context thus appeared to affect the relative importance of PCC dimensions.
Conclusion: Healthcare organizations wishing to improve PCC should consider the relative importance of
PCC dimensions in their specific context of care provision, which may help to improve levels of patient-
centeredness in a more efficient and focused manner. However, as the study sample is not representative
and consisted only of professionals (not patients), the results cannot be generalized outside the sample.
More research is needed to confirm our study findings.
Keywords: Patient-centered care, Quality of care, Healthcare professionals, Q methodology, Hospital
Background
Since the Institute of Medicine described patient-
centered care (PCC) as one of the six most important
determinants of quality of care – along with safe, effect-
ive, timely, efficient and equitable care – PCC has re-
ceived much more attention [1]. Richardson and
colleagues [1] defined PCC as care that is “respectful of
and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs,
and values, and ensuring that patient values guide all
clinical decisions.” PCC has been shown to result in im-
proved health outcomes, including survival, greater
patient satisfaction and well-being [2]. Furtherm.
Paediatricians provide higher quality care to children and adolescents in pri...Javier González de Dios
Hay una pregunta que plantea un debate mantenido: ¿qué profesional médico es el más adecuado para impartir cuidados de salud a niños en Atención Primaria en países desarrollados?. Adecuación medida como mayor calidad en términos de salud de la población infantil, entendiendo la calidad en sus tres dimensiones: científico-técnica, relacional-percibida y organizativo-económica.
No es fácil definir qué indicadores de calidad en salud infantil debemos tener en cuenta, pero desde el Grupo de Trabajo de Pediatría Basada en la Evidencia se ha intentado responder a esa pregunta bajo el formato de una revisión sistemática. Y se ha hecho en dos momentos: en aquel año 2010 con la publicación “¿Qué profesional médico es el más adecuado para impartir cuidados en salud a niños en Atención Primaria en países desarrollados? Revisión sistemática”, publicada en español en la revista de Pediatría de Atención Primaria y este mismo año 2020 con la publicación “Paediatricians provide higher quality care to children and adolescents in primary care: A systematic review” publicado en inglés en la revista Acta Paediatrica, y que se adjunta debajo par su revisión.
Sus conclusiones tienden a reforzar la postura de la Asociación Española de Pediatría, en general, y de sus dos sociedades de Primaria (AEPap y SEPEAP), en particular, de defensa de la Atención Primaria de niños y adolescentes por pediatras en España. Porque en vista de los resultados expuestos, parece recomendable mantener la figura del pediatra en los equipos de Atención Primaria y reforzar su función específica como primer punto de contacto del niño con el sistema sanitario.
Factory Supply Best Quality Pmk Oil CAS 28578–16–7 PMK Powder in Stockrebeccabio
Factory Supply Best Quality Pmk Oil CAS 28578–16–7 PMK Powder in Stock
Telegram: bmksupplier
signal: +85264872720
threema: TUD4A6YC
You can contact me on Telegram or Threema
Communicate promptly and reply
Free of customs clearance, Double Clearance 100% pass delivery to USA, Canada, Spain, Germany, Netherland, Poland, Italy, Sweden, UK, Czech Republic, Australia, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan.Door to door service
Hot Selling Organic intermediates
Report Back from SGO 2024: What’s the Latest in Cervical Cancer?bkling
Are you curious about what’s new in cervical cancer research or unsure what the findings mean? Join Dr. Emily Ko, a gynecologic oncologist at Penn Medicine, to learn about the latest updates from the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. Dr. Ko will discuss what the research presented at the conference means for you and answer your questions about the new developments.
Prix Galien International 2024 Forum ProgramLevi Shapiro
June 20, 2024, Prix Galien International and Jerusalem Ethics Forum in ROME. Detailed agenda including panels:
- ADVANCES IN CARDIOLOGY: A NEW PARADIGM IS COMING
- WOMEN’S HEALTH: FERTILITY PRESERVATION
- WHAT’S NEW IN THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIOUS,
ONCOLOGICAL AND INFLAMMATORY SKIN DISEASES?
- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ETHICS
- GENE THERAPY
- BEYOND BORDERS: GLOBAL INITIATIVES FOR DEMOCRATIZING LIFE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGIES AND PROMOTING ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE
- ETHICAL CHALLENGES IN LIFE SCIENCES
- Prix Galien International Awards Ceremony
Title: Sense of Taste
Presenter: Dr. Faiza, Assistant Professor of Physiology
Qualifications:
MBBS (Best Graduate, AIMC Lahore)
FCPS Physiology
ICMT, CHPE, DHPE (STMU)
MPH (GC University, Faisalabad)
MBA (Virtual University of Pakistan)
Learning Objectives:
Describe the structure and function of taste buds.
Describe the relationship between the taste threshold and taste index of common substances.
Explain the chemical basis and signal transduction of taste perception for each type of primary taste sensation.
Recognize different abnormalities of taste perception and their causes.
