Here is the slideset I presented at the 2nd International Conference on Business Analytic and Intelligence (ICBAI). The intent behind the paper/presentation was to bring out awareness on AE analysis and present status of AE data in india. Certainly there are huge potential benefit/insights out of this data if the base is set well. Private health care institutions can reap the benefit (Both financial and patient care) if they invest to define the system for their use.
Freyr provides pharmacovigilance solutions and services including case management, medical review, safety reporting, literature screening, and signal detection. They offer end-to-end pharmacovigilance processes from data collection through reporting to regulatory authorities. Freyr prides itself on quality, reliability, and regulatory compliance with over 99% adherence to deadlines and improved accuracy rates through lean processes.
Safti net overview ahrq stakeholders mtg oct 2011Marion Sills
This document outlines the SAFTINet project, which aims to build an infrastructure for comparative effectiveness research using distributed healthcare data. The project will create four patient cohorts to study how healthcare delivery system factors relate to outcomes for conditions like asthma, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. Challenges include linking variables measured at different levels like organization, practice, provider and patient. Methods like hierarchical models are proposed to account for this multilevel structure.
RAND Corporation Study Demonstrates Hospital EfficiencySara Libin
The RAND Corporation study found that combining information technology with lean management principles helped Health First, a hospital system in Florida, significantly improve patient flow and increase efficiency over three years. Using TeleTracking's data-driven operational software, Health First reduced wait times for patients to be moved from the emergency room to a hospital bed by over a third, increased total admissions by 27%, and improved adult transfers by over 300%. Key factors in Health First's success were the use of real-time data by hospital staff to identify issues and continual process improvements led by front-line managers. The researchers concluded centralized, data-driven management of referrals, admissions, and bed turnover as adopted by Health First helped streamline processes and increase capacity across its
SITIST 2015 Dev - Turning big data into presicion medicine real life examplessitist
Big data in healthcare comes from a variety of sources and formats including clinical trials, patient records, medical literature, genomic data, and medical imaging. This large volume of data presents challenges to make it accessible and usable. SAP offers platforms and solutions to unlock the value in healthcare big data by enabling precision medicine through analyzing diverse clinical and genomic data sources. Examples include SAP's partnership with ASCO on the CancerLinQ project to link oncology data and improve cancer treatment, and SAP Medical Research Insights deployed at the National Center for Tumor Diseases in Heidelberg, Germany.
Registries are important tools for managing patient data in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The document discusses how ACO registries are used to identify patient populations, stratify patients by risk and quality, and support care coordination through tools like dashboards and predictive analytics. Key requirements for ACO registries include using standardized quality measures, incorporating near real-time data from various sources like EHRs and claims, and having a centralized place to share best practices in data management to support population health in this new care model.
CancerLinQ aims to harness big data to improve cancer care by learning from every patient. It faces challenges of integrating diverse data types from genomics to behaviors. Its goals are precision, personalized medicine through molecular profiling of individual cancers. As clinical trials enroll few patients, CancerLinQ would provide real-world data from electronic health records to uncover new insights. When deployed, it will analyze de-identified patient records to uncover care patterns, allow comparing care to guidelines and peers, and provide evidence-based guidance. This has the potential to improve outcomes for patients and quality for providers and researchers.
Here is the slideset I presented at the 2nd International Conference on Business Analytic and Intelligence (ICBAI). The intent behind the paper/presentation was to bring out awareness on AE analysis and present status of AE data in india. Certainly there are huge potential benefit/insights out of this data if the base is set well. Private health care institutions can reap the benefit (Both financial and patient care) if they invest to define the system for their use.
Freyr provides pharmacovigilance solutions and services including case management, medical review, safety reporting, literature screening, and signal detection. They offer end-to-end pharmacovigilance processes from data collection through reporting to regulatory authorities. Freyr prides itself on quality, reliability, and regulatory compliance with over 99% adherence to deadlines and improved accuracy rates through lean processes.
Safti net overview ahrq stakeholders mtg oct 2011Marion Sills
This document outlines the SAFTINet project, which aims to build an infrastructure for comparative effectiveness research using distributed healthcare data. The project will create four patient cohorts to study how healthcare delivery system factors relate to outcomes for conditions like asthma, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. Challenges include linking variables measured at different levels like organization, practice, provider and patient. Methods like hierarchical models are proposed to account for this multilevel structure.
RAND Corporation Study Demonstrates Hospital EfficiencySara Libin
The RAND Corporation study found that combining information technology with lean management principles helped Health First, a hospital system in Florida, significantly improve patient flow and increase efficiency over three years. Using TeleTracking's data-driven operational software, Health First reduced wait times for patients to be moved from the emergency room to a hospital bed by over a third, increased total admissions by 27%, and improved adult transfers by over 300%. Key factors in Health First's success were the use of real-time data by hospital staff to identify issues and continual process improvements led by front-line managers. The researchers concluded centralized, data-driven management of referrals, admissions, and bed turnover as adopted by Health First helped streamline processes and increase capacity across its
SITIST 2015 Dev - Turning big data into presicion medicine real life examplessitist
Big data in healthcare comes from a variety of sources and formats including clinical trials, patient records, medical literature, genomic data, and medical imaging. This large volume of data presents challenges to make it accessible and usable. SAP offers platforms and solutions to unlock the value in healthcare big data by enabling precision medicine through analyzing diverse clinical and genomic data sources. Examples include SAP's partnership with ASCO on the CancerLinQ project to link oncology data and improve cancer treatment, and SAP Medical Research Insights deployed at the National Center for Tumor Diseases in Heidelberg, Germany.
Registries are important tools for managing patient data in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The document discusses how ACO registries are used to identify patient populations, stratify patients by risk and quality, and support care coordination through tools like dashboards and predictive analytics. Key requirements for ACO registries include using standardized quality measures, incorporating near real-time data from various sources like EHRs and claims, and having a centralized place to share best practices in data management to support population health in this new care model.
