Project description:BACKGROUND: Multiple factors affect residency education, including duty-hour restrictions and documentation requirements for regulatory compliance. We designed a work sampling study to determine the proportion of time residents spend in structured education, direct patient care, indirect patient care that must be completed by a physician, indirect patient care that 5 be delegated to other health care workers, and personal activities while on an inpatient general practice unit. METHODS: The 3-month study in 2009 involved 14 categorical internal medicine residents who volunteered to use personal digital assistants to self-report their location and primary tasks while on an inpatient general practice unit. RESULTS: Residents reported spending most of their time at workstations (43%) and less time in patient rooms (20%). By task, residents spent 39% of time on indirect patient care that must be completed by a physician, 31% on structured education, 17% on direct patient care, 9% on indirect patient care that 5 be delegated to other health care workers, and 4% on personal activities. From these data we estimated that residents spend 34 minutes per patient per day completing indirect patient care tasks compared with 15 minutes per patient per day in direct patient care. CONCLUSIONS: This single-institution time study objectively quantified a current state of how and where internal medicine residents spend their time while on a general practice unit, showing that residents overall spend less time on direct patient care compared with other activities.
Project description:BackgroundPatient care ownership is essential to delivering high-quality medical care but appears to be eroding among trainees. The lack of an objective measure has limited the study of ownership in physicians.ObjectiveTo develop an instrument to measure psychological ownership of patient care.DesignCross-sectional study.ParticipantsInternal medicine trainees in a large, academic hospital completing an inpatient rotation.Main measuresOur scale prototype adapted an existing ownership scale (developed in the non-medical setting) based on themes identified in qualitative studies of patient care ownership. We conducted cognitive interviews to determine face validity of the scale items. Our finalized scale measures ownership's key constructs: advocacy, responsibility, accountability, follow-through, knowledge, communication, initiative, continuity of care, autonomy, and perceived ownership. We distributed an online, anonymous, 46-question survey to 219 residents; 192 residents completed the survey; and 166 responses were included in the analysis. We calculated Cronbach's α to determine the scale's internal consistency. Exploratory factor analysis was used to explore possible subscales. We examined construct validity using bivariate and correlational analysis.Key resultsThe 15-item ownership scale demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.89). We identified three possible subscales corresponding to assertiveness, being the "go-to" person, and diligence. Training level and prior intensive care unit experience significantly predicted ownership (p < 0.01). There was no significant relationship between ownership and age, gender, inpatient service type, call schedule, patient turnover, or supervisory experience of the attending physician. We found a significant negative correlation between ownership and perceived degree of burnout (r = - 0.33), depression (r = - 0.24), detachment (r = - 0.35), and frustration (r = - 0.31) and a significant positive association between ownership and fulfillment (r = 0.37) and happiness (r = 0.36).ConclusionWe developed an instrument to quantify patient care ownership in residents. Our scale demonstrates good internal consistency and preliminary evidence of validity. With further validation, we expect this to be a valuable tool to evaluate interventions aimed at improving ownership.
Project description:Detection of patient- and tumor-specific clonally rearranged immune receptor genes using real-time quantitative (RQ)-PCR is an accepted method in the field of precision medicine for hematologic malignancies. As individual primers are needed for each patient and leukemic clone, establishing performance specifications for the method faces unique challenges. Results for series of diagnostic assays for CLL and ALL patients demonstrate that the analytic performance of the method is not dependent on patients' disease characteristics. The calibration range is linear between 10-1 and 10-5 for 90% of all assays. The detection limit of the current standardized approach is between 1.8 and 4.8 cells among 100,000 leukocytes. RQ-PCR has about 90% overall agreement to flow cytometry and next generation sequencing as orthogonal methods. Accuracy and precision across different labs, and above and below the clinically applied cutoffs for minimal/measurable residual disease (MRD) demonstrate the robustness of the technique. The here reported comprehensive, IVD-guided analytical validation provides evidence that the personalized diagnostic methodology generates robust, reproducible and specific MRD data when standardized protocols for data generation and evaluation are used. Our approach may also serve as a guiding example of how to accomplish analytical validation of personalized in-house diagnostics under the European IVD Regulation.