Key Topics:
Significance of Taste Sensation:
Differentiation between pleasant and harmful food
Influence on behavior
Selection of food based on metabolic needs
Receptors of Taste:
Taste buds on the tongue
Influence of sense of smell, texture of food, and pain stimulation (e.g., by pepper)
Primary and Secondary Taste Sensations:
Primary taste sensations: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Umami
Chemical basis and signal transduction mechanisms for each taste
Taste Threshold and Index:
Taste threshold values for Sweet (sucrose), Salty (NaCl), Sour (HCl), and Bitter (Quinine)
Taste index relationship: Inversely proportional to taste threshold
Taste Blindness:
Inability to taste certain substances, particularly thiourea compounds
Example: Phenylthiocarbamide
Structure and Function of Taste Buds:
Composition: Epithelial cells, Sustentacular/Supporting cells, Taste cells, Basal cells
Features: Taste pores, Taste hairs/microvilli, and Taste nerve fibers
Location of Taste Buds:
Found in papillae of the tongue (Fungiform, Circumvallate, Foliate)
Also present on the palate, tonsillar pillars, epiglottis, and proximal esophagus
Mechanism of Taste Stimulation:
Interaction of taste substances with receptors on microvilli
Signal transduction pathways for Umami, Sweet, Bitter, Sour, and Salty tastes
Taste Sensitivity and Adaptation:
Decrease in sensitivity with age
Rapid adaptation of taste sensation
Role of Saliva in Taste:
Dissolution of tastants to reach receptors
Washing away the stimulus
Taste Preferences and Aversions:
Mechanisms behind taste preference and aversion
Influence of receptors and neural pathways
Impact of Sensory Nerve Damage:
Degeneration of taste buds if the sensory nerve fiber is cut
Abnormalities of Taste Detection:
Conditions: Ageusia, Hypogeusia, Dysgeusia (parageusia)
Causes: Nerve damage, neurological disorders, infections, poor oral hygiene, adverse drug effects, deficiencies, aging, tobacco use, altered neurotransmitter levels
Neurotransmitters and Taste Threshold:
Effects of serotonin (5-HT) and norepinephrine (NE) on taste sensitivity
Supertasters:
25% of the population with heightened sensitivity to taste, especially bitterness
Increased number of fungiform papillae
Ozempic: Preoperative Management of Patients on GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Saeid Safari
Preoperative Management of Patients on GLP-1 Receptor Agonists like Ozempic and Semiglutide
ASA GUIDELINE
NYSORA Guideline
2 Case Reports of Gastric Ultrasound
The prostate is an exocrine gland of the male mammalian reproductive system
It is a walnut-sized gland that forms part of the male reproductive system and is located in front of the rectum and just below the urinary bladder
Function is to store and secrete a clear, slightly alkaline fluid that constitutes 10-30% of the volume of the seminal fluid that along with the spermatozoa, constitutes semen
A healthy human prostate measures (4cm-vertical, by 3cm-horizontal, 2cm ant-post ).
It surrounds the urethra just below the urinary bladder. It has anterior, median, posterior and two lateral lobes
It’s work is regulated by androgens which are responsible for male sex characteristics
Generalised disease of the prostate due to hormonal derangement which leads to non malignant enlargement of the gland (increase in the number of epithelial cells and stromal tissue)to cause compression of the urethra leading to symptoms (LUTS
Title: Sense of Smell
Presenter: Dr. Faiza, Assistant Professor of Physiology
Qualifications:
MBBS (Best Graduate, AIMC Lahore)
FCPS Physiology
ICMT, CHPE, DHPE (STMU)
MPH (GC University, Faisalabad)
MBA (Virtual University of Pakistan)
Learning Objectives:
Describe the primary categories of smells and the concept of odor blindness.
Explain the structure and location of the olfactory membrane and mucosa, including the types and roles of cells involved in olfaction.
Describe the pathway and mechanisms of olfactory signal transmission from the olfactory receptors to the brain.
Illustrate the biochemical cascade triggered by odorant binding to olfactory receptors, including the role of G-proteins and second messengers in generating an action potential.
Identify different types of olfactory disorders such as anosmia, hyposmia, hyperosmia, and dysosmia, including their potential causes.
Key Topics:
Olfactory Genes:
3% of the human genome accounts for olfactory genes.
400 genes for odorant receptors.
Olfactory Membrane:
Located in the superior part of the nasal cavity.
Medially: Folds downward along the superior septum.
Laterally: Folds over the superior turbinate and upper surface of the middle turbinate.
Total surface area: 5-10 square centimeters.
Olfactory Mucosa:
Olfactory Cells: Bipolar nerve cells derived from the CNS (100 million), with 4-25 olfactory cilia per cell.
Sustentacular Cells: Produce mucus and maintain ionic and molecular environment.
Basal Cells: Replace worn-out olfactory cells with an average lifespan of 1-2 months.
Bowman’s Gland: Secretes mucus.
Stimulation of Olfactory Cells:
Odorant dissolves in mucus and attaches to receptors on olfactory cilia.
Involves a cascade effect through G-proteins and second messengers, leading to depolarization and action potential generation in the olfactory nerve.
Quality of a Good Odorant:
Small (3-20 Carbon atoms), volatile, water-soluble, and lipid-soluble.
Facilitated by odorant-binding proteins in mucus.
Membrane Potential and Action Potential:
Resting membrane potential: -55mV.
Action potential frequency in the olfactory nerve increases with odorant strength.
Adaptation Towards the Sense of Smell:
Rapid adaptation within the first second, with further slow adaptation.
Psychological adaptation greater than receptor adaptation, involving feedback inhibition from the central nervous system.
Primary Sensations of Smell:
Camphoraceous, Musky, Floral, Pepperminty, Ethereal, Pungent, Putrid.