CancerLinQ aims to harness big data to improve cancer care by learning from every patient. It faces challenges of integrating diverse data types from genomics to behaviors. Its goals are precision, personalized medicine through molecular profiling of individual cancers. As clinical trials enroll few patients, CancerLinQ would provide real-world data from electronic health records to uncover new insights. When deployed, it will analyze de-identified patient records to uncover care patterns, allow comparing care to guidelines and peers, and provide evidence-based guidance. This has the potential to improve outcomes for patients and quality for providers and researchers.
Closing the Loop in Healthcare Analytics - Correlating Clinical and Administrative Systems with Research Efforts to Deliver Clinical Efficiency in Real Time
The document discusses the CDC's LabHIT program which aims to facilitate laboratory test ordering and reporting in electronic health records. The program develops and disseminates standardized terminology and code sets to support clinical data capture and interoperability. It also works with various stakeholders to engage in terminology development, promote semantic interoperability, and ensure usability and patient safety. The long-term goal is a single national reference database for recommended vocabulary sets to achieve full-scale interoperability for laboratory data.
Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) From OctalsoftOctal Soft
OctalSoft, A premium name for clinical trial software solutions. We offer global Clinical Trial Management System Solution that enables global CROs maintain a centralized clinical trial database providing users with the most relevant and up to date information based on their specific roles & responsibilities. An ideal CTMS software for increased efficiency & quicker operations.
Visit : http://www.octalsoft.com/clinical-trial-solutions/ctms-solutions/ to know more and ask for Demo of our CTMS Solution.
Direct Boot Camp 2 0 Federal Agency requirements for exchange via directBrian Ahier
The FHA Directed Exchange Workgroup provides updates on efforts to increase the adoption of Direct for health information exchange between federal agencies and non-federal entities. They are educating federal partners on Direct technology and policies, developing common understanding of use cases and security requirements, and identifying baseline documents and FAQs. Establishing a common federal Direct policy would greatly increase its adoption for information exchange. Focused workgroups address Directed exchange, security, and interoperability issues. Risks to Directed exchange between agencies are being identified and recommendations will be provided to ONC.
This document summarizes research on best practices in digital social media for hospitals and health systems. The research assessed the social media presence of over 2,400 hospitals on five dimensions: accessibility, content, marketing, technology, and usability. Scores on each dimension ranged from 0-10, with higher scores indicating better performance. On average, hospitals scored highest on content (6.49) and lowest on technology (4.43). The results imply that a strong, well-designed social media presence is important as it may be patients' first interaction with a facility and influence decisions. Hospitals should standardize website information quality and address accessibility, compliance, and search engine optimization.
This document summarizes key points from the 4th International RHINO Workshop held in Guanajuato, Mexico in March 2010. It discusses the achievements of the Health Metrics Network (HMN) Framework for strengthening country health information systems, including its global acceptance and adoption by organizations. It emphasizes that a robust health information system (RHIS) is critical for driving health system strengthening efforts. The document also stresses the importance of data architecture and making the business case for investing in RHIS by providing examples of how RHIS has saved both lives and money in different countries.
Clinical data is the most valuable asset to pharmaceutical companies as it serves as the basis for approval and marketing of new drugs. Clinical data is collected from various sources like clinical trial sites, laboratories, and subjects. It is important to manage clinical data carefully to minimize errors and ensure data quality. Clinical data management systems are used to store clinical trial data gathered at sites and help researchers analyze the data while maintaining accuracy and security. These systems employ features like double data entry, coding standards, and metadata repositories to organize data for regulatory submissions and clinical research.
Software system “Database on pharmacovigilance and medicinal products DSBase”, which includes more than 20 software modules, is a solution for building centralized pharmacovigilance system of regulatory authority, corporation or group of pharmaceutical companies Applicants (Marketing authorization holders) and its representative offices in other countries. Database access is carried out from any device through the web browser. There is a possibility of joint work of several Applicants in one system, which allows centralizing pharmacovigilance functions to corporation and integrating with its external systems and other business processes: drug registration, quality control, etc.
Integrated coverage of pharmacovigilance procedures, such as drug register maintenance, collection and analysis of ADR reports, according to international ICH-E2B standard (ICH – International Conference on Harmonization), sending ADR reports to the Global database WHO VigiFlow, automated detection and maintenance of Signals, instructions for medicinal products usage maintenance, Periodic Safety Update Report (PSUR) maintenance, Pharmacovigilance System Master File maintenance, Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) maintenance, formation of various statistic and analytic reports are main primary advantages of DSBase database and male it complete system of management in the range of pharmacovigilance.
For the purpose of terminology unit and information encoding, DSBase database uses following classifiers – MedDRA (Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities), ICD-10 – international statistical classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th edition), INN – dictionary of international non-proprietary name, ATX – anatomical therapeutic chemical classification system of medicinal products, classifiers of measurements unit, rout of drugs administration, events seriousness, dictionary of organizations sources of records, qualification level of notifier, level of cause-effect relations between adverse reaction and medicinal product etc.
It is implemented convenient maintainability of electronic documents in the system and linked with each other in the chain for the purposes of documentary securing of the pharmacovigilance processes, documents archive maintenance and their quick searching.
This document summarizes different types of health record systems and data analysis approaches. It discusses patient identification systems, record filing and storage methods, master patient indexes, record tracking and retention policies. It also describes different types of data sets and indexes that can be used for analysis, such as facility-specific indexes, disease indexes, and registers that collect targeted information on specific patient groups.
Presentation: Data Integrity – an international regulatory perspectiveTGA Australia
This presentation will provide an overview of the international regulatory perspective on data integrity and discuss some of the key points highlighted in recently released guidance documents from across the globe.
Free medicines are available through the pharmaceutical companies’ Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs), which may be accessed for individual prescriptions using The Pharmacy Connection (TPC) software or through a bulk replacement / Institutional PAP. Learn about Rx Partnership, Virginia’s innovative bulk replacement program.
VistA, the Veterans Affairs electronic health record system, has potential for use in research by allowing researchers to reuse existing clinical data, collect additional data within the system, and store all research data in a centralized integrated system. Methods for extracting data from VistA include the Mumps Data Extractor and Cache Shadowing utilities, which can export data to SQL for analysis in other programs. Examples of studies that have utilized VistA data include those examining demographics, medical diagnoses, interventions, and health outcomes.
