Relational continuity of care in community pharmacy: A systematic review

Relational continuity of care (COC) is becoming an important concept related to improving healthcare quality, reducing medical costs and increasing patient satisfaction with primary care. While community pharmacy (CP) has a considerable role in primary care, there are few reports dedicated to the role of relational COC in CP. This study reviewed the existing evidence of relational COC in CP and its effect on patients. PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library CENTRAL and Google Scholar were used to search for relevant studies from the date of database inception through to January 2021, which were appraised according to eligibility criteria. There were no limitations on the primary outcome or language. Case reports and studies without control groups were excluded. The Newcastle–Ottawa quality assessment scale was used to assess the quality of the studies. Database searches identified 13 records. Relational COC measures in the included studies were grouped in three kinds; pharmacy-visiting pattern, Continuity of Care Index and loyalty. The assessed outcomes were medication adherence behaviour (e.g., the proportion of days covered, medication possession ratio), adverse drug reactions, potentially inappropriate drug prescribing and clinical outcomes. The odds of patients adhering to their medication regimen were about 1.1~2.5 times higher among those who consistently visited a single pharmacy compared to patients visiting multiple pharmacies. Additionally, the care provision with a high level of relational continuity could lower inappropriate drug use by 21~32 per cent and the use of other costly services by 12~29 per cent. This study suggests that a high degree of relational COC in CP could improve safe use of medications among patients. Future research is needed to employ more rigorous methods to reduce heterogeneity and to measure effects on clinical outcomes.     

艾滋病患者渐进性肌肉放松训练配合心理干预的应用效果

目的 探讨渐进性肌肉放松训练配合心理干预对艾滋病患者服药依从性及心理状态的影响。方法 选择2017年8月—2020年8月于本院就诊的68例艾滋病患者,按随机数字表法分为对照组和观察组,每组34例。对照组实施常规护理干预,观察组在此基础上实施渐进性肌肉放松训练配合心理干预,比较两组服药依从性及医院焦虑抑郁量表(HospitalAnxietyand Depresseo Scale,HAD)评分。结果 观察组服药总依从率为97.06%,高于对照组的70.59%,(χ2=8.785,P=0.003);观察组干预2周后焦虑评分为(14.35±1.67)分、抑郁评分为(13.98±1.38)分,均低于对照组的(15.63±1.59)分、(15.08±1.27)分,(t=3.237、3.420,P=0.002、0.001)。结论 渐进性肌肉放松训练配合心理干预应用于艾滋病患者,能够提高患者服药依从性,改善患者心理状态。     

中药类保健食品中地黄生熟异用的配方规律分析

目的:分析地黄在中药类保健食品中生熟异用下的配方规律。方法:收集国家市场监督管理总局(SAMR)特殊食品信息查询平台公布的生、熟地黄保健食品数据,对其保健功能及中药组方等进行统计,运用Apriori算法和Kulc、不平衡比参数对地黄生熟异用的保健食品配方规律进行分析。结果:保健食品中,生地黄主要用于辅助降血糖,熟地黄主要用于增强免疫力、缓解体力疲劳、改善营养性贫血。在辅助降血糖类生地黄保健食品中,生地黄主要与补气药、补阴药、解表药、解热药配伍,代表性组合为生地黄-黄芪-苦瓜;在增强免疫力类熟地黄保健食品中,熟地黄主要与补气药、补血药、补阴药配伍,代表性组合为熟地黄-党参-阿胶;在缓解体力疲劳类熟地黄保健食品中,熟地黄主要与补气药、补阳药、补阴药配伍,代表性组合为熟地黄-人参-淫羊藿、熟地黄-人参-枸杞子;在改善营养性贫血类熟地黄保健食品中,熟地黄主要与补气药、补血药配伍,代表性组合为熟地黄-黄芪-阿胶、熟地黄-黄芪-当归。结论:地黄在保健食品中的使用遵循生熟异用的规律,在不同保健功能中,组方配伍基本符合中医理论和现代医学理论,可为生、熟地黄保健食品研发提供借鉴和依据。     