Odor Detection Threshold:
Examples: Hydrogen sulfide (0.0005 ppm), Methyl-mercaptan (0.002 ppm).
Some toxic substances are odorless at lethal concentrations.
Characteristics of Smell:
Odor blindness for single substances due to lack of appropriate receptor protein.
Behavioral and emotional influences of smell.
Transmission of Olfactory Signals:
From olfactory cells to glomeruli in the olfactory bulb, involving lateral inhibition.
Primitive, less old, and new olfactory systems with different path
MANAGEMENT OF ATRIOVENTRICULAR CONDUCTION BLOCK.pdfJim Jacob Roy
Cardiac conduction defects can occur due to various causes.
Atrioventricular conduction blocks ( AV blocks ) are classified into 3 types.
This document describes the acute management of AV block.
micro teaching on communication m.sc nursing.pdfAnurag Sharma
Microteaching is a unique model of practice teaching. It is a viable instrument for the. desired change in the teaching behavior or the behavior potential which, in specified types of real. classroom situations, tends to facilitate the achievement of specified types of objectives.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN HEALTHCARE.pdfAnujkumaranit
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. It encompasses tasks such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and language understanding. AI technologies are revolutionizing various fields, from healthcare to finance, by enabling machines to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence.
These simplified slides by Dr. Sidra Arshad present an overview of the non-respiratory functions of the respiratory tract.
Learning objectives:
1. Enlist the non-respiratory functions of the respiratory tract
2. Briefly explain how these functions are carried out
3. Discuss the significance of dead space
4. Differentiate between minute ventilation and alveolar ventilation
5. Describe the cough and sneeze reflexes
Study Resources:
1. Chapter 39, Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, 14th edition
2. Chapter 34, Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology, 26th edition
3. Chapter 17, Human Physiology by Lauralee Sherwood, 9th edition
4. Non-respiratory functions of the lungs https://academic.oup.com/bjaed/article/13/3/98/278874
family medicine attributes related to satisfaction, health and costs
1. Family Practice doi:10.1093/fampra/cmi112
Ó The Author (2006). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Family medicine attributes related to satisfaction,
health and costs
Mireia Sans-Corralesa,b
, Enriqueta Pujol-Riberaa
,
Joan Gene´-Badiaa,b,c
, Maria Isabel Pasarı´n-Ruad
,
Begon˜ a Iglesias-Pe´reza
and Josep Casajuana-Bruneta
Sans-Corrales M, Pujol-Ribera E, Gene´-Badia J, Pasarı´n-Rua MI, Iglesias-Pe´rez B and Casajuana-
Brunet J. Family medicine attributes related to satisfaction, health and costs. Family Practice
2006; Pages 1–9 of 9.
Objective. To identify, from a systematic review of the literature, the attributes of Family
Medicine (FM) that influence the primary health care outcome as measured by users’
satisfaction, improvement in patient health and in costs.
Data Sources. Literature search of Medline and the Cochrane library using MeSH terms
‘Primary Health’ or ‘Family Practice’ or ‘Family Physicians’ and ‘Outcome Assessment’ or
‘Process Assessment’. Papers were excluded if they lacked a based on primary data, if no
single component of FM was assessed; if indicators of evaluation were not related to health,
satisfaction or costs.
Results. A total of 356 articles were initially identified and 19 finally met the inclusion
criteria. Study methods were a systematic review of randomized control trials, a double-
blind randomized trial, 4 systematic reviews of observational studies, 2 cohort studies and
12 descriptive cross-sectional studies.
Conclusions. There was evidence of relationships between the attributes of FM and the service
outcomes measured by indicators of satisfaction, health and cost. User satisfaction was
associated with accessibility, continuity of care, consultation time and the doctor–patient
relationship. Improvement in patient’s health was related to continuity, consultation time,
doctor–patient relationship and the implementation of preventive activities. Coordination
of care showed mixed results with health outcomes. Continuity, consultation time, doctor–
patient communication and prevention were cost-effective in the primary care setting.
Keywords. Family medicine, outcomes, health satisfaction, costs.
Introduction
In 2002, WONCA Europe issued a new definition of
GP/Family Medicine1
(FM) which encompasses the
ideal content of the speciality, the core content as well
as the function of this clinical discipline.2
It offers a new
and universal approach while continuing to be based
on the traditional attributes of FM.
As with every public service, FM should be account-
able to society. Currently, there is a great variety of
health care evaluation indicators. This complicates
comparison between different organizations and with
other types of services. Policy makers and managers
often measure only partial aspects of the service.3
In
many cases, we do not know if these performance indic-
ators inform on the final health care outcome, or merely
offer a description of how the health care process had
been conducted.
Evaluation of the final outcome of the health care
process can be considered in three dimensions: (1)
impact on health dimension, as evaluated by mortality
and morbidity rates or by subjective health question-
naires; (2) the satisfaction dimension, defined as the
level at which the user’s expectations of the service
are met and (3) the economic dimension, which is the
cost of the services provided.