Project description:BackgroundRecent studies have suggested that there is a positive impact of patient-centered care (PCC) on both the patient-physician relationship and subsequent patient health-related behaviors. One recent prospective study reported a significant relationship between the degree of PCC experienced by patients during their hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and their postdischarge cardiac symptoms. A limitation of this study, however, was a lack of information regarding the technical quality of the AMI care, which might have explained at least part of the differences in outcomes. The present study was undertaken to test the influence of both PCC and technical care quality on outcomes among AMI patients.MethodsWe analyzed data from a national sample of 1,858 veterans hospitalized for an initial AMI in a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center during fiscal years 2003 and 2004 for whom data had been compiled on evidence-based treatment and who had also completed a Picker questionnaire assessing perceptions of PCC. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the relationship between PCC and survival 1-year postdischarge, controlling for technical quality of care, patient clinical condition and history, admission process characteristics, and patient sociodemographic characteristics. We hypothesized that better PCC would be associated with a lower probability of death 1-year postdischarge, even after controlling for patient characteristics and the technical quality of care.ResultsBetter PCC was associated with a significantly but modestly lower hazard of death over the 1-year study period (hazard ratio 0.992, 95 percent confidence interval 0.986-0.999).ConclusionsProviding PCC may result in important clinical benefits, in addition to meeting patient needs and expectations.
Project description:The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated new practices in sports medicine patient care. Telehealth has been validated as a reliable tool for consultations and physical examinations and increases access to care in a cost-efficient manner. Social distancing and avoiding team members who have tested positive are the most effective ways to reduce spread. For screening, daily self-reported symptom checklists and fever monitoring help identify potentially infected athletes who should be instructed to isolate and seek care. Polymerase chain-reaction (PCR) testing for the virus via nasopharyngeal swab is not recommended for screening and should be reserved for symptomatic individuals with fever, cough, or shortness of breath. Face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) may be beneficial in high-risk settings, but there is little evidence to support use in athletic populations. Median return to play after COVID-19 in elite athletes has been reported as 18 days (range, 12 to 30), with 27% not fully available at 28 days. Chest pain at diagnosis was the only symptom associated with time loss before 28 days. Finally, canceled competitions or time loss results in grief, stress, and frustration for athletes, as well as loss of a social support network and routine training regimens. Mental health support services may be indicated.
Project description:Time spent by physicians is a key resource in health care delivery. This study used data captured by the access time stamp functionality of an electronic health record (EHR) to examine physician work effort. This is a potentially powerful, yet unobtrusive, way to study physicians' use of time. We used data on physicians' time allocation patterns captured by over thirty-one million EHR transactions in the period 2011-14 recorded by 471 primary care physicians, who collectively worked on 765,129 patients' EHRs. Our results suggest that the physicians logged an average of 3.08 hours on office visits and 3.17 hours on desktop medicine each day. Desktop medicine consists of activities such as communicating with patients through a secure patient portal, responding to patients' online requests for prescription refills or medical advice, ordering tests, sending staff messages, and reviewing test results. Over time, log records from physicians showed a decline in the time allocated to face-to-face visits, accompanied by an increase in time allocated to desktop medicine. Staffing and scheduling in the physician's office, as well as provider payment models for primary care practice, should account for these desktop medicine efforts.