Why Do Federally Qualified Health Centers Need A Referral Management Software...GaryRichards30
Federally Qualified Health Centers are using an EMR/EHR system to manage patient records. EMR/EHR system is good but are they built to manage patient referrals? How can a patient referral management software work in cohesion?
Cortellis for Clinical Trials Intelligence provides powerful resources to accelerate clinical trial development decisions and portfolio strategy. It allows users to leverage clinical trial information integrated with other scientific and competitive intelligence to accelerate a wide variety of strategic clinical development decisions. The platform provides over 130,000 global clinical trials from over 20,000 sources, with dynamic visual analytic tools that reduce time spent analyzing information to support fact-based decision making.
The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulate laboratory testing and require clinical laboratories to be certificated by their state as well as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) before they can accept human samples for diagnostic testing.
1. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. CVD is the leading cause of death in CKD patients.
2. Lipid abnormalities are common in CKD and contribute to increased CVD risk. Statins are generally safe and effective for lowering lipid levels in CKD, and may help slow CKD progression as well as reduce proteinuria.
3. Other lipid lowering agents like fibrates and omega-3 fatty acids may benefit CKD patients, especially those with high triglyceride levels, but require monitoring for side effects. Multiple clinical trials are exploring optimal treatment strategies for dyslipidemia in CKD.
Closing the Loop in Healthcare Analytics - Correlating Clinical and Administrative Systems with Research Efforts to Deliver Clinical Efficiency in Real Time
The document discusses the CDC's LabHIT program which aims to facilitate laboratory test ordering and reporting in electronic health records. The program develops and disseminates standardized terminology and code sets to support clinical data capture and interoperability. It also works with various stakeholders to engage in terminology development, promote semantic interoperability, and ensure usability and patient safety. The long-term goal is a single national reference database for recommended vocabulary sets to achieve full-scale interoperability for laboratory data.
Clinical Trial Management System (CTMS) From OctalsoftOctal Soft
OctalSoft, A premium name for clinical trial software solutions. We offer global Clinical Trial Management System Solution that enables global CROs maintain a centralized clinical trial database providing users with the most relevant and up to date information based on their specific roles & responsibilities. An ideal CTMS software for increased efficiency & quicker operations.
Visit : http://www.octalsoft.com/clinical-trial-solutions/ctms-solutions/ to know more and ask for Demo of our CTMS Solution.
Direct Boot Camp 2 0 Federal Agency requirements for exchange via directBrian Ahier
The FHA Directed Exchange Workgroup provides updates on efforts to increase the adoption of Direct for health information exchange between federal agencies and non-federal entities. They are educating federal partners on Direct technology and policies, developing common understanding of use cases and security requirements, and identifying baseline documents and FAQs. Establishing a common federal Direct policy would greatly increase its adoption for information exchange. Focused workgroups address Directed exchange, security, and interoperability issues. Risks to Directed exchange between agencies are being identified and recommendations will be provided to ONC.
This document summarizes research on best practices in digital social media for hospitals and health systems. The research assessed the social media presence of over 2,400 hospitals on five dimensions: accessibility, content, marketing, technology, and usability. Scores on each dimension ranged from 0-10, with higher scores indicating better performance. On average, hospitals scored highest on content (6.49) and lowest on technology (4.43). The results imply that a strong, well-designed social media presence is important as it may be patients' first interaction with a facility and influence decisions. Hospitals should standardize website information quality and address accessibility, compliance, and search engine optimization.
This document summarizes key points from the 4th International RHINO Workshop held in Guanajuato, Mexico in March 2010. It discusses the achievements of the Health Metrics Network (HMN) Framework for strengthening country health information systems, including its global acceptance and adoption by organizations. It emphasizes that a robust health information system (RHIS) is critical for driving health system strengthening efforts. The document also stresses the importance of data architecture and making the business case for investing in RHIS by providing examples of how RHIS has saved both lives and money in different countries.
Clinical data is the most valuable asset to pharmaceutical companies as it serves as the basis for approval and marketing of new drugs. Clinical data is collected from various sources like clinical trial sites, laboratories, and subjects. It is important to manage clinical data carefully to minimize errors and ensure data quality. Clinical data management systems are used to store clinical trial data gathered at sites and help researchers analyze the data while maintaining accuracy and security. These systems employ features like double data entry, coding standards, and metadata repositories to organize data for regulatory submissions and clinical research.
Software system “Database on pharmacovigilance and medicinal products DSBase”, which includes more than 20 software modules, is a solution for building centralized pharmacovigilance system of regulatory authority, corporation or group of pharmaceutical companies Applicants (Marketing authorization holders) and its representative offices in other countries. Database access is carried out from any device through the web browser. There is a possibility of joint work of several Applicants in one system, which allows centralizing pharmacovigilance functions to corporation and integrating with its external systems and other business processes: drug registration, quality control, etc.
Integrated coverage of pharmacovigilance procedures, such as drug register maintenance, collection and analysis of ADR reports, according to international ICH-E2B standard (ICH – International Conference on Harmonization), sending ADR reports to the Global database WHO VigiFlow, automated detection and maintenance of Signals, instructions for medicinal products usage maintenance, Periodic Safety Update Report (PSUR) maintenance, Pharmacovigilance System Master File maintenance, Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) maintenance, formation of various statistic and analytic reports are main primary advantages of DSBase database and male it complete system of management in the range of pharmacovigilance.
For the purpose of terminology unit and information encoding, DSBase database uses following classifiers – MedDRA (Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities), ICD-10 – international statistical classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th edition), INN – dictionary of international non-proprietary name, ATX – anatomical therapeutic chemical classification system of medicinal products, classifiers of measurements unit, rout of drugs administration, events seriousness, dictionary of organizations sources of records, qualification level of notifier, level of cause-effect relations between adverse reaction and medicinal product etc.
It is implemented convenient maintainability of electronic documents in the system and linked with each other in the chain for the purposes of documentary securing of the pharmacovigilance processes, documents archive maintenance and their quick searching.