Received 22 February 2005; Accepted 28 December 2005.
a
Institut Catala` de la Salut (ICS), Spain, b
Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, c
Consorci d’Atencio´ Primaria de Salut de l’Eixample
(CAPSE), Spain, and d
Age` ncia de Salut Pu´ blica de Barcelona, Spain. Correspondence to Joan Gene´-Badia, MD, PhD, Consorci
d’Atencio´ Primaria de Salut de l’Eixample (CAPSE), C/Rosello´ 161, 08036 Barcelona, Spain; Email: jgene@clinic.ub.es
Page 1 of 9
Family Practice Advance Access published February 3, 2006
2. In this article we review available evidences in
international literature on relationships between the
attributes of FM and the final outcomes of health
care provision in terms of health, user satisfaction
and cost. Despite considerable evidence indicating
that better results are obtained when health systems
are orientated towards primary care and FM,4
we
sought to identify the specific attributes of FM that
could be responsible for these positive outcomes.
The objective of the present study was to identify,
via a literature search, the attributes of FM that are
related to the outcomes with respect to dimensions of
satisfaction, health and costs. The identification of
these attributes can be of considerable use in defining
a group of indicators that more effectively describe the
benefits that this type of health care provides for the
population.
Method
We performed a literature search of the Medline data-
base and of the Cochrane Library (The Cochrane
Controlled Trial Register). Key word descriptors
or MeSH Thesaurus terms were ‘Primary Health’ or
‘Family practice’ or ‘Family physician’) and ‘outcome
assessment’ or ‘process assessment’. Publication type
limitations excluded ‘letter’, ‘editorial’ or ‘practice
guideline’. No language limits were used.
The search included all studies up to June 2005
that evaluated the attributes of FM using qualitative
or quantitative methodology (observational and
experimental, systematic reviews and meta-analyses).
Articles were excluded because of the following
criteria: (1) papers without analyses based on primary
data; (2) papers not assessing at least an attribute of
FM; (3) studies where the indicators of evaluation
were not related to health, user satisfaction or costs.
The selection of the studies and extraction of the
data were performed by three investigators (MSC,
EPR and JGB). All disagreements were solved by
dialogue and final consensus among all six coauthors.
From each of the identified studies, the following
variables were collected: identification of the study,
numbers and types of participants, methodology (study
design, setting of the study, participants, indicators
of service evaluation and sources of the information)
and the most relevant results/outcomes.
Results
The literature search identified 356 articles. On apply-
ing the different selection criteria, 20 articles were
finally selected. The de-selected papers were rejected
because they lacked a research based on primary data
(n = 16); they did not assess at least one component
of FM (n = 296) and their evaluation indicators were
not related to health, user satisfaction or costs (n = 24).
The selection procedure is depicted in Figure 1. The
methodologies of the selected papers are summarized
in Table 1.
Table 2 summarizes the studies that had found
associations between attributes of FM and patient
satisfaction outcome as the health care indicator.
The accessibility indicators associated with greater
satisfaction were obtaining an outpatient appointment
with the family doctor for the same, or following,
day5
and spending a short time (6–10 minutes) in the
consultation waiting room.5
The continuity indicator that was associated with
satisfaction was having the same family doctor over
an extended period.5–10
The length-of-consultation indicators (or the
patient’s perception of the duration) showed a direct
association with increased satisfaction i.e. the longer
the clinical visit the greater the patient satisfaction.11–13
Short consultations classified by the author as ‘with
high technical medical efficiency’ seemed to be related
to poor communication and patient dissatisfaction.14
Citizens are more satisfied with the doctor who
appears warm, friendly and with a reassuring manner,15
who is confident16,17
and provides patient-centred
care,18,19
who shows an interest in the patient’s concerns
and expectations,19
who discusses the health problem,
who provides a clear explanation of the diagnosis and
prognosis and who shares the treatment decision
with the patient.19
Greater satisfaction occurs when
the patient has the perception of being listened to, of
being treated with respect, humanely and as fairly as
others.19
An overall personal patient–doctor relation-
ship increased the odds of the patient being satisfied
with the consultation.7
There was no support for the
hypothesis that GPs’ task-relevant patient-centred
behaviour would predict patient enablement as well
as satisfaction.12
Physicians who held patient-centred
Potentially relevant papers identified and
screened for retrieval
(n = 356)
Papers excluded because they lack analysis
based on primary data (n = 16)
Papers retrieved for more detailed evaluation
(n = 339)
Papers excluded because they lack the
assessment of even one component of
Family Medicine (n =296)
Papers excluded because the indicators of
evaluation were not health, user
satisfaction or costs (n = 24)
Papers included in the analysis
(n = 20)
FIGURE 1 Progress through the stages of article selection
in the literature search
Page 2 of 9 Family Practice—an international journal
5. beliefs regarding power and information-sharing were
rated no more positively on measures of satistaction.20
Table 3 summarizes the studies identified that had
shown an association between FM attributes and
health-outcome indicators.
An association was observed between the continuity
of care, such as having the same family doctor over a
protracted period of time,5,6,8,10
and better health indic-
ators. The patients attended to by the same doctor
presented with less back pain, less infarcts, less liver
pathologies and less stomach ulcers.21
Similarly, the
doctors with longer continuity are better able to manage
acute and chronic problems such as psychosocial
problems, to pay more attention to diet and weight
fluctuations, to smoking cessation, to vaccination,
lipid profiles, blood pressure and alcohol consumption.9
Having the same health care provider was related, as
well, to more effective implementation of appropriate
preventative activities resulting in a reduction in mor-
bidity and mortality.21
Patients with longer continuity
had fewer hospitalizations, fewer days in intensive
care, shorter hospital stays and lower percentage of
emergency hospitalizations.6,10
Associations were found between the length of con-
sultation appointment and the health dimension. When
the period of consultation time was >10 minutes, those
patients with diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular dis-
ease achieved better control.8
The doctors who pro-
vided longer consultation time identified and treated
more chronic problems and psychosocial disorders.
