Gilles Deleuze: psychiatry, subjectivity, and the passive synthesis of time

Abstract  Although 'modern' mental health care comprises a variety of theoretical approaches and practices, the supposed identification of 'mental illness' can be understood as being made on the basis of a specific conception of subjectivity that is characteristic of 'modernity'. This is to say that any perceived 'deviation' from this characteristically 'modern self' is seen as a possible 'sign' of 'mental illness ', given a 'negative determination', and conceptualized in terms of a 'deficiency' or a 'lack'; accordingly, the 'ideal'therapeutic' aim of 'modern' mental health care can be understood as the 'rectification' of that 'deficiency' through a 're-instatement' of the 'modern self'. Although contemporary mental health care is increasingly becoming influenced by the so-called 'death' of the 'modern self', this paper will suggest that it is the work of the 20th century French philosopher, Gilles Deleuze, that is able to provide mental health care with a coherent determination of a ' post- modern self'. However, a Deleuzian account of subjectivity stands in stark contrast to 'modernity's' conception of subjectivity and, as such, this paper will attempt to show how this ' post- modern' subjectivity challenges many of the assumptions of 'modern' mental health care. Moreover, acknowledging the complexity and the perceived difficulty of Deleuze's work, this paper will provide an account of subjectivity that can be understood as 'Deleuzian' in its orientation, rather than 'Deleuze's theory of subjectivity', and therefore, this paper also seeks to stimulate further research and discussion of Deleuze's work on subjectivity, and how that work may be able to inform, and possibly even reform, the theoretical foundations and associated diagnostic and therapeutic practices of psychiatry, psychotherapy, and mental health nursing.     

Breastfeeding in an inner-city patient population

In order to determine the proportion of infants seen in safety-net health clinics whose mothers initiated and sustained breastfeeding and to assess predictors of breastfeeding in this largely minority patient population, charts were reviewed for infants treated in the eight Philadelphia Health Centers. Breastfeeding was initiated by 42%; 7.5% breastfed for 180 or more days. Race/ethnicity, mother's age, birth weight, and prematurity were not associated with breastfeeding initiation or maintenance. There were differences in initiation rates between patients born in different hospitals, and between patients seen in different health centers. Hospital and health center differences in breastfeeding initiation and health center differences in breastfeeding maintenance may reflect practice variations and unmeasured differences in patient populations. While breastfeeding rates in this population remain far below targets, the substantial proportion of mothers who did breastfeed and large variations between facilities demonstrate that breastfeeding is possible and can be successfully promoted among economically disadvantaged mothers.     

Physician knowledge and attitudes about health insurance after the introduction of capitated health care plans

A two-part closed-end survey similar to a survey done in 1980 was given to 25 family physicians at an academic family medical center to assess physician knowledge about five insurance programs covering most of the patients seeking care in the center, and to assess physician attitudes about the capitated insurance plan with which the clinic was affiliated. Results did not differ significantly from those obtained in a similar survey four years earlier at the same center. Physicians correctly identified benefits offered by insurance programs only about one half of the time and many did not ascertain patient insurance coverage at all. Physicians considered the most important advantages of capitated health care to be the patient protection from fees for services obtained, the coverage for health care maintenance, and the potential for controlling health care costs. Physician-perceived disadvantages included difficulties controlling costs generated by other specialists, dealing with after-the-fact authorization requests, controlling access to services, and obtaining information about costs within the capitated system.     

Voice or choice? Patient and public involvement in the National Health Service in England under New Labour.

Involving patients, caregivers, and citizens in health care and health policy has been recommended by international organizations for over a decade. This article focuses on developments in England under New Labour, places them in the context of broader health policy, and assesses them in the light of the limited empirical evidence. The authors consider a range of possible explanations for these developments. They suggest that we need to distinguish between individual and collective forms of patient involvement, and they chart patient and public involvement in England before New Labour and in three distinct phases under New Labour. There has been a significant extension of opportunities for individual patients and the public to communicate their views, albeit with twists and turns in the policy over time. The authors explain these developments in terms of New Labour's ideological attachment to pragmatism and the Third Way, political calculations about the need to reinvigorate political culture, and attempts to enhance cost-effectiveness. Patient and public involvement seems to be here to stay, but whether this will result in greater equity and a real shift in power away from professionals to citizens and patients is another matter.     

The impact of a patient survey or a physician reminder on the provision of adolescent preventive health care.

BACKGROUND. The objective of this study was to determine if the use of a patient survey or a chart stamp could increase the implementation of adolescent preventive health care in a family practice center. METHODS. Subjects were all patients 13 to 18 years old (date of birth 1972 to 1977), who visited the Aultman Family Practice Centers from October 1, 1989, through September 30, 1990 (N = 801 patient visits). Three different 1-month interventions (patient questionnaire, physician stamp, and both patient questionnaire and physician stamp) as well as a 1-month control period were implemented. The effect of the intervention on adolescent preventive health care was measured by review of documentation in the patient's chart. RESULTS. Those charts that indicated that either the questionnaire or stamp had been used showed significantly more documented discussion of issues relating to mood, injury, sexuality, exposure to toxins, and lifestyle (all P < .01). These discussions most commonly took place during a visit for a physical examination. The percentage of visits with documented discussions did not vary significantly according to type of reminder, nor with any physician or patient characteristic. CONCLUSIONS. The use of a reminder, especially in the context of an office visit for a physical examination, significantly increased the implementation of adolescent preventive health care in this family practice center.     