This document summarizes different types of health record systems and data analysis approaches. It discusses patient identification systems, record filing and storage methods, master patient indexes, record tracking and retention policies. It also describes different types of data sets and indexes that can be used for analysis, such as facility-specific indexes, disease indexes, and registers that collect targeted information on specific patient groups.
Presentation: Data Integrity – an international regulatory perspectiveTGA Australia
This presentation will provide an overview of the international regulatory perspective on data integrity and discuss some of the key points highlighted in recently released guidance documents from across the globe.
Free medicines are available through the pharmaceutical companies’ Patient Assistance Programs (PAPs), which may be accessed for individual prescriptions using The Pharmacy Connection (TPC) software or through a bulk replacement / Institutional PAP. Learn about Rx Partnership, Virginia’s innovative bulk replacement program.
VistA, the Veterans Affairs electronic health record system, has potential for use in research by allowing researchers to reuse existing clinical data, collect additional data within the system, and store all research data in a centralized integrated system. Methods for extracting data from VistA include the Mumps Data Extractor and Cache Shadowing utilities, which can export data to SQL for analysis in other programs. Examples of studies that have utilized VistA data include those examining demographics, medical diagnoses, interventions, and health outcomes.
Why Do Federally Qualified Health Centers Need A Referral Management Software...GaryRichards30
Federally Qualified Health Centers are using an EMR/EHR system to manage patient records. EMR/EHR system is good but are they built to manage patient referrals? How can a patient referral management software work in cohesion?
Cortellis for Clinical Trials Intelligence provides powerful resources to accelerate clinical trial development decisions and portfolio strategy. It allows users to leverage clinical trial information integrated with other scientific and competitive intelligence to accelerate a wide variety of strategic clinical development decisions. The platform provides over 130,000 global clinical trials from over 20,000 sources, with dynamic visual analytic tools that reduce time spent analyzing information to support fact-based decision making.
The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) regulate laboratory testing and require clinical laboratories to be certificated by their state as well as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) before they can accept human samples for diagnostic testing.
1. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. CVD is the leading cause of death in CKD patients.
2. Lipid abnormalities are common in CKD and contribute to increased CVD risk. Statins are generally safe and effective for lowering lipid levels in CKD, and may help slow CKD progression as well as reduce proteinuria.
3. Other lipid lowering agents like fibrates and omega-3 fatty acids may benefit CKD patients, especially those with high triglyceride levels, but require monitoring for side effects. Multiple clinical trials are exploring optimal treatment strategies for dyslipidemia in CKD.
This document reports on a study that assessed outcomes of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) for symptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD) patients. It provides details on:
1) Baseline characteristics and outcomes of 138 PAD patients who underwent PTA, finding higher mortality risks for older patients and those with higher creatinine levels.
2) One-year follow-up outcomes for the patients, including 84% survival rate, 15% recurrence of limb symptoms, and treatment approaches for recurrence.
3) Recommendations for a standardized reporting template to evaluate outcomes of peripheral vascular interventions.
This document discusses the anatomy and physiology of the atrioventricular node and bundle of His, which conduct electrical impulses from the atria to the ventricles. It describes the types of atrioventricular block including first, second, and third degree block. It also discusses electrocardiographic features used to diagnose different types of AV block and lists potential causes of AV conduction disturbances. Pacing is identified as the main treatment for symptomatic AV block.
Differential diagnosis of swellings of head & neckSaleh Bakry
This document provides a differential diagnosis for various types of head and neck swellings that may be encountered during clinical examination. It discusses the steps that should be taken to properly identify and characterize lesions, including health history, examination of the lesion, radiographic examination, and biopsy if needed. Numerous potential diagnoses are provided for different locations of swellings including midline, lateral neck, pericoronal, periapical, interradicular, multilocular, and solitary lesions. Specific cysts, tumors, and other conditions are outlined depending on factors such as patient age, lesion location and characteristics.
The document discusses the basics of electrocardiography (EKG/ECG). It defines what an EKG is and explains that it represents the electrical activity of the heart over time. The EKG is an important diagnostic tool that can be used to detect arrhythmias, ischemia, infarction, and other cardiac conditions. It describes how EKG leads are positioned and the standard features that are analyzed on an EKG such as the P, QRS, and T waves. It provides the 10 rules for determining a normal EKG tracing and explains how to calculate heart rate from an EKG.
1) Bradyarrhythmias include sinus bradycardia, junctional rhythm, sinoatrial block, and atrioventricular block which can be first, second, or third degree.
2) Tachyarrhythmias include ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, atrial fibrillation, AV nodal reentrant tachycardia, and atrial tachycardia. Narrow complex tachycardias require analyzing the P waves and PR and RP intervals to determine the mechanism.
3) Different arrhythmias are caused by abnormalities in impulse conduction through the heart or abnormal automaticity in the sinoatrial node or elsewhere. Diagnosis requires interpreting the rhythm on
This document defines and describes various types of cardiac arrhythmias. It begins by defining arrhythmia as an irregular heartbeat that can be too fast or too slow. It then describes specific arrhythmias like bradycardia, tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, and torsades de pointes. For each type of arrhythmia, it provides information on heart rate, P wave presence and morphology, QRS width and morphology, conduction, rhythm, underlying causes, and potential treatments. The document also discusses cardiac action potentials, conduction, and the mechanisms that can cause arrhythmias like enhanced pacemaker activity, afterdepolarizations, and reentry.
This document from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center provides information on omega-3 fatty acids. It defines omega-3 fatty acids and describes their main types: ALA, EPA, and DHA. Sources of each type are outlined. The roles of DHA in visual development and EPA/DHA in cardiovascular health are summarized. Studies on omega-3's relationships to coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, inflammatory diseases, depression and other conditions are highlighted at a high level.
This document provides an overview of various tools and concepts related to data quality management models. It discusses key aspects of data quality including accuracy, accessibility, comprehensiveness, consistency, currency, definition, granularity, precision, relevancy, and timeliness. Specific quality management tools are also outlined, such as check sheets, control charts, Pareto charts, and scatter plots. Examples are given for how these data quality principles and tools apply across different domains like healthcare records and data warehousing.