They achieved greater patient compliance with treat-
ment recommendations for specific disorders (blood
pressure and dysuria), they provided more active and
passive advice, implemented more preventive measures
to promote better health, prescribed less drugs and pro-
vided better evidenced-based quality of treatment.13
Perceived health improvement was based on
confidence in the doctor,17
integrated care, detailed
physical examination, good communication and know-
ledge of the patient.13
Patient adherence to treatment
was related to greater empathy with the doctor who had
a more detailed knowledge of the patient and to those
patients who evidenced a greater reliance on their
doctor.13
The health status of the patient improved
when the doctor provided a clear diagnosis, positively
transmitted the prognosis and treatment, and paid
TABLE 2 Relationship between attributes of FM and satisfaction of the citizen
Attributes References Indicators
Accessibility Bower5
GPAS questionnaire* (indicators of accessibility: waiting-list time for an appointment with a specific
doctor, or any doctor; waiting time spent in the consulting room5
Continuity Bower5
GPAS questionnaire (indicator of continuity; to be cared-for by the same doctor over an extended
period of time)5
Sturmberg9
Indicators of continuity in the process (index of modified continuity) and of continuity in the outcomes
(acute problems, chronic, prevention and psychosocial9
Campbell8
Questionnaire on accessibility, continuity, interpersonal relationship and care8
Hjortdahl7
Questionnaire to evaluate the influence of continuity of care on patient satisfaction7
Cabana10
Systematic review, indicators to determine the effect of continuity of care on the quality of patient care10
Wasson6
Indicators of continuity on the process and outcomes of the medical care6
Consultation time Campbell8
Questionnaire on accessibility, continuity, quality of care to chronic pathologies and application of
preventive activities8
Wilson13
Indicators of capacity for resolution, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, patient care and health13
Cape11
Questionnaire on health status (General Health Questionnaire), satisfaction and estimation of the
consultation lenght11
Goedhuys14
Quality of communication (MAAS-global Questionnaire), satisfaction (EVA-PAT Questionnaire) and
consultation time14
Mead12
Videotaped, questionnaire on satisfaction (CSQ), questionnaire on enablement (PEI)12
Doctor–patient
relationship
Goedhuys14
Recording of the visit, quality of communication (MAAS-global Questionnaire), QVRS, SF-36 and
indicators of resolution capacity14
Di Blasi15
Indicators on cognitive aspects of the consultation, emotional aspects of care, health status, use of health
services, satisfaction, treatment expectations, treatment compliance and doctor–patient relationship15
Tarrant17
Confidence, communication, interpersonal relationship, knowledge and GPAS* questionnaire17
Safran13
PCAS Questionnaire (including structural and organizational factors and quality of doctor–patient
interaction)13
Krupat20
PPOS questionnaire including: confidence in the doctor, satisfaction with the clinical care, and evaluation
of the doctor, post-visit20
Stewart18
Patient-centred communication (recorded interview and perception of the patient) quality of life
(CVRS and SF-36) and resolution capacity18
Little19
Questions on satisfaction, communication, personal relationship, awareness of the problem and interest in
the effect of the problem on personal and family quality of life19
Hjortdahl7
Questionnaire to evaluate the influence of continuity of care on patient satisfaction7
Mead12
Videotaped, questionnaire on satisfaction (CSQ), questionnaire on enablement (PEI)12
Outcomes of family medicine attributes Page 5 of 9
6. attention to the cognitive and emotional aspects of
the patient.15
When the patient and doctor had
shared beliefs, there was an increase in the patient’s
confidence in the professional health care provider,
the patient was more likely to recommend the service
to other potential patients, and the doctor’s advice was
more likely to be adhered to.20
When the consultation
was patient centred, there was a quicker recovery
from the disease and a greater health-status improve-
ment.18,19
A recent review reported positive results on the
effect of care coordination on health care outcomes
such as appropriate use of health services. In contrast,
studies that examined health outcomes alone tended
to report mixed results.22
Implementation of preventive measures was directly
related to health. Mortality and morbidity rates were
reduced with the following intervention measures: pre-
scribing aspirin to persons with high cardiovascular risk;
controlling blood pressure; providing anti-smoking
advice; treating cardiac insufficiency with angiotensin
converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors; prescribing statins
for primary and secondary hyperlipidaemias; pre-
scribing oral anti-coagulants for atrial fibrillation and
immunizing against influenza, pneumonia and tetanus.23
Table 4 summarizes the relationships between the attri-
butes of primary care and the costs. Having the same
family doctor over a long period of time was associated
with lower costs.10,21
Continuity was associated with
decreased total annual health care expenditure.10
Continuity of care was related to indirect indicators
of efficiency such as fewer hospital days, fewer intensive
care days, shorter hospital stays and lower percentages
of emergency hospitalizations.6,10
Continuity of care
was associated with reduction in resource utilization
and of costs.24
Longer consultation time was associated with
indirect indicators of efficiency. Doctors who spend
more time in the consultation process appear to pre-
scribe less and with more evidence-based treatment.13
A short consultation, with a high level of technical
efficiency, can be very productive but with poor patient
satisfaction.14
The review by McColl et al.23
analysed the cost-
effectiveness of different preventative measures and
concluded that the most cost-effective treatments
were in the control of hypertension, in the use of statins
for patients with high cardiovascular disease risk, and in
the use of oral anti-coagulants for patients with atrial
fibrillation and those having stroke risk-factors. Other
