Requiring Consent vs. Waiving Consent for Medical Records Research: A Minnesota Law vs. the U.S. (HIPAA) Privacy Rule

The use of medical records in research can yield information that is difficult to obtain by other means. When such records are released to investigators in identifiable form, however, substantial privacy and confidentiality risks may be created. These risks become more common and more serious as medical records move to an electronic format. In 1996, the state of Minnesota enacted legislation with respect to consent requirements for the use of medical records in research. This legislation has been widely criticized because--it is claimed--it creates an unnecessary impediment to research. In this article, we show that these arguments rest upon misinterpretation and/or misrepresentation of the 1996 legislation. A consent requirement had actually been present in Minnesota since 1976 (though codified in a patient rights statute rather than a privacy statute). The 1996 law does not require specific consent, as often claimed, but rather only a general authorization. The campaign against the Minnesota legislation appears to have been motivated by concern with respect to the then impending federal privacy rule. The HIPAA rule, as enacted, is in fact less stringent with respect to consent than the Minnesota consent law. On the other hand, the Minnesota consent law has not been effectively applied or enforced. As we change the way we manage sensitive medical information, new efforts are needed to provide protection against the confidentiality risks in research. Patient consent is an important tool in this regard. New instrumentalities are needed to solicit and document consent.     

Children's stories of hope: moving toward an expanded understanding of the world children live in

This qualitative study that allowed children to be the dominant voice examined children's stories of hope. Twenty-nine kindergarten children through to third graders were interviewed using familiar school items: story board, pictures, puppets, and so on. One elementary school, located in a large southwestern metropolitan city, was selected for this study. Data was coded and prominent themes emerged illustrating that children are much more moral than many adults give them credit for. Approximately one-half of the stories shared focused not on the children's wants or “hopes”, but on others - classmates, friends, family, or extended relatives. The findings support research that highlights the issues of care, concern, and compassion that are a priority for young children.     

腹腔镜胆囊切除术开展初期质量控制的临床研究

目的探讨如何控制腹腔镜胆囊切除术（LC）开展初期的并发症及中转率。方法制定八条质量控制措施，总结分析568例LC临床资料。结果并发症6例，仅占1．2％，中转手术8例，中转率仅1．6％。结论在开展LC初期只要加强质量控制，完全可以避开高并发症、高中转率这种所谓的自然规律。     

Challenging the world: patient safety and health care-associated infection.

Improving the safety of patient care is an issue which affects health systems in both developed and developing countries. To co-ordinate and accelerate improvements in patient safety, the World Health Organization (WHO) has supported the creation of the World Alliance for Patient Safety which was launched in October 2004. The six action areas of the Alliance are Patients for Patient Safety, Taxonomy, Research, Solutions for Patient Safety, Reporting and Learning, and a biennial Global Patient Safety Challenge. The first Challenge covering 2005-2006 was launched in October 2005 under the banner 'Clean Care is Safer Care'. The Challenge addresses health care-associated infection, a major, patient safety problem affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide.     

Examining Equivalence of Concepts and Measures in Diverse Samples

While there is growing awareness for the need to examine the etiology of problem behaviors across cultural, racial, socioeconomic, and gender groups, much research tends to assume that constructs are equivalent and that the measures developed within one group equally assess constructs across groups. The meaning of constructs, however, may differ across groups or, if similar in meaning, measures developed for a given construct in one particular group may not be assessing the same construct or may not be assessing the construct in the same manner in other groups. The aims of this paper were to demonstrate a process of testing several forms of equivalence including conceptual, functional, item, and scalar using different methods. Data were from the Cross-Cultural Families Project, a study examining factors that promote the healthy development and adjustment of children among immigrant Cambodian and Vietnamese families. The process described in this paper can be implemented in other prevention studies interested in diverse groups. Demonstrating equivalence of constructs and measures prior to group comparisons is necessary in order to lend support of our interpretation of issues such as ethnic group differences and similarities.     

运用现代教育理论思想 提高医学课堂教学质量

本文依据三种现代教育理论思想的有益启示,围绕医学高等专科学校课堂教学质量的提升问题,提出以加强教育理论思想研修为突破口,进而采取更新教育观念、狠抓移植应用和改进教法学法来有效提高医学高等专科学校课堂教学质量的新思路。     

善宁治疗急性胰腺炎临床疗效观察

目的:观察人工合成的生长抑素类似物(善宁)治疗急性胰腺炎(AP)的临床疗效.方法:对我院1999～2008年收治的156例AP患者分为治疗组与对照组各78例,对照组采用一般常规治疗方法,治疗组在一般常规治疗的基础上加用善宁0.1 mg,缓慢静脉推注后,继以25μg/h的速度持续静脉滴注,连用7～14天.观察两组腹痛缓解时间;实验室检查:白细胞计数、血淀粉酶、血钙与血糖恢复正常时间,多器官功能障碍(MODS)发生情况,恢复进食的时间.结果:善宁治疗组比对照组明显降低血淀粉酶,减少腹痛缓解时间,降低MODS的发生.结论:善宁能有效改善AP的临床症状,减少并发症.     

葛根素和淫羊藿甙对成骨细胞生物学作用的比较研究

目的 对比葛根素和淫羊藿甙对成骨细胞增殖和分化的影响。方法 将小鼠骨髓基质干细胞定向诱导分化为成骨细胞，取第3、4代细胞，以rhBMP-2为阳性对照，MTT法观察葛根素和淫羊藿甙对成骨细胞的增殖作用，碱性磷酸酶（ALP）比活性测定及钙结节计数观察葛根素和淫羊藿甙对成骨细胞分化的影响。结果 20μg／ml的淫羊藿甙可显著促进成骨细胞的增殖；20μg／ml淫羊藿甙及50μg／ml葛根素均能提高成骨细胞的碱性磷酸酶活性，并使矿化结节的形成明显增多。结论 淫羊藿甙不仅能促进成骨细胞的分化，还能增强其增殖能力，而葛根素主要是通过刺激分化来增强成骨细胞的活力。     

Transplant data: sources, collection and research considerations, 2004

The process of collecting and analyzing transplant data is complex. Familiarity with how these data are collected is crucial to a thorough understanding of the information. This article focuses on available OPTN-SRTR data and the continuing evolution of data collection mechanisms; how that data collection system is improving the data quality and reducing the data collection burden; how additional ascertainment of outcomes both completes and validates existing data; and caveats that remain for researchers. This year's article focuses further on research considerations related to cohort choice, timing of data submission, and potential biases in follow-up data. Ongoing improvements in data collection timeliness and scope are covered. The impact of extra ascertainment of outcomes, particularly for post-transplant kidney graft failure from Medicare data, are also examined. A section on graft failure reporting among different sources traces the steps by which the SRTR reconciles different data sources in its analyses. It is important that those reading and conducting transplant research understand the origin, structure, and scope of the available data. All of these issues should be carefully considered when choosing cohorts and data sources for analysis.