What is Medical Auditing? How it can be Performed?Jessica Parker
Medical auditing entails conducting internal or external reviews of coding accuracy, policies, and procedures to ensure you are running an efficient and hopefully liability-free operation. Quality health care is based on accurate and complete clinical documentation in the medical record. The best way to improve your clinical documentation and the livelihood of your health care organization is through medical record audits.
Technology Considerations to Enable the Risk-Based Monitoring Methodologywww.datatrak.com
TransCelerate BioPharma Inc developed a methodology based on the notion that shifting monitoring processes from an excessive concentration on source data verification to comprehensive risk-driven monitoring will increase efficiencies and enhance patient
safety and data integrity while maintaining adherence to good clinical practice regulations. This philosophical shift in monitoring processes employs the addition of centralized and off-site mechanisms to monitor important trial parameters holistically, and it uses adaptive on-site monitoring to further support site processes, subject safety, and data quality. The main tenet is to use available data to monitor, assess, and mitigate the overall risk associated with clinical trials. Having the right technology is critical to collect and aggregate data, provide analytical capabilities, and track issues to demonstrate that a thorough quality management framework is in place. This paper lays out the high-level considerations when designing and building an integrated technology solution that will aid in scaling the methodology across an organization’s portfolio.
The REQueST tool was developed to evaluate patient registries for their suitability for health technology assessment. It contains sections on methodological information, essential standards, and additional requirements. While many aspects of registries are considered, the tool focuses on those most relevant to outcomes assessment. Key items include ensuring objectives define proper data collection and address HTA questions, outcomes are clearly defined and aligned with data standards, and analysis considers confounding factors and data cleaning. The tool allows assessment agencies to consistently evaluate registries and supports registry holders in designing robust outcomes data collection.
This document provides information about quality management system models, including definitions of key terms, tools and strategies for quality management. It discusses data quality management and measurement, and the importance of data governance in healthcare. Quality management tools described include check sheets, control charts, Pareto charts, scatter plots, and Ishikawa diagrams. The document emphasizes the role of accurate, high-quality data and the need for rigorous data quality practices in healthcare.
This document provides information about quality management models and tools. It discusses data quality management and measurement, and the importance of data governance in healthcare. It also outlines several common quality management tools used in healthcare including check sheets, control charts, Pareto charts, scatter plots, and Ishikawa diagrams.
The document discusses the AHIMA data quality management model. It provides definitions for data quality management and data quality measurement. The model aims to ensure integrity of healthcare data during collection, use, storage and analysis. It addresses challenges from initiatives like EHR adoption, ICD-10 implementation, and quality reporting. The model evaluates data quality across collection, application, warehousing and analysis. HIM professionals can use the model and its assessment tools to improve data governance and take on expanded roles in healthcare data management.
This document provides an overview of clinical data management processes. It discusses the goals of clinical data management which are to provide high-quality, accurate data through processes like case report form design, data entry, validation, and coding. It describes some commonly used clinical data management software and standards/guidelines like 21 CFR Part 11 and SCDM's Good Clinical Data Management Practices. The document is a project report submitted by students to fulfill requirements for a degree at Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.
A crucial stage in clinical research is clinical data management CDM , which produces high quality, reliable, and statistically sound data from clinical trials. This results in a significantly shorter period of time between drug development and marketing. Team members of CDM are laboriously involved in all stages of clinical trials right from commencement to completion. They should be able to sustain the quality standards set by CDM processes by having sufficient process expertise. colorful procedures in CDM including Case Report Form CRF designing, CRF reflection, database designing, data entry, data confirmation, distinction operation, medical coding, data birth, and database locking are assessed for quality at regular intervals during a trial. In the present script, theres an increased demand to ameliorate the CDM norms to meet the nonsupervisory conditions and stay ahead of the competition by means of brisk commercialization of products. With the perpetration of nonsupervisory biddable data operation tools, the CDM platoon can meet these demands. also, its getting obligatory for companies to submit the data electronically. CDM professionals should meet applicable prospects and set norms for data quality and also have the drive to acclimatize to the fleetly changing technology. This composition highlights the processes involved and provides the anthology an overview of the tools and norms espoused as well as the places and liabilities in CDM. Syed Shahnawaz Quadri | Syeda Saniya Ifteqar | Syed Shafa Raoof "Data Management in Clinical Research" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-7 | Issue-2 , April 2023, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com.com/papers/ijtsrd55050.pdf Paper URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com.com/pharmacy/other/55050/data-management-in-clinical-research/syed-shahnawaz-quadri
This presentation provides guidance on good data and record management practices from the World Health Organization (WHO). It emphasizes that data supporting regulatory decisions must be complete, accurate, legible, contemporaneous, original, and attributable. Senior management should ensure effective data governance programs are in place to manage data integrity risks across the data lifecycle. Quality metrics can help identify risks and opportunities for improvement in data reliability.
This document discusses data mining applications in healthcare. It describes how data mining can be used by payers to detect fraud, by physicians to identify effective treatments, and by hospitals to predict patient readmissions. It outlines the standard CRISP-DM process for data mining and discusses challenges like data accuracy and interoperability. Examples of data mining techniques discussed include classification, regression, clustering, and association rule mining. The document recommends using SAS software for its advanced analytics capabilities and applicability to use cases like fraud detection and predicting patient risks and treatment effectiveness.
Defining a Central Monitoring Capability: Sharing the Experience of TransCele...www.datatrak.com
Central monitoring, on-site monitoring, and off-site monitoring provide an integrated approach to clinical trial quality management. TransCelerate distinguishes central monitoring from other types of central data review activities and puts it in the context of an overall monitoring strategy. Any organization seeking to implement central monitoring will need people with the right skills, technology options that support a holistic review of study-related information, and adaptable processes. There are different approaches actively being used to implement central monitoring. This article provides a description of how companies are deploying central monitoring, as well as samples of the workflows that illustrate how some have implemented it. The desired outcomes include earlier, more predictive detection of quality issues. This paper describes the initial implementation steps designed to learn what organizational capabilities are necessary.
The document discusses compliance and accounts receivable risk areas for skilled nursing facilities. It identifies five main risk areas for bad debt and lost revenue: bad debt, compliance issues, inefficiencies and waste, cash flow problems, and theft. It also provides tips for minimizing these risks through best practices in admissions, compliance processes, personnel management, billing and collection standards, and oversight and monitoring.
Data Management and Analysis in Clinical Trialsijtsrd
Data management and analysis play a critical role in the successful conduct of clinical trials. Proper collection, validation, and handling of data are essential for ensuring the reliability and integrity of study findings. Data management involves the design and implementation of data capture tools, such as electronic case report forms eCRFs, to efficiently collect and store clinical data. Additionally, data analysis is a crucial step that involves applying statistical methods to extract meaningful insights from the collected data. This paper provides an overview of the key components of data management and analysis in clinical trials, highlighting the importance of adherence to data standards, ensuring data quality, and maintaining data security. Effective data management and analysis not only lead to robust study outcomes but also contribute to the overall advancement of medical knowledge and patient care. S. Reddemma | Chetana Menda | Manoj Kumar "Data Management and Analysis in Clinical Trials" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-7 | Issue-4, August 2023, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd59667.pdf Paper Url:https://www.ijtsrd.com/pharmacy/pharmacology-/59667/data-management-and-analysis-in-clinical-trials/s-reddemma
The document discusses healthcare analytics and data management. It begins by outlining the typical evolution of data collection, sharing, and analysis that occurs in industries. It then discusses key principles for healthcare analytics including regularly evaluating goals, measures, and how to achieve them. The remainder of the document discusses challenges around data binding, governance, and adoption models for healthcare analytics. It emphasizes the importance of analytics for return on investment and outlines strategic options and considerations for healthcare organizations evaluating their analytic capabilities.
While Healthcare 1.0 was broadly defined by a focus on defensive medicine, billing, and fee-for-service, culminating in the mass adoption of EMRs, Healthcare 2.0 is a new wave focused on improving clinical efficiency, quality of care, affordability, and fee-for-value; culminating in a new age of healthcare analytics. This new age of analytics will require a new set of organizational skills and a foundational set of analytic information systems that many executives have not anticipated.
Join Dale Sanders, a 20-year healthcare CIO veteran and the industry's leading analytics expert, as he discusses his lessons learned, best practices in analytics, and what the C-level suite needs to know about this topic, now. Listen to Dale discuss 1) A step-by-step curriculum for analytic adoption and maturity in healthcare organizations, 2) the basic approach to a late-binding data warehouse, 3) pros and cons of early versus late binding, 4) the volatility in vocabulary and business rules in healthcare, 5) how to engineer your data to accommodate volatility in the future
- EHR audit logs track access and changes to electronic health records and can help detect fraud and abuse, but many CMS contractors have not fully utilized audit logs for program integrity efforts.
- The OIG recommends that CMS provide guidance to contractors on reviewing EHR documentation and signatures, and to direct contractors to review providers' audit logs as part of medical reviews.
- Providers should proactively manage their audit logs by developing policies on usage, storage, and configuration management to ensure availability for reviews, and by regularly analyzing logs to detect vulnerabilities before contractors.
This document summarizes a presentation on clinical data capture from third parties like CROs and AROs. It discusses:
1) Considerations for developing business and technical requirements for capturing consistent clinical trial payment data across different business units and systems. This includes establishing data formats and processes.
2) Using a centralized CRO data capture system to consolidate clinical trial site payment data from various sources into a single system for reporting, validating data, and monitoring CRO reporting compliance.
3) Challenges in capturing clinical payments from third parties and best practices like creating a centralized customer master to track spend across organizations.
Data collection and reporting of key performance indicatorskiran
This document provides guidance on measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) through clinical audits. It discusses the importance of KPIs for assessing healthcare system effectiveness and efficiency. The key steps outlined are: planning data collection, ensuring data quality, analyzing data against criteria, and interpreting results using charts and graphs. Proper data collection, such as defining data items and sources, and using valid tools and methods is essential for drawing meaningful conclusions from clinical audits and identifying areas for improvement. Presenting results clearly supports effective decision-making and quality improvement initiatives.
Parna Das' paper discusses hospital information systems. It begins with an introduction explaining that hospital information systems are used to manage patient data and hospital operations. It then covers objectives like centralized patient management; functions like online appointments and payments; hardware and software requirements; and classifications by functional area and management level. The paper references sources on hospital information systems and acknowledges help from teachers.
Clopidogrel is a pro-drug that requires hepatic metabolism to become active. It is a cornerstone of treatment for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) as dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin. The CURE trial showed clopidogrel plus aspirin reduces cardiovascular events in ACS patients compared to aspirin alone. Later trials like CREDO found clopidogrel reduces events in patients post-percutaneous coronary intervention compared to aspirin. Newer P2Y12 inhibitors like prasugrel and ticagrelor are more effective at preventing ischemia but with increased bleeding risk. De-escalating dual antiplatelet therapy from newer drugs to clopidogrel appears safe and effective.
new treatment option in refractory angina with no Coronary artery intervention possibility.
coronary sinus reducer device implantation.
new technique left subclavian vein approach
A 21-year-old male presented with progressive dyspnea, exercise intolerance, weakness, cough, chest pain, and syncopal attacks. Clinical examination revealed an irregular heart rate of 40 bpm and a muffled heart sound. ECG showed sinus bradycardia with junctional escape rhythm. Echocardiogram found mild apical hypokinesia and diastolic dysfunction. Cardiac MRI based on Lake Louise Criteria was consistent with myocarditis showing increased T2 signal and focal delayed enhancement. The patient was treated with anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, and colchicine but required a permanent pacemaker due to complete heart block.
mono-therapy vs. combination therapy in hypertensionAhmed Taha
Initial combination therapy is superior to sequential mono-therapy for treating hypertension. Combination therapy controls blood pressure faster by acting on multiple mechanisms, reducing complications by 40-54%. Combinations have greater efficacy, improve adherence, and have protective effects beyond blood pressure lowering like anti-inflammatory and metabolic benefits. Clinical trials show combination therapy achieves better blood pressure control rates and lowers cardiovascular events compared to mono-therapy. Therefore, guidelines recommend starting treatment for hypertension with initial combination therapy.
This document discusses research design and data collection for statistical studies. It defines different study types including observational and interventional studies. Key aspects of research design covered include developing research questions, determining the appropriate study design, and selecting appropriate statistical tests. Specific study designs like randomized controlled trials and observational studies are described. The document also addresses topics like variables, sample size calculations, and representing data summaries.
Innovations in Atrial fibrillation managementAhmed Taha
- The document discusses recent innovations in the management of atrial fibrillation (AF), including developments in understanding pathophysiology, therapeutic rhythm control techniques, and thromboembolic risk prevention.
- Upstream therapies aim to prevent structural remodeling and newer drugs target specific remodeling pathways. Novel antiarrhythmic drugs selectively target ion channels predominant in atria.
- Catheter ablation techniques utilize improved visualization methods and new energy modes for more precise pulmonary vein isolation. Advances in substrate mapping aim to identify rotor drivers in persistent AF.
- Left atrial appendage occlusion devices and exclusion techniques are used to manage thromboembolic risk when anticoagulation is not suitable. Individualized treatment strategies incorporating these innovations
updates in Hypertension according to ESC guidelines 2013Ahmed Taha
This document summarizes updates to hypertension guidelines from 2013. It discusses special conditions related to hypertension like heart disease, sexual dysfunction, and resistant hypertension. It also discusses the relationship between hypertension and conditions like coronary artery disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, left ventricular hypertrophy, carotid atherosclerosis, arterial stiffness, and peripheral artery disease. Treatment approaches for conditions like renovascular hypertension, primary aldosteronism, and perioperative hypertension are covered. The importance of treating lipid levels and other risk factors in hypertension patients is emphasized.
Pacing in special conditions 2013 guidelines Ahmed Taha
this is the new guidelines 2013 for pacing in special conditions like AMI , congenital heart diseases , hereditary diseases and HOCM , pregnancy and algorithm for ATP
This document discusses the case of a 23-year-old male patient who presented with dyspnea and chest pain. After extensive testing and examination, he was diagnosed with transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (TTR-CM), a rare hereditary form of amyloidosis. The document compares TTR-CM to other types of amyloidosis and discusses the patient's family history, treatment options, and prognosis. Tissue Doppler imaging and biopsy were important for confirming the diagnosis. While rare, this case demonstrates that TTR-CM can still occur and requires an integrated approach to diagnose.
1. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. CVD is the leading cause of death in CKD patients.
2. Lipid abnormalities are common in CKD and contribute to increased CVD risk. Statins are generally safe and effective for lowering lipid levels in CKD, and may help slow CKD progression as well as reduce proteinuria.
3. Other lipid lowering agents like fibrates and omega-3 fatty acids may benefit CKD patients, especially those with high triglyceride levels, but require monitoring for side effects. New drugs continue to be studied to provide more comprehensive cardioprotection for those with CKD.
This case report describes a 60-year-old female patient who presented with shortness of breath, cough, fever, weight loss, and bone pain. Clinical examination found edema, diminished breath sounds, dullness on chest percussion, and bony tenderness. Imaging showed pleural and pericardial effusions, thickening, and osteolytic bone lesions. Laboratory tests found anemia, elevated inflammatory markers, and monoclonal gammopathy. Differential diagnoses considered included multiple myeloma, tuberculosis, and malignancy. Further testing of plasma proteins found monoclonal gammopathy, supporting a diagnosis of multiple myeloma with polyserositis.
Muktapishti is a traditional Ayurvedic preparation made from Shoditha Mukta (Purified Pearl), is believed to help regulate thyroid function and reduce symptoms of hyperthyroidism due to its cooling and balancing properties. Clinical evidence on its efficacy remains limited, necessitating further research to validate its therapeutic benefits.
Local Advanced Lung Cancer: Artificial Intelligence, Synergetics, Complex Sys...Oleg Kshivets
Overall life span (LS) was 1671.7±1721.6 days and cumulative 5YS reached 62.4%, 10 years – 50.4%, 20 years – 44.6%. 94 LCP lived more than 5 years without cancer (LS=2958.6±1723.6 days), 22 – more than 10 years (LS=5571±1841.8 days). 67 LCP died because of LC (LS=471.9±344 days). AT significantly improved 5YS (68% vs. 53.7%) (P=0.028 by log-rank test). Cox modeling displayed that 5YS of LCP significantly depended on: N0-N12, T3-4, blood cell circuit, cell ratio factors (ratio between cancer cells-CC and blood cells subpopulations), LC cell dynamics, recalcification time, heparin tolerance, prothrombin index, protein, AT, procedure type (P=0.000-0.031). Neural networks, genetic algorithm selection and bootstrap simulation revealed relationships between 5YS and N0-12 (rank=1), thrombocytes/CC (rank=2), segmented neutrophils/CC (3), eosinophils/CC (4), erythrocytes/CC (5), healthy cells/CC (6), lymphocytes/CC (7), stick neutrophils/CC (8), leucocytes/CC (9), monocytes/CC (10). Correct prediction of 5YS was 100% by neural networks computing (error=0.000; area under ROC curve=1.0).
Integrating Ayurveda into Parkinson’s Management: A Holistic ApproachAyurveda ForAll
Explore the benefits of combining Ayurveda with conventional Parkinson's treatments. Learn how a holistic approach can manage symptoms, enhance well-being, and balance body energies. Discover the steps to safely integrate Ayurvedic practices into your Parkinson’s care plan, including expert guidance on diet, herbal remedies, and lifestyle modifications.
