Electronic health records and support for primary care teamwork

Objective Consensus that enhanced teamwork is necessary for efficient and effective primary care delivery is growing. We sought to identify how electronic health records (EHRs) facilitate and pose challenges to primary care teams as well as how practices are overcoming these challenges.Methods Practices in this qualitative study were selected from those recognized as patient-centered medical homes via the National Committee for Quality Assurance 2011 tool, which included a section on practice teamwork. We interviewed 63 respondents, ranging from physicians to front-desk staff, from 27 primary care practices ranging in size, type, geography, and population size.Results EHRs were found to facilitate communication and task delegation in primary care teams through instant messaging, task management software, and the ability to create evidence-based templates for symptom-specific data collection from patients by medical assistants and nurses (which can offload work from physicians). Areas where respondents felt that electronic medical record EHR functionalities were weakest and posed challenges to teamwork included the lack of integrated care manager software and care plans in EHRs, poor practice registry functionality and interoperability, and inadequate ease of tracking patient data in the EHR over time.Discussion Practices developed solutions for some of the challenges they faced when attempting to use EHRs to support teamwork but wanted more permanent vendor and policy solutions for other challenges.Conclusions EHR vendors in the United States need to work alongside practicing primary care teams to create more clinically useful EHRs that support dynamic care plans, integrated care management software, more functional and interoperable practice registries, and greater ease of data tracking over time.     

How does measurement of platelet P-selectin compare with other methods of measuring platelet function as a means of determining the effectiveness of antiplatelet therapy?

Measurement of P-selectin on activated platelets as a means of measuring platelet function utilizing the technology described here has the advantage of not requiring immediate access to specialist equipment and expertise. Blood samples are activated, fixed, stored, and transported to a central laboratory for flow cytometric analysis. Here we have compared P-selectin with other more traditional approaches to measuring platelet function in blood and/or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) from patients with acute coronary syndromes on treatment for at least 1 month with either aspirin and clopidogrel or aspirin with prasugrel. The comparators were light transmission aggregometry (LTA), VerifyNow and Multiplate aggregometry (for determining the effects of aspirin) and LTA, VerifyNow and Multiplate together with the BioCytex VASP phosphorylation assay (for the P2Y₁₂ antagonists). The P-selectin Aspirin Test revealed substantial inhibition of platelet function in all but three of 96 patients receiving aspirin with clopidogrel and in none of 51 patients receiving aspirin and prasugrel. The results were very similar to those obtained using LTA. There was only one patient with high residual platelet aggregation and low P-selectin expression. The same patients identified as “non-responders” to aspirin also presented with the highest residual platelet activity as measured using the VerifyNow system, although not quite as well separated from the other values. With the Multiplate test only one of these patients clearly stood out from the others. The results obtained using the P-selectin P2Y₁₂ Test in 102 patients taking aspirin and clopidogrel were similar to the more traditional approaches in that a wide scatter of results was obtained. Generally, high values seen with the P-selectin P2Y₁₂ Test were also high with the LTA, VerifyNow, Multiplate, and BioCytex VASP P2Y₁₂ Tests. Similarly, low residual platelet function using the P2Y₁₂ test was seen irrespective of the testing procedure used. However, there were differences in some patients. Prasugrel was always more effective than clopidogrel in inhibiting platelet function with none of 56 patients (P-selectin and VerifyNow), only 2 of 56 patients (Multiplate) and only 3 of 56 patients (Biocytex VASP) demonstrating high on-treatment residual platelet reactivity (HRPR) defined using previously published cut-off values. The exception was LTA where there were 11 of 56 patients with HRPR. It remains to be seen which experimental approach provides the most useful information regarding outcomes after adjusting therapies in treated patients.     

Outcome of isolated posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction at mean 6.3-year follow up: a consecutive case series

Objectives: There is a paucity of reporting on surgical outcomes of isolated posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (PCLR). We hypothesize that isolated PCL injuries failing nonoperative treatment achieve good outcomes and are able to return to sport following PCLR.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed to identify patients with isolated PCL injuries that underwent reconstruction between 2001 and 2014. Patients with multi-ligamentous injury or another concomitant knee pathology were excluded. Medical records were reviewed for demographic, clinical and operative data. Patients were contacted for administration of a telephone-based questionnaire which included the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Evaluation form, Lysholm-Tegner scales, Marx activity scale (MAS), return to sport status, and patient satisfaction instruments.

Results: A total of 15 isolated PCL reconstructions in 14 patients with a mean age of 27.5 years (range 17–43) met the study inclusion criteria; mean follow up was 6.3 years (range 1.4–15.2). Pre-operatively, the primary complaint was knee instability in all patients; on physical examination, lack of a firm end point during posterior drawer testing was found in 93% (14/15) of the knees. In total, 12 of 15 knees underwent transtibial, single-bundle PCLR and three of 15 underwent tibial inlay, double bundle PCLR. Graft types included: quadriceps autograft (7/15), Achilles allograft (6/15), and hamstring autograft (2/15). There were no graft failures in our patient cohort. At most recent follow up the mean scores respectively on the IKDC form, Lysholm-Tegner scales and MAS were (standard deviation): 77.3 (16.5), 83.1 (17.9), 6.13 (2.6), and 7.1 (6.0). All fourteen patients were athletes prior to their injury and 79% (11/14) returned to sport and overall patient satisfaction was 9.2/10.

Conclusions: Isolated PCLR provides good outcomes at mean medium-term follow up with restoration of function, high rate of return to sport and overall patient satisfaction.     

Multidimensionality of the PROMIS self-efficacy measure for managing chronic conditions

Quality of Life Research - This study investigated the PROMIS Self-Efficacy Measure for Managing Chronic Conditions (PROMIS-SE) domain distributions and examined the factor structure of the...     

Worsening head bleeds in elderly blunt head trauma patients taking antithrombotics: Delayed CT head fails to change management

Background

Most elderly trauma patients suffer blunt head injury and many utilize antithrombotic (AT) medications. The utility of delayed CT-head (D-CTH) in neurologically intact elderly patients using AT who have an intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) on presentation is unknown. We hypothesized that D-CTH would not alter clinical management and aimed to evaluate the role of D-CTH in this population.

Examining the contraceptive decisions of young,HIV-infected women: A qualitative study

This study qualitatively examined factors that influenced contraceptive choices in a sample of young, HIV-infected women. Individual qualitative interviews were conducted among 30 vertically and horizontally HIV-infected women (n = 26 African American) from the ages of 14 to 24 years (Mean age = 20.9 years). We recruited sample groups with the following characteristics: (a) current contraceptive/condom use with ≥1 child (n = 11); (b) current contraceptive/condom use with no children (n = 12); and (c) no current contraceptive/condom use with no children (n = 7). A semi-structured interview guide was used to ask participants about factors influencing past and current contraceptive choices. Individual interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim; analyses to identify core themes were informed by the Grounded Theoretical approach. Young, HIV-infected women did not identify their HIV serostatus or disease-related concerns as influential in their contraceptive decisions. However, they reported that recommendations from health-care providers and input from family and friends influenced their contraceptive choices. They also considered a particular method’s advantages (e.g., menstrual cycle improvements) and disadvantages (e.g., increased pill burden) when selecting a method. Findings suggested that HIV-infected young women’s contraceptive decisions were influenced by factors other than those related to their infection.