strategies were, possibly, cost-effective as well. These
included aspirin for patients with high risk of coronary
artery or cerebro-vascular events, anti-tobacco advice
for smokers, statins in patients with low risk of coronary
TABLE 3 Relationship of attributes of FM and health outcomes
Attributes References Indicators
Continuity Sturmberg24
Indicators of continuity of the process (index of modified continuity) and of continuity in the outcomes
(acute problems, chronic, prevention and psychosocial problems24
Hartley21
PCAS Questionnaire (including factors of structure, organization and quality of doctor–patients
interaction), preventive advice and detection of health problems21
Cabana10
Wasson6
Systematic review, indicators to determine the effect of continuity of care on the quality of patient care10
Indicators of continuity on the process and outcomes of the medical care6
Coordinated Care Stille29
Review, indicators to determine the effect of coordinated care on the quality of patient care and health
outcomes29
Consultation time Campbell8
Questionnaire on accessibility, continuity, interpersonal attention8
Wilson13
Indicators of resolution capacity, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, attention to client and to health13
Cape11
Questionnaire on health status, satisfaction and estimation of consultation time11
Goedhuys14
Quality of communication (MAAS-global Questionnaire), satisfaction (EVA-PAT Questionnaire) and
consultation time14
Doctor–patient
relationship
Di Blasi15
Indicators on cognitive aspects of the consultation, emotional aspects of the care, health status,
use of health care services, satisfaction, treatment expectation, treatment compliance and
doctor–patient relationship15
Tarrant17
Confidence, communication, interpersonal relationship, knowledge and GPAS questionnaire17
Safran13
PCAS questionnaire and questions on adherence, satisfaction and health status13
Krupat20
PPOS questionnaire that includes: confidence in the doctor, satisfaction with the consultation and
evaluation of the doctor post-visit20
Stewart18
Communication centred on the patient (recorded interview and perception of the patient), quality of life
(CVRS and SF-36) and resolution capacity18
Little19
Questions on satisfaction, communication, personal relationship, awareness of the problem and interest in
the effect of the problem of personal and family quality of life19
Preventive activities McColl23
Mortality theoretically avoided, mortality avoided, additional mortality avoided, reduction in relative
risk, reduction in absolute risk, NNT, number and proportion of persons eligible for each intervention
among 100 000 citizens, number of deaths prevented if 100% of the population received the intervention23
Page 6 of 9 Family Practice—an international journal
7. artery disease and vaccination against the influenza
virus in those >65 years of age.23
Indirectly, patient-
centred consultation appeared to be efficient because
it decreased the number of referrals and diagnostic
tests.18,19
A good interpersonal relationship between
doctors and patients was associated with less referrals
to the specialist.19
Short consultations appeared to be
more productive, although there appeared to be an
inverse correlation between the consultation time and
the level of patient–doctor communication.14
Discussion
This review obtained evidence of associations between
FM attributes and the outcomes of health care as meas-
ured by patient satisfaction, improvements in health
and of costs. User satisfaction was related to continuity
of care, consultation time and doctor–patient relation-
ship. Accessibility, continuity of care, consultation time,
patient–doctor relationship and the preventive health
care activities were associated with improvements in
the level of population health. The coordination of
care has mixed results with respect to health outcomes.
Continuity, consultation time, doctor–patient com-
munication and preventive health care activities were
cost-effective in the primary care setting.
These results highlight that the core values of FM
stated in the new definition of WONCA relied on an
empirical ratification. An effective family doctor is
one who follows up the patient over the greater
part of his life and who is accessible in the initial
phase of his patient’s every new health problem. This
leads to a relationship of understanding and confidence
that encourages the patient to adopt an active and
responsible attitude towards his own health. The family
doctor takes the time to listen and understand the
patient, to apply scientific medicine, to anticipate the
pathology and to maximize the benefit of this close
relationship with the patient in providing preventive
measures appropriate for patient’s specific needs.
It is important to highlight that this classical figure of
the family practitioner not only satisfies the patient
but has positive effects on health, as well. A group of
experts gathered under the auspices of the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation25
observed that despite
people expressing a preference for a personal family
physician (who is aware of the individual’s clinical
history and who appreciates the patient as a person)
the family doctors in the United States are, currently,
not fulfilling this commitment to the patient. The
expert panel stated that this was the central point of
the crisis in FM in some countries, particularly the
USA. The profession is a caring one, and one which
has tremendous difficulties in fulfilling the natural
hopes and aspirations of the patients but which should,
indeed, define the profession.26
It seems surprising that only a limited number of
papers dealt with evaluating the core attributes of
FM. It was not our aim to review the whole literature
on FM attributes. We restricted the selection criteria
in order to fulfil our specific research objective. We
rejected papers presenting comparisons of the care
provided by FM doctors to patient groups compared
with other specialists if, in the article, it was not
possible to identify which attribute FM was being
evaluated. Other papers assessing key aspects of pri-
mary care nursing or other health care professionals
were also rejected even if they were evaluating attrib-
utes that were similar to those of FM.
TABLE 4 Relationship of attributes of FM and of costs
Attributes References Indicators
Continuity Hartley21
PCAS Questionnaire (including factors of structure, organization and quality of doctor–patient
interaction), advice on prevention and detection of health problems21
Cabana 10
Systematic review, indicators to determine the effect of continuity of care on the quality of patient care10
Wasson6
Indicators of continuity on the process and outcomes of the medical care6
Raddish24
Indicators of health care utilization and costs (number of prescriptions, number of hospital admissions,
the number of outpatient visits)24
Consultation time Wilson13
Indicators of resolution capacity, effectiveness, efficiency, accessibility, attention to client, and of health13
Goedhuys14
Quality of communication (MAAS-global Questionnaire), satisfaction (EVA-PAT Questionnaire)
and consultation time14
Doctor–patient
relationship
Goedhuys14
Quality of communication (MAAS-global Questionnaire), satisfaction (EVA-PAT Questionnaire)
and consultation time14
Stewart18
Communication centred on the patient(recorded interview and perception of the patient), quality of life
(CVRS and SF-36) and resolution capacity18
Little19
Questions on satisfaction, communication, personal relationship, awareness of problems and interest in
the effects of the problem on personal and family quality of life19
Preventive activities McColl23
Mortality theoretically avoidable, mortality avoided, additional mortality avoidable, relative reduction of
risk, absolute reduction of risk, NNT, number and proportion of eligible persons for each intervention
among 100 000 citizens, number of preventable deaths if 100% of the population received the
intervention23
Outcomes of family medicine attributes Page 7 of 9
8. A possible limitation of the present study could
be that not all the relevant papers on the topic had
been identified. As stated in the Methods section, the
literature search was performed on the main electronic
databases. However, it is possible that there have
been some relevant studies containing additional
information but published in non-indexed journals.
Table 1 shows that there is an evident publication bias
in favour of English-speaking countries. This limits the
acquisition of evidence and jeopardizes the external
validity of the results of this literature review. Also,
the observed associations may not exist in other cultural
environments, or in health service organizations with
health-provision structures that are different from the
National Health Systems of most Western developed
countries.
We included every study identified in the literature
search irrespective if they had been included in one of
the four systematic reviews included in the present
study i.e. the purpose of our study was not to pool
patients from different studies but to conduct a literat-
ure review aimed at presenting all the published
information currently available on the theme of FM
attributes and patient outcomes.
Clinical trials and cohort studies offer good evidence
on the causal relationship between continuity of care
and health improvement, satisfaction and costs. Our
systematic review of randomized controlled trials and
of a cohort study offers good evidence that patient-
centred care improves health outcomes and efficiency.
The majority of studies included in the present analysis
only evaluated associations between variables; because
most were observational cross-sectional studies they
were not able to propose causal relationships. We
observed, for example, that doctors who provided
longer consultations and better continuity of care
achieved higher user satisfaction and more improve-
ments in patient health. However, the design of these
studies does not allow us to assume that by merely
increasing the time per consultation and the continuity
of care provided by the family physician we would
automatically result in improvement in the patient’s
satisfaction or in the patient health status.
Physician performance is being profiled increasingly
in the United States in order to provide performance
data to the public and to make routinely collected data
available to health care purchasers and regulators.3
Spain22,27
and many other countries are likely to follow
suit. The six essential attributes of the PHC that are
related to outcomes must drive the way we evaluate
and organize our services and pay the salaries of
the professional health care providers if we wish to
maximize the impact of the clinical care provided in
primary care settings. Management policies that used
only FM services for cost-containment purposes have
not only damaged the image of the family doctor but
have underused a powerful professional who could
contribute to improving user satisfaction as well as
the overall health of the citizen. Conversely, applying
organizational models that strengthen the attributes
we have identified would induce progressive improve-
ments in health care outcomes.
A recent sceptical editorial pointed out that ‘‘if
primary care has anything at all to do with improving
a person’s health, then its contribution to that end will
be measurable’’28
. The present study shows that this
relevant field of research already exists with respect
to FM but, given the available evidence is limited,
more research is warranted. Attributes are core values
of FM, but more evidence linking the intuitively valu-
able results to improvements in health care outcomes is
needed so as to demonstrate its value to policymakers
and to the paymasters who are a central part of a
rational health care system.
More prospective analytical studies whose design
would help to overcome the mere associations of
variables are needed if we are to establish a causality
of relationship between FM attributes and outcomes.
It is necessary as well to unify the definitions of
FM attributes since variations in the concepts of the
attributes as well as in the evaluation of indicators
make it difficult to make international comparisons
and also impedes meta-analyses. Definitions of
FM attributes need to be better defined for future
studies.
Policy makers and health care managers need to
conduct evidenced-based evaluations of primary care
services and to make the findings known to the public
as well as to the other health care professionals.
Performance indicators of family practitioners need
to be based on the attributes that have been identified
as having an association with health outcomes, user
satisfaction and costs; especially those that have an
impact on the patient’s health. To facilitate its
implementation, cost-effective evaluation systems
need to be developed to assess these dimensions effi-
ciently and which can then be applied in monitoring
primary care services. Aspects such as the doctor–
patient relationship, consultation time and clinical-
care continuity merit special attention.