Project description:BackgroundThere is no standard way of describing the complexities of allied health (AH) care, or its quality. AH is an umbrella term which excludes medicine and nursing, and variably includes disciplines which provide therapy, diagnostic, or scientific services. This paper outlines a framework for a standard approach to evaluate the quality of AH therapy services.MethodsA realist synthesis framework describing what AH does, how it does it, and what is achieved, was developed. This was populated by the findings of a systematic review of literature published since 1980 reporting concepts of quality relevant to AH. Articles were included on quality measurement concepts, theories, debates, and/or hypothetical frameworks.ResultsOf 139 included articles, 21 reported on descriptions of quality potentially relevant to AH. From these, 24 measures of quality were identified, with 15 potentially relating to what AH does, 17 to how AH delivers care, 8 relating to short term functional outcomes, and 9 relating to longer term functional and health system outcomes.ConclusionsA novel evidence-based quality framework was proposed to address the complexity of AH therapies. This should assist in better evaluation of AH processes and outcomes, costs, and evidence-based engagement of AH providers in healthcare teams.
Project description:Shared decision-making is a possible link between the best of patient-centered medicine and evidence-based medicine. This article seeks to describe the link between them. It discusses to what extent the integration of such perspectives is successful in assuring respect for the patient's autonomy. From the evidence herein, we conclude that if the doctor-patient relationship and communication are strengthened to cover all issues relevant to the patient's health and values, is it possible for him or her to achieve more autonomous decisions by this linkage of shared decision-making and patient-centered medicine?SummaryShared decision-making is a possible link between the best of patient-centered medicine and evidence-based medicine. This article seeks to describe the link between them.
Project description:ObjectiveIn 1995, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research initiated the Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) project to develop and evaluate survey protocols for collecting reliable and valid assessments of health care from consumers. CAHPS surveys are used throughout the United States for evaluating ambulatory and hospital care experiences, including a version for assessing pediatric ambulatory care; however, pediatric experts thought that the existing pediatric instruments did not adequately assess developmental and preventive care. The objective of this study was to develop and test an Ambulatory Pediatric CAHPS survey that focuses on clinicians and groups and includes measures of developmental and preventive care.MethodsTo develop the survey, we conducted 2 focus groups and conducted 9 cognitive interviews. We conducted a telephone pretest with 20 parents and coded potential problems with the interview (behavioral coding). We conducted a dual-language field test of the instrument with 670 parents who reported about their children's ambulatory care. We used data from that survey to assess the reliability and validity of the measures.ResultsQuestions about developmental monitoring and preventive care were developed and tested. Two scales that were based on those new questions had good internal consistency (coefficient alpha) and inter-physician reliability. A consortium of CAHPS investigators and federal sponsors have approved the resulting instrument as a national measure of pediatric care.ConclusionsA new instrument for assessing ambulatory pediatric care by clinicians and groups that includes questions about developmental and preventive care is now available for use.
Project description:BackgroundSymptoms related to endometriosis have a significant impact on the quality of life, and symptoms often recur. The experience sampling method (ESM), a digital questioning method characterized by randomly repeated momentary assessments, has several advantages over traditionally used measurements, including the ability to assess the temporal relationship between variables such as physical, mental, and social factors.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to develop an ESM tool for patients with endometriosis to accurately measure symptoms and their course over time, allowing for personalized treatment and adequate monitoring of treatment efficacy in individual patients.MethodsOn the basis of international guidelines, items from validated questionnaires were selected through a literature review and during focus groups and multidisciplinary expert meetings. Data analysis was conducted using ATLAS.ti (ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH). The feasibility and usability of the newly developed momentary assessment tool were tested for 28 consecutive days in 5 patients with endometriosis-related pain symptoms.ResultsMomentary assessment items contained questions concerning endometriosis symptoms, general somatic symptoms, psychological symptoms, contextual information, and the use of food and medication. A morning questionnaire on sleep and sexuality was included. In a pilot study, the patients considered the tool easy to use but time consuming. The average compliance rate of momentary assessments was 37.8% (106/280), with the highest completion rate during the first week (39/70, 56%). Therefore, it is advisable to use the ESM for a maximum of 7 days.ConclusionsA new digital tool for endometriosis symptom assessment was developed using the ESM, which may help overcome the limitations of current retrospective questionnaires. After validation and testing, future studies will be planned to evaluate the use of this tool in a clinical setting in order to propose a personalized treatment plan for women with endometriosis.