基于数据挖掘探讨全国名中医王行宽诊疗胸痹心痛遣方用药规律及学术经验

目的：运用中医传承计算平台V3.0软件,研究王行宽教授治疗胸痹心痛遣方用药规律,传承王行宽教授诊疗胸痹心痛的学术经验。方法：收集整理2017—2020年王行宽教授于湖南中医药大学门诊诊疗冠心病心绞痛患者的原始病历资料,录入中医传承计算平台V3.0,运用软件进行方药规律研究。结果：共收集王行宽教授治疗胸痹心痛处方1 044则,所用药物多为甘、苦药物,归经以肺经为主,其次为心、脾、肝、胃、肾经;所用方剂中使用最多的经方是生脉散,最高的经验方是心痛灵Ⅲ号方;高频数药物主要有麦冬、半夏、丹参、瓜蒌皮、黄连、五味子、柴胡等药物;药物的常用剂量多为3、5、10、15 g;组方规律分析得到常用药组合129个,置信度>0.99的组合有58个,并得到常见证型核心药物;药物聚类得到6个核心药物组合。结论：王行宽教授论治胸痹心痛以益气养营、豁痰化瘀、疏肝利胆为治疗思路,并根据胸痹心痛不同证型予以辨证施治,体现其“多脏调燮、综合治理”的学术思想,其核心处方可供临床从业者参考,但仍需要进一步的临床及实验研究验证其疗效。     

Management of Chronic Pain in Nursing Homes: Navigating Challenges to Improve Person-Centered Care

Despite the dynamic demands in the nursing home (NH), a definitive approach to managing chronic pain in older adults has yet to be established. Due to concerns for potential adverse pharmacologic effects, balancing appropriate pain management is a challenge among NH residents. The challenges encompass but are not limited to medical complexities, functional disabilities, and physical frailty. Barriers to the successful implementation of a comprehensive chronic pain management at the NH may include ambiguous directions on specific therapeutic interventions, insufficient guidance on treatment duration, and limited available treatment options. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ reporting requirement of adequate pain control among NH residents coupled with widely variable clinician-prescribing habits highlights the difficulties in overcoming the preceding challenges and barriers. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has further complicated pain management due to its negative consequences on well-being of residents of NHs. Associated symptoms of psychosocial stress, anxiety and depression, and chronic pain symptoms can exacerbate during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased requirement for pain medications including but not limited to opioids.Pain is a multidimensional symptom and requires a strategic multimodal approach for its management. Nonpharmacologic modalities are underutilized in the NH setting and are the preferred first steps for mild pain, and nonopioid pharmacological agents can be added as a second step for a synergistic effect for moderate to severe pain. Opioids should be used as a last resort. Short-acting opioids are preferred over extended-release/long-acting opioids for chronic pain. Clinicians are encouraged to engage residents in proactive strategies in managing their pain, and to set realistic expectations toward improving their quality of life, as complete elimination of pain is not feasible in most cases.This review article provides the interdisciplinary team with a contemporary perspective of the multitude of changes and challenges influencing the prescribing as well as deprescribing of various pain medications.     

Antihypertensive Medication Classes and the Risk of Dementia: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

