Adequacy of resources for provision of maternal health services at the primary health care level in Nnewi,Nigeria

Background:

To determine the adequacy of resources (human and material) for provision of maternal health services at the primary health care (PHC) level in Nnewi, Nigeria.

Materials and Methods:

A cross-sectional study of women utilising maternal health services in four public PHC facilities in Nnewi selected using multistage sampling technique was done. Data was collected using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data was analysed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 16, while qualitative data was reported verbatim, analysed thematically and necessary quotes presented.

Results:

Two hundred and eighty women were studied. The mean age of respondents was 29.2 ± 5.9 years, while 231 (82.5%) were married. Most of them (82.5%) and 184 (66.1%), had their blood pressure and body weight respectively measured, while 196 (70.0%) had tetanus toxoid vaccination. Less than half of the respondents (41.4%) had urine test for sugar, and protein, while 94 (33.8%) had blood test for anaemia. The four facilities studied had most of the equipment and drugs available but in insufficient quantities. In three out of the four facilities, the physical structures were mostly good. None of them is equipped to provide an essential obstetric care (EOC) services, while one medical doctor covered all the facilities studied.

Conclusions:

This study showed that none of the health facilities is equipped with the minimum equipment package, essential drugs nor staff complement required to enable them offer quality maternal health services. With advocacy, technical support and funding, strategies could be implemented to provide quality maternal health services.     

Brief communication: Facility characteristics associated with the use of electronic health records in residential care facilities

The integration of electronic health records (EHRs) across care settings including residential care facilities (RCFs) promises to reduce medical errors and improve coordination of services. Using data from the 2010 National Survey of Residential Care Facilities (n=2302), this study examines the association between facility structural characteristics and the use of EHRs in RCFs. Findings indicate that in 2010, only 3% of RCFs nationwide were using an EHR. However, 55% of RCFs reported using a computerized system for one or more (but not all) of the functionalities defined by a basic EHR. Ownership, chain membership, staffing levels, and facility size were significantly associated with the use of one or more core EHR functionalities. These findings suggest that facility characteristics may play an important role in the adoption of EHRs in RCFs.     

Electronic health records improve clinical note quality

Background and objective The clinical note documents the clinician''s information collection, problem assessment, clinical management, and its used for administrative purposes. Electronic health records (EHRs) are being implemented in clinical practices throughout the USA yet it is not known whether they improve the quality of clinical notes. The goal in this study was to determine if EHRs improve the quality of outpatient clinical notes.Materials and methods A five and a half year longitudinal retrospective multicenter quantitative study comparing the quality of handwritten and electronic outpatient clinical visit notes for 100 patients with type 2 diabetes at three time points: 6 months prior to the introduction of the EHR (before-EHR), 6 months after the introduction of the EHR (after-EHR), and 5 years after the introduction of the EHR (5-year-EHR). QNOTE, a validated quantitative instrument, was used to assess the quality of outpatient clinical notes. Its scores can range from a low of 0 to a high of 100. Sixteen primary care physicians with active practices used QNOTE to determine the quality of the 300 patient notes.Results The before-EHR, after-EHR, and 5-year-EHR grand mean scores (SD) were 52.0 (18.4), 61.2 (16.3), and 80.4 (8.9), respectively, and the change in scores for before-EHR to after-EHR and before-EHR to 5-year-EHR were 18% (p<0.0001) and 55% (p<0.0001), respectively. All the element and grand mean quality scores significantly improved over the 5-year time interval.Conclusions The EHR significantly improved the overall quality of the outpatient clinical note and the quality of all its elements, including the core and non-core elements. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that the EHR significantly improves the quality of clinical notes.     

A qualitative analysis of communication workflows between adult day service centers and primary care providers

ObjectivesOur study documented communication workflows across adult day care centers (ADCs) and primary care providers (PCPs) around complex needs of persons living with dementia (PLWD). We also identified barriers and facilitators to productive communication in clinical decision support and clinical information systems.Materials and MethodsWe conducted 6 focus groups with ADC staff (N = 33) and individual semistructured interviews with PCPs (N = 22) in California. The eHealth Enhanced Chronic Care Model was used to frame the directed qualitative content analysis.ResