TMLT risk management staff conduct on-site practice reviews to help physicians determine and address their medical liability risks. In 2016, risk managers reviewed more than 2,000 physician practices, and gave the following 10 recommendations most frequently.
The TMLT claims and risk management departments have seen an alarming increase in the number of claims filed related to Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE) following bariatric surgery. Physicians who round on patients could be subjected to litigation if they do not order labs checking thiamine levels when a patient who has recently undergone bariatric or gastric surgery exhibits symptoms detailed in this risk alert. Specialties included in these claims are general surgery, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and gastroenterology.
Nursing tool used in a medsurg environment to detect early changes in patient conditions monitoring temperature, respirations level of consciousness and oxygen level
TMLT risk management staff conduct on-site practice reviews to help physicians determine and address their medical liability risks. In 2016, risk managers reviewed more than 2,000 physician practices, and gave the following 10 recommendations most frequently.
The TMLT claims and risk management departments have seen an alarming increase in the number of claims filed related to Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE) following bariatric surgery. Physicians who round on patients could be subjected to litigation if they do not order labs checking thiamine levels when a patient who has recently undergone bariatric or gastric surgery exhibits symptoms detailed in this risk alert. Specialties included in these claims are general surgery, emergency medicine, internal medicine, and gastroenterology.
Nursing tool used in a medsurg environment to detect early changes in patient conditions monitoring temperature, respirations level of consciousness and oxygen level
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
introduced guidelines for prescribing opioids to chronic pain
patients. These guidelines apply to physicians treating patients
outside the context of cancer, palliative, and end-of-life care. The
goal of the guidelines was to reduce the number of people who
misuse or abuse opioids, while still ensuring that patients have
access to safe and effective treatment for chronic pain.
The Power of Pulse Oximetry to Identify Risk of Pre-Eclampsia: Beth PayneLeith Greenslade
Pre-eclampsia causes significant death and disability for pregnant women with potential complications for newborns. Beth Payne from the University of British Columbia describes a new application of pulse oximetry to identify the pregnant women most at risk of preeclampsia to prevent adverse outcomes.
The Power of Pulse Oximetry to Improve Post-Discharge Survival: Matthew Wiens Leith Greenslade
Pulse oximetry is a tool with multiple applications that could improve diagnosis, treatment and ultimately survival rates among children under 5 in low resource settings. Matthew Wiens from the University of British Columbia describes the power of pulse oximetry to identify and manage children most at risk following discharge from hospital.
In 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
introduced guidelines for prescribing opioids to chronic pain
patients. These guidelines apply to physicians treating patients
outside the context of cancer, palliative, and end-of-life care. The
goal of the guidelines was to reduce the number of people who
misuse or abuse opioids, while still ensuring that patients have
access to safe and effective treatment for chronic pain.
The Power of Pulse Oximetry to Identify Risk of Pre-Eclampsia: Beth PayneLeith Greenslade
Pre-eclampsia causes significant death and disability for pregnant women with potential complications for newborns. Beth Payne from the University of British Columbia describes a new application of pulse oximetry to identify the pregnant women most at risk of preeclampsia to prevent adverse outcomes.
The Power of Pulse Oximetry to Improve Post-Discharge Survival: Matthew Wiens Leith Greenslade
Pulse oximetry is a tool with multiple applications that could improve diagnosis, treatment and ultimately survival rates among children under 5 in low resource settings. Matthew Wiens from the University of British Columbia describes the power of pulse oximetry to identify and manage children most at risk following discharge from hospital.
A Mobile-Phone Tele-Medicine System That Promotes Self-Management of Blood Pr...IJERA Editor
The current practice adopted by hypertensive patients in managing hypertension is making frequent visits to a health center as recommended by medical specialists. However, very few patients adhere to this practice as it is time consuming and tiresome especially if they have to travel for long distances to have their BP checked. This practice is also not practical for critically-ill patients. Consequently, most patients neglect BP check-ups and therefore focus on medication alone. This puts the patients’ at risk as uncontrolled BP can lead to fatal complications. The overall objective of this research was to design, develop and pilot-test a mobile telemedicine system that helps patients’ to self-manage their BP condition from the comfort of their homes. Participatory action research design was used in this study. Testing for performance, usability and utilityof the tele-medicine system was conducted.
NTI 2015 Day 1: Managing Drug Diversion, Non-Invasive Monitoring, Improving R...MD Buyline
Learn about the top trends from NTI 2015 Day 1 including three presentations that highlight the great work that can be achieved by empowering nursing staff to utilize various technologies through nurse-driven protocols and interventions; from the leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions, MD Buyline.
For the full article, visit http://www.mdbuyline.com/research-library/articles/top-trends-nti-2015-day-1/.
Comparisonof Clinical Diagnoses versus Computerized Test Diagnoses Using the ...Nelson Hendler
The Diagnostic Paradigm from www.MarylandClinicalDiagnostics.com was able to help the former Dean of Los Angeles Chiropractic College detect medical diagnoses which he had overlooked, and he later confirmed.
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...
Support and education for CPAP patients can improve compliance.
1. Support and education for CPAP patients can improve
compliance.
MONTREAL -- The dismal compliance of sleep apnea patients with
continuous positive airway pressure treatment could be significantly
improved with simple measures such as education and support, according
to several experts.
"We need to advise, educate, and empower these patients,"
said Dr. Philip Westbrook at the Eighth World Congress on Sleep Apnea.
"They need to know how to treat their illness, they need the tools
to monitor their treatment, and they need to be aware of the risks
associated with their disease," he said.
A study presented elsewhere at the meeting showed that
patients' 5% annual dropout rate from continuous positive airway
pressure (CPAP) therapy was mostly the result of the equipment being
noisy and cumbersome.
Out of the 221 patients who were initially prescribed CPAP, 35%
refused treatment, and 41% of those who initiated treatment discontinued
it over the 8-year follow-up.
"What's the use of having a thousand-dollar machine
sitting in the closet when all it takes is a nurse or a respiratory
2. technician to say the reason it's not working is because of the
wrong mask or because the pressure is too high?" said Dr. T.
Douglas Bradley, of the University of Toronto.
Dr. Bradley was principal investigator of the CANPAP trial, which
studied the effects of CPAP on cardiovascular function and mortality in
heart failure patients with central sleep apnea (N. Engl. J. Med.
2005;353:2025-33). The trial achieved an 85% CPAP compliance rate,
partly because of "the zeal of the investigators," he said at
the meeting.
"It's a question of how much energy you put into
it," Dr. Bradley said in an interview. "It's one thing to
say, 'Here's the CPAP machine, see you later.' But
it's another thing to say, 'I'm going to see you in a
3. week from now, I am going to phone you to make sure you're using it
properly, I'm going to download your compliance, and I'm going
to make you feel guilty if you don't use it.' If you do that,
you get very good compliance."
Arming patients with information about their condition and its
treatment can empower them to take responsibility for it, Dr. Bradley
said, and that's the best recipe for compliance with therapy.
In addition to simple tools such as bathroom scales and blood
pressure cuffs that allow patients to monitor their own progress, he
also believes in more complex tools. "I can imagine a CPAP machine
that gives the patient feedback. We have focused on systems that give
the sleep specialist information on how the patient is doing, but then
the patient has to learn from the sleep specialist."
Machines that provide patients with information about their average
pressure, time on the machine, mask leakage, and their respiratory
disturbance index for the past night or the past week will all encourage
patient involvement, he suggested. Such machines also might allow
patients to alter the pressure themselves.
Patients should be provided with vital information about the risks
associated with their disease, in particular the potentially lethal
effects of opioids, said Dr. Westbrook, who is retired from clinical
practice and serves as chief medical officer for Advanced Brain
4. Monitoring Inc., which markets a home-based diagnostic device for sleep
apnea patients.
In addition, all physicians dealing with sleep apnea patients
should be given details of both the diagnosis and treatment--and spouses
should also have this information in case of an emergency, he added.
Patients should bring their CPAP machines to the hospital if they
are being admitted, especially if they are scheduled
for a procedure
that involves general anesthesia, sedation, or pain
relief medication,
Dr. Westbrook said.
Patients also should be aware that alcohol, smoking,
sleeping
pills, being overweight, and sleeping at high altitudes
can all worsen
the effects of sleep apnea, and that the sleep deprivation resulting
from their condition could make driving and operating machinery
dangerous. And patients should be checked annually for diabetes and
hypertension, both of which are more common in people who have sleep
apnea, he explained.