ObjectivesTo systematically review and synthesize the evidence on differential associations between antihypertensive medication (AHM) classes and the risk of incident dementia.DesignSystematic review and random effects frequentist network meta-analysis. Embase, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane library were searched from origin to December 2019.Setting and participantsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective cohort studies that compared associations of different AHM classes with incident all-cause dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease over at least 1 year of follow-up.MeasuresAll cause dementia and/or Alzheimer's disease.ResultsFifteen observational studies and 7 RCTs were included. Data on AHM classes were available for 649,790 participants and dementia occurred in 19,600 (3.02%). Network meta-analysis showed that in observational studies, treatment with either calcium channel blockers (CCBs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) was associated with lower dementia risks than treatment with other antihypertensives: CCBs vs angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) (HR=0.84, 95% CI 0.74-0.95), beta blockers (HR=0.83, 95% CI 0.73-0.95) and diuretics (HR=0.89, 95% CI 0.78-1.01) and ARBs vs ACE inhibitors (HR=0.88, 95% CI 0.81-0.97), beta blockers (HR=0.87, 95% CI 0.77-0.99), and diuretics (HR=0.93, 95% CI 0.83-1.05). There were insufficient RCTs to create a robust network based on randomized data alone.Conclusions and ImplicationsRecommending CCBs or ARBs as preferred first-line antihypertensive treatment may significantly reduce the risk of dementia. If corroborated in a randomized setting, these findings reflect a low-cost and scalable opportunity to reduce dementia incidence worldwide.     

The Effect of Medication Reconciliation via a Patient Portal on Medication Discrepancies: A Randomized Noninferiority Study

BackgroundMedication reconciliation has become standard care to prevent medication transfer errors. However, this process is time-consuming but could be more efficient when patients are engaged in medication reconciliation via a patient portal.ObjectivesTo explore whether medication reconciliation by the patient via a patient portal is noninferior to medication reconciliation by a pharmacy technician.Design (including intervention)Open randomized controlled noninferiority trial. Patients were randomized between medication reconciliation via a patient portal (intervention) or medication reconciliation by a pharmacy technician at the preoperative screening (usual care).Setting and ParticipantsPatients scheduled for elective surgery using at least 1 chronic medication were included.MeasuresThe primary endpoint was the number of medication discrepancies compared to the electronic nationwide medication record system (NMRS). For the secondary endpoint, time investment of the pharmacy technician for the medication reconciliation interview and patient satisfaction were studied. Noninferiority was analyzed with an independent t test, and the margin was set at 20%.ResultsA total of 499 patients were included. The patient portal group contained 241 patients; the usual care group contained 258 patients. The number of medication discrepancies was 2.6 ± 2.5 in the patient portal group and 2.8 ± 2.7 in the usual care group. This was not statistically different and within the predefined noninferiority margin. Patients were satisfied with the use of the patient portal tool. Also, the use of the portal can save on average 6.8 minutes per patient compared with usual care.Conclusions and ImplicationsMedication reconciliation using a patient portal is noninferior to medication reconciliation by a pharmacy technician with respect to medication discrepancies, and saves time in the medication reconciliation process. Future studies should focus on identifying patient characteristics for successful implementation of patient portal medication reconciliation.     

度量关联规则在医院消毒供应质量追踪管理中的研究

目的:探讨基于度量关联规则的质量追踪模式在医院消毒供应管理中的应用价值。方法:采用基于度量关联规则的质量追踪模式进行医院消毒供应质量追踪管理。选取医院消毒供应中心的600件无菌器械,按照管理模式的不同将其分为观察组和对照组,每组300件;同期另选使用该无菌器械的200例患者,每组100例。观察组采用质量追踪式管理,对照组采用常规消毒供应管理,对比两组600件无菌器械的1000项消毒供应事项中的合格情况、临床效果和器械使用及管理的工作人员考核成绩。结果:对照组抽样的1000项消毒供应事项中不合格率为10%,观察组为3.7%,差异有统计学意义(x²=31.101,P<0.05);观察组患者的感染率、手术备件不及时率和损坏率均低于对照组,差异有统计学意义(x²=7.680,x²=4.688,x²=5.128;P<0.05);观察组工作人员的专业知识、操作技能、安全意识和信息登记考核优秀比例均高于对照组,差异有统计学意义(x²=4.006,x²=6.572,x²=15.417,x²=10.058;P<0.05)。结论:度量关联规则能够从消毒工作流程、消毒设备使用、无菌器械存储和人员业务能力方面提高无菌器械的临床供应质量,提升医院消毒供应管理水平。