Organizational impact on medicine: The HMO concept

This paper examines the role of physicians within the HMO (health maintenance organization) context. The development of HMOs in the United States is traced from their origins to the present time. The literature reveals the emergence of four factors within the practice of medicine; a shift of control away from physicians, the reduction of their prestige, the redefinition of medical quality and increased patient control over the treatment regimen. The paper concludes that (a) while physicians remain relatively powerful, some of their control and prestige are eroded by the organizational setting, (b) HMO physicians must pay greater attention to colleagues, personnel and patients than their fee-for-service counterparts and (c) definitions of medical quality are becoming increasingly rationalized.     

Northern Thai health care alternatives: Patient control and the structure of medical pluralism

Two distinct features characterize village behavior in dealing with health care alternatives in Northern Thailand. First, the individual strives to preserve a secure social environment by controlling the course and choice of treatment during an illness crisis. Second, there are two spheres of health care discernible beyond any division based solely on type of medical technology, or urban-rural or modern-traditional dichotomies. One sphere, ‘officially-sanctioned’, is socially distant from the patient and totally dependent on the support, and under the aegis of central authority; the other sphere, ‘locally-sanctioned’, is socially close to the patient and dependent on the approval and support of only the local population. The nature of each sphere is dependent upon (1) the way in which practitioners are validated and sanctioned; (2) the internal organization of each practitioner group; and (3) the style of interaction between the practitioner and patient and his or her family. The variable success of patients in controlling the course of their treatment is demonstrated by the styles of interaction in the respective spheres. Attempts to manipulate the healer by influencing the context of healing, the amount and terms of payment for services rendered, and the type of therapy given are major parts of this control.The history of the local medical system suggests that patients in the research area became accustomed to these efforts to control quite early. Such attempts have been instrumental in shaping the present form of the medical system; therefore, a connection between those efforts to control the course of healing and the shape of the medical system is postulated and explored here.     

Serving patient needs while implementing cost effectiveness programs in health care administration

The rising costs of health care have focused administrators' attentions on controlling expenses rather than patient needs and preferences. This paper describes a method by which administrators can assess possible cost effectiveness of alternative therapies that may be preferable to patients.     

Serving Patient Needs While Implementing Cost Effectiveness Programs in Health Care Administration

The rising costs of health care have focused administrators' attentions on controlling expenses rather than patient needs and preferences. This paper describes a method by which administrators can assess possible cost effectiveness of alternative therapies that may be preferable to patients.     

Health and treatment priorities in patients with multimorbidity: Report on a workshop from the European General Practice Network meeting ‘Research on multimorbidity in general practice’

Abstract

Setting health and treatment priorities is necessary when caring for multiple and complex patient issues. This is already done in the doctorpatient consultation—yet implicitly rather than explicitly. The aim of this European General Practice Network workshop was to advance a consultation approach that deals with shared priority setting. The workshop was divided into three parts: (1) how to gain a comprehensive health overview for patients with multiple problems as a basis for priority setting; (2) how to establish priorities considering patient and doctor perspectives; and (3) how to practice a communication style that achieves shared priority setting. The workshop participants preferred to gain information on patients’ health status using documentations from patient records rather than conducting systematic assessments. The group emphasized that medical as well as everyday life problems need to be considered when determining priorities, a procedure that requires time and resources not readily available in daily practice. Existing skills for person-centred communication with patients should be applied in order to agree on priorities. Overall it became apparent how challenging it is to arrange and prioritize an array of health problems in a consultation with patients. Existing concepts augmented by innovative systematic methods may be the way forward.     

Addressing birth in Gaza: using qualitative methods to improve vital registration

The use of anthropological qualitative methods to validate and improve health surveillance data is demonstrated through an examination of the process of birth registration in Gaza. Theoretically, the importance of understanding the link between historical events and microlevel decision-making is emphasized both in general terms and specifically in the context of the Gaza Strip today. In the course of interviewing a sample of mother/infant pairs selected from a register of births in the Gaza Strip it became evident that 100% of the addresses were incomplete. Using qualitative methods in the form of field visits and interviews with physicians, clerks and nurses, an understanding of the information pathway for birth registration data was developed. It was also established that there was some erroneous recording of birthweight. An intervention was designed which failed to improve the accuracy of addresses but did improve the recording of birthweight.     

