Accessibility of Medical Diagnostic Equipment for Patients With Disability: Observations From Physicians

ObjectiveTo explore attitudes and practices of physicians relating to accessible medical diagnostic equipment in serving patients with mobility disability.DesignOpen-ended individual telephone interviews, which reached data saturation. Interview recordings were transcribed verbatim for qualitative conventional content analysis.SettingMassachusetts, the United States, October 2017-January 2018.ParticipantsPracticing physicians from 5 clinical specialties (N=20).InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresCommon themes concerning physical accessibility.ResultsMean ± SD time in practice was 27.5±12.5 years; 14 practices had height-adjustable examination tables; and 7 had wheelchair-accessible weight scales. The analysis identified 6 broad themes: height-adjustable examination tables have advantages; height-adjustable examination tables have drawbacks; transferring patients onto examination tables is challenging; rationale for examining patients in their wheelchairs; perceptions of wheelchair-accessible weight scales; and barriers and facilitators to improving physical accessibility. Major barriers identified by participants included costs of equipment, limited space, and inadequate payment for extra time required to care for persons with disability. Even physicians with accessible examination tables sometimes examined patients seated in their wheelchairs.ConclusionsEven if physicians have accessible equipment, they do not always use it in examining patients with disability. Future efforts will need to consider ways to eliminate these access barriers in clinical practice. Given small sample size, results are not generalizable to physicians nationwide and globally.     

Incidence and pattern of dry eye after cataract surgery

Purpose

The objectives of the study were to identify the incidence and pattern of dry eye after phacoemulsification and manual small incision cataract surgeries.

Testing a new taxonomic model for the assessment of medical devices: Is it plausible and applicable? Insights from HTA reports and interviews with HTA institutions in Europe

Objective

Medical devices (MDs) encompass a broad and heterogeneous range of technologies. While practices vary considerably across countries, MDs often find application in patient care with little or no evaluation of their effectiveness and safety following market approval. A recently proposed taxonomy of MDs considered devices from the viewpoint of Health Technology Assessment (HTA). The aim of the work presented here was to test its plausibility and applicability by considering real-world HTA practices.

医院新型放射防护管理实践与体会

目的 介绍福建医科大学附属协和医院新型放射防护管理的具体做法和成效，以期为同类医疗机构放射防护管理提供借鉴。方法 对比新型管理模式前后的做法及管理成效。结果 新型放射防护管理模式完善了事前、事中、事后监管，放射防护管理工作更加科学、有效。结论 医院领导的高度重视、职能部门的积极监管、放射工作人员对防护工作重要性的清醒认识与积极配合、行政监管部门主动监督检查是放射工作安全、可持续发展的重要保障。监管过程中部分流程的进一步优化，将使放射防护管理工作更加科学、更加有效。     

热敏灸治疗顽固性呃逆案

热敏灸作为一种新型的灸疗方法,《医宗金鉴》中述“凡灸诸病,必火足气到,始能求愈”,故热敏灸讲究“敏消量足”,举一临床顽固性呃逆病案加以细说。     

Engaging the Health Care Professional

There is no shortage of discussion surrounding the importance of achieving a highly engaged workforce in health care institutions. Despite the abundance of idealisms surrounding the importance of providing patient-centered care, some medical radiation technologists may consider this to be a contradiction, when they themselves do not feel valued or empowered by their employer. In addition, overwhelming evidence points to the fact that high employee engagement is directly linked to positive patient experiences and outcomes. Logically, it then follows that much attention should be paid to fully engaging health care teams. Highly engaged medical radiation technologists are more likely to provide personalized patient-centered care. Health care leaders can help to engage their teams by using effective behavioral and leadership styles that will be received favourably by most staff. With the evolution of the generations occupying the workplace, managers must adapt and vary their leadership styles, if they hope to effectively engage their teams and provide world-class patient-centered care.     

Bolus 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) In Combination With Oxaliplatin Is Safe and Well Tolerated in Patients Who Experienced Coronary Vasospasm With Infusional 5-FU or Capecitabine

Introduction

Coronary vasospasm associated with fluoropyrimidine (FP)-based chemotherapy is a potentially serious complication and reported to occur more often with infusional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or capecitabine than with bolus 5-FU. Given the additional benefit of oxaliplatin over FP alone in the management of colorectal cancer, retaining oxaliplatin in the treatment regimen is desirable, but the safety of combining bolus 5-FU with oxaliplatin in patients with FP-induced vasospasm is not well established. We performed a retrospective review to explore the safety of substituting FLOX (bolus 5-FU, oxaliplatin, leucovorin) for FOLFOX (infusional 5-FU, oxaliplatin, leucovorin) and CAPOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin) in patients who had FP-induced coronary vasospasm.

A qualitative assessment of diabetes care access and disease management in Central America

BackgroundDiabetes is a growing concern in low-and middle-income countries. Medical missions play a role in increasing access to care and medicines, but often ignore non-communicable disease prevention and advanced management. Increased knowledge of local community needs and resources can lead to the development and implementation of pharmacist-supported interventions to improve diabetes management in rural areas.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to 1) understand the availability of monitoring for diabetes locally; and 2) describe knowledge and health beliefs regarding diabetes management for those with diabetes, and prevention among those at high risk of developing diabetes.MethodsThis qualitative evaluation used semi-structured interviews with key informants in a community in rural Honduras. Participants included those with diabetes, those at-risk for developing diabetes, and community leaders. Data was analyzed using thematic content analysis through an iterative process of coding and theme development.ResultsA total of 35 interviews were conducted with five resulting themes: 1) participants identified multiple barriers to diabetes management including access to monitoring, access to certain medications, and access to advanced levels of care; 2) participants acknowledge the relationship between lifestyle choices and diabetes control, but struggled with adherence to a healthy lifestyle; 3) participants identify that they have limited knowledge of diabetes pathophysiology, diabetes management, and strategies to prevent diabetes; 4) participants felt that opportunities existed within the community to support diabetes education and prevention, and 5) providers should integrate culture, societal norms, and religion in diabetes management.ConclusionThis research identifies challenges and resulting opportunities for managing diabetes in rural Honduras. Health care providers including pharmacy personnel should consider strategies to engage communities around self-care and diabetes education. Further, strategies are needed to enhance access to resources and essential medicines for diabetes management. These themes can guide clinicians in supporting communities to enhance diabetes care.     

地方医学院校课程质量监控体系的构建探索

基于国家深化高等院校课程建设的新时代视域，提升课程质量成为高校教育教学发展的重要任务。地方医学院校作为基层卫生人才的培养摇篮，构建科学合理的课程质量监控体系愈发迫切。本文分析了我国高等院校课程质量监控体系存在的问题，结合地方医学院校办学特点和广州医科大学工作实践，探索构建了集“多样化监控方法、全维度监控指标、闭环式反馈机制、多层级文化建设”为一体的课程质量监控体系，为同类院校提供实际参考。     

Rebuilding trust

Lack of trust is a major problem in our current health care system and is increasingly becoming a focus in the literature and in national discussions on how to better understand, address, and resolve. In this narrative essay, I share how I wrestled with rebuilding trust after my own adverse experiences with medical error, surgery complications, and communication challenges. This perspective highlights the critical importance of physician communication and trust in the patient-physician relationship.