Acknowledgements
The study was funded, in part, by a grant from the
Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS #PI021762).
Financial help with manuscript preparation was from
the Fundacı´o Jordi Gol i Gurina. Editorial assistance
was by Dr Peter R. Turner of t-SciMed (Reus, Spain).
References
1
WONCA Europe. The European Definition of General Practice/
Family Medicine. WONCA Europe 2002. http://www.
woncaeurope.org/Publications.htm
Page 8 of 9 Family Practice—an international journal
9. 2
Olesen F, Dickinson J, Hjortdahl P. General practice—time for
a new definition. Br Med J 2000; 320: 354–357.
3
Goldfield N, Gnani S, Majeed A. Primary care in the United States.
Profiling performance in primary care in the United States.
Br Med J. 2003; 326: 744–747.
4
Starfield B. Is primary care essential? Lancet 1994; 344: 1129–1133.
5
Bower P, Roland M, Campbell J, Mead N. Setting standards
based on patients’ views on access and continuity: secondary
analysis of data from the general practice assessment survey.
Br Med J 2003; 326: 258–260.
6
Wasson JH, Sauvigne AE, Mogielnicki RP et al. Continuity of
outpatient medical care in elderly men. A randomised trial.
JAMA 1984; 252: 2413–2417.
7
Hjortdahl P, Laerum P. Continuity of care in general practice:
effect on patient satisfaction. Br Med J 1992; 304:
1287–1290.
8
Campbell SM, Hann M, Hacker J, Burns C, Oliver D, Thapar A.
Identifying predictors of high quality care in English
general practice: observational study. Br Med J 2001; 323:
784–787.
9
Sturmberg J, Schattner P. Personal doctoring. Its impact on
continuity of care as measured by the comprehensiveness of
care score. Aust Fam Physician 2001; 30: 513–518.
10
Cabana MD, Jee SH. Does continuity of care improve patient
outcomes? J Fam Pract 2004; 53: 974–980.
11
Cape J. Consultation length, patient-estimated consultation length,
and satisfaction with the consultation. Br J Gen Pract 2002; 52:
1004–1006.
12
Mead N, Bower P, Hann M. The impact of general practitioners’
patient-centeredness on patients’ post-consultation satisfac-
tion and enablement. Soc Sci Med 2002; 55: 283–299.
13
Wilson A, Childs S. The relationship between consultation length,
process and outcomes in general practice: a systematic review.
Br J Gen Pract 2002; 52: 1012–1020.
14
Goedhuys J, Rethans J-J. On the relationship between the effi-
ciency and the quality of the consultation. A validity study.
Fam Pract 2001; 18: 592–596.
15
Di Blasi Z, Harkness E, Ernst E, Georgiou A, Kleijnen J. Influence
of context effects on health outcomes: a systematic review.
Lancet 2001; 357: 757–762.
16
Safran DJ, Taira D, Rogers W, Kosinski M, Ware J, Tarlov A.
Linking primary care performance to outcomes of care.
J Fam Pract 1998; 47: 213–220.
17
Tarrant C, Stokes T, Baker R. Factors associated with patients’
trust in their general practitioner: a cross-sectional survey.
Br J Gen Pract 2003; 53: 789–800.
18
Stewart M, Brown JB, Donner A, McWhinney I, Oates J, Weston
W. The impact of patient-centered care on outcomes. J Fam
Pract 2000; 49: 796–804.
19
Little P, Everitt H, Williamson I et al. Observational study of effect
of patient centredness and positive approach on outcomes of
general practice consultations. Br Med J 2001; 323: 908–911.
20
Krupat E, Bell R, Kravitz R, Thom D, Azari R. When physicians
and patients think alike: patient-centered beliefs and their
impact on satisfaction and trust. J Fam Pract 2001; 50: 1057–1062.
21
Hartley LA. Examination of primary care characteristics in a
community-based clinic. J Nurs Scholarsh 2002; 34: 377–382.
22
Lanier D, Roland M, Burstin H, Knottnerus JA. Doctor perform-
ance and public accountability. Lancet 2003; 362: 1404–1407.
23
McColl A, Roderick P, Gabbay J, Smith H, Moore M. Performance
indicators for primary care groups: an evidence based
approach. Br Med J 1998; 317: 1354–1360.
24
Raddish M, Horn SD, Sharkey PD. Continuity of care: is it cost
effective? Am J Manag Care 1999; 5: 727–734.
25
Safran DJ. Defining the future of primary care: what can we learn
from patients? Ann Intern Med 2003; 138: 248–255.
26
Sox HC. The Future of primary care. Ann Intern Med 2003; 138:
230–232.
27
Gene´-Badia J, Gallo de Puelles P. Retribucio´n variable vinculada
a la calidad asistencial. Aten Primaria 2004; 34: 98–104.
28
Lancet (2003), Is primary care research a lost cause? Lancet 2003;
361: 977 (Editorial).
29
Stille J, Jerant A, Bell D, Meltzer D, Elmore J. Coordinating care
across diseases, settings, and clinicians: a key role for the
generalist in practice. Ann Intern Med 2005; 142: 700–708.
Outcomes of family medicine attributes Page 9 of 9