Empathy and the application of the 'unbearable suffering' criterion in Dutch euthanasia practice

A pivotal due care criterion for lawful euthanasia in the Netherlands is that doctors must be convinced that a patient requesting for euthanasia, suffers unbearably. Our study aims to find out how doctors judge if a patient suffers unbearably. How do doctors bridge the gap from 3rd person assessment to 1st person experience? We performed a qualitative interview study among 15 physicians, mainly general practitioners, who participated earlier in a related quantitative survey on the way doctors apply the suffering criterion. Results show that doctors follow different 'cognitive routes' when assessing a patients suffering in the context of a euthanasia request. Sometimes doctors do this imagining how she herself would experience the situation of the patient ('imagine self'). Doctors may also try to adopt the perspective of the patient and imagine what the situation is like for this particular patient ('imagine other'). Besides this we found that the (outcome of the) assessment is influenced by a doctor's private norms, values and emotions considering (the performance of) euthanasia. We conclude by arguing why doctors should be aware of both the 'cognitive route' followed as well as the influence of their own personal norms on the assessment of suffering in the context of euthanasia requests.     

Do general practitioners overestimate the health of their patients with lower education?

This study sought to ascertain whether disagreement between patients and physicians on the patients' health status varies according to patients' education level. INTERMEDE is a cross-sectional multicentre study. Data were collected from both patients and doctors via pre- and post consultation questionnaires at the GP's office over a two-week period in October 2007 in 3 regions of France. The sample consists of 585 eligible patients (61% women) and 27 GPs. A significant association between agreement/disagreement between GP and patient on the patient's health status and patient's education level was observed: 75% of patients with a high education level agreed with their GP compared to 50% of patients with a low level of education. Patients and GPs disagreed where patients with the lowest education level said that their health was worse relative to their doctor's evaluation 37% of the time, versus 16% and 14% for those with a medium or high education level respectively. A multilevel multivariate analysis revealed that patients with a low educational level and medium educational level respectively were at higher risk of being overestimated by GP's in respect of self-reported health even if controlling for confounders. These findings suggest that people with a lower education level who consider themselves to have poor health are less reliably identified as such in the primary care system. This could potentially result in lack of advice and treatment for these patients and ultimately the maintenance of health inequalities.     

Predictors of communication quality: the patient, provider, and nurse call center triad

The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics of communication quality in a managed care context in which a nurse call center was used as the patient point of entry to the health system. The study sought to determine the level of communication quality among patients, health care providers, and nurses in the call center. Having measured the timeliness, accuracy, usefulness, and quantity of communication variables, a reasonable picture of communication quality emerged. The study explored patient differences in their perception of communication quality due to socioeconomic status, needs, experience, age, and various other factors. Likewise, providers who differ in training, specialty, and experience should have different perceptions and expectations of communication through nurse call center interaction.     

Equity raises questions

Issues raised in a round table discussion on equity in health are presented. Equity implies commitment to increase access and quality to health services as well as reducing underlying social inequities. In India, patterns of injustice and creating fairness in health care are consequently a political debate. Policy rhetorics in India have done well in terms of drawing attention to equity as exemplified in their 73rd and 74th amendment. However, there has been a poor implementation of this policy. Furthermore, the role of the health care system in the failure of implementing local health policies was cited, particularly in terms of financing health system. Meanwhile, International agencies have emphasized more issues of equity and poverty. They further expressed their desire to guide the government to more equitable health.     

基于社区卫生服务中心绩效管理及其考核有关思考

目的探究社区卫生服务中心绩效管理与考核机制。方法选取2017年1月-2019年1月在该中心门诊治疗的患者260例回顾分析该中心建立绩效管理及考核机制后对对医疗服务质量控制、预防保健服务质量、患者满意度等相关指标的比较分析。结果观察组在医疗质量控制、预防保健服务质量、患者满意度等方面均好于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论社区卫生服务中心作为基层医疗的重要保障,绩效考核管理的水平直接影响着基层医疗的服务质量。为此必须要建立一套适用于社区卫生服务中心规范化、标准化、系统化的绩效管理考核评估机制,全面提高医疗管理质量,保障社区服务水平。     

The effect of long-term group education for obese women in a public health center]

In order to improve maintenance of weight reduction, a long-term (5 month) weight reduction class for obese women consisting of repeated group learning three times a month in areas of dietary regimen and practice of physical exercise, and self-help group activities was conducted at a health center. Maintenance of achieved weight reduction was studied six months and one year after completion of the class. The results are as follows. 1) Among 30 alumni, percentages of rebound, regaining weight of more than half of reduction during the class, were 18% at six months and 48% at one year after the class. These results appear to indicate the difficulty in maintaining weight loss. 2) However, when changes were studied in terms of fat mass and lean body mass, rebound of fat mass, regaining fat mass of more than half of reduction, was very small--only 5%, through the follow-up periods--while lean body mass increased gradually. These results indicate very good maintenance of fat mass reduction, and from the view point of the objective of weight reduction which is principally fat mass reduction, this objective was supported. 3) The attendees were divided into two groups, diet group and exercise group. There were almost no differences in the follow-up results for weight maintenance between the two groups. This can be attributed to the fact that since the combination of dieting and exercise was emphasized in both groups, with moderate energy restriction and balanced food intake in the dietary regimen and aerobic walking for exercise in addition to the classroom learning, instructions for lifestyle changes were rather similar for both groups.