Here is the updated list of Top Best Ayurvedic medicine for Gas and Indigestion and those are Gas-O-Go Syp for Dyspepsia | Lavizyme Syrup for Acidity | Yumzyme Hepatoprotective Capsules etc
Basavarajeeyam is an important text for ayurvedic physician belonging to andhra pradehs. It is a popular compendium in various parts of our country as well as in andhra pradesh. The content of the text was presented in sanskrit and telugu language (Bilingual). One of the most famous book in ayurvedic pharmaceutics and therapeutics. This book contains 25 chapters called as prakaranas. Many rasaoushadis were explained, pioneer of dhatu druti, nadi pareeksha, mutra pareeksha etc. Belongs to the period of 15-16 century. New diseases like upadamsha, phiranga rogas are explained.
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
share - Lions, tigers, AI and health misinformation, oh my!.pptxTina Purnat
• Pitfalls and pivots needed to use AI effectively in public health
• Evidence-based strategies to address health misinformation effectively
• Building trust with communities online and offline
• Equipping health professionals to address questions, concerns and health misinformation
• Assessing risk and mitigating harm from adverse health narratives in communities, health workforce and health system
Adhd Medication Shortage Uk - trinexpharmacy.comreignlana06
The UK is currently facing a Adhd Medication Shortage Uk, which has left many patients and their families grappling with uncertainty and frustration. ADHD, or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, is a chronic condition that requires consistent medication to manage effectively. This shortage has highlighted the critical role these medications play in the daily lives of those affected by ADHD. Contact : +1 (747) 209 – 3649 E-mail : sales@trinexpharmacy.com
These lecture slides, by Dr Sidra Arshad, offer a quick overview of the physiological basis of a normal electrocardiogram.
Learning objectives:
1. Define an electrocardiogram (ECG) and electrocardiography
2. Describe how dipoles generated by the heart produce the waveforms of the ECG
3. Describe the components of a normal electrocardiogram of a typical bipolar lead (limb II)
4. Differentiate between intervals and segments
5. Enlist some common indications for obtaining an ECG
6. Describe the flow of current around the heart during the cardiac cycle
7. Discuss the placement and polarity of the leads of electrocardiograph
8. Describe the normal electrocardiograms recorded from the limb leads and explain the physiological basis of the different records that are obtained
9. Define mean electrical vector (axis) of the heart and give the normal range
10. Define the mean QRS vector
11. Describe the axes of leads (hexagonal reference system)
12. Comprehend the vectorial analysis of the normal ECG
13. Determine the mean electrical axis of the ventricular QRS and appreciate the mean axis deviation
14. Explain the concepts of current of injury, J point, and their significance
Study Resources:
1. Chapter 11, Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, 14th edition
2. Chapter 9, Human Physiology - From Cells to Systems, Lauralee Sherwood, 9th edition
3. Chapter 29, Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology, 26th edition
4. Electrocardiogram, StatPearls - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK549803/
5. ECG in Medical Practice by ABM Abdullah, 4th edition
6. Chapter 3, Cardiology Explained, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2214/
7. ECG Basics, http://www.nataliescasebook.com/tag/e-c-g-basics
1. The Medical Registry Ahmed Hassouna, MD. Diploma of Medical Statistics & Clinical Trials, Paris 6 University.
2. The medical registry is a database of clearly defined set of health and demographic data of identifiable persons that are collected mainly to serve a specific public health purpose. www.statistics-for-clinicians.com
3. A- Implementation plan Development of a timeline, actual and expected registry size in the next (n) years. Plan necessary hardware and software, training of personnel and development of a quality control system. Test our plan through a pilot phase with sufficient cases and time to detect problems in all the phases of the registry. www.statistics-for-clinicians.com
4. B- Adequate documentation 1- Personal: The organization chart: staff, advisory board and consultants. 2- Processing and equipment: Data processing procedures, and hardware and software manuals. 3- Patients: Inclusion and/or exclusion criteria. Sources. Confidentiality guidelines. 4- Data Definitions and coding. Flow chart of data collection, editing, entry and analysis. Access procedures and reporting to relevant authorities. www.statistics-for-clinicians.com
5. C- Quality control procedures Completeness and validity: The aim of any registry is to be complete so as to include all cases in the target population and to be valid for all subgroups of patients. Validity has to be checked with the reliable independent sources of health authority and expressed as the percentage of agreement between registry data and those sources. Rules of quality assurance: 1- have to be built-in from the start, 2- with an assigned responsible at each point, 3- pre-defined standards and procedures for evaluation, 4- action / correction procedures and, 5- feed back loop to inform data handlers. www.statistics-for-clinicians.com
6. Inclusion and exclusion criteria have to be clear and unambiguous so that people involved in case-finding will make consistent decisions about inclusion across the range of potential cases that arise. As example, specifying test values or laboratory results as an inclusion criterion rather than a diagnosis. Ascertainment is the method(s) used to locate persons to be included in the registry. We should identify: a) its sources, b) whether it will be active or passive or some combination of the two and, c) method of enforcementof reporting cases:by request, legislative mandate or better by administrative rules directed by legislative mandate. www.statistics-for-clinicians.com
7. The clearness of the purpose of registry ensures that all but only necessary data are collected since the start, knowing that changing data collection with time creates confusion and bias in data sets. A golden advise is to keep data collection as simple as possible to reduce effort and cost, maximize compliance and later on, to reduce the time taken to incorporate these data into the system. Plan linkage with other registries and information systems by being in conformity with definition of data elements to avoid wasting effort in recoding, reformatting and merging. Remember that coding of categorical variables is a source of big bias. www.statistics-for-clinicians.com
8. This is the part that consumes the major portion of resources. It represents the key area to maintain data quality and hence, has to be correctly and clearly defined, implemented and verified. Data are either abstracted from a health provider's records or directly collected through forms to reduce time, cost and especially errors. a pilot phase allows re-truncation of abstracted records and permits checking the representativeness of forms to the information in question. www.statistics-for-clinicians.com
9. The analyzed registry findings have to be fitted in reports that fulfill the goals of the registry, and We have to have a policy and a mechanism on how those reports are disseminated to relevant audiences so as to satisfy the purpose of the registry. Accessto registry data and maintaining confidentiality are related and not necessarily conflicting issues and we have to have a clear policy and mechanism of responding to requests coming from non-authorized sectors. www.statistics-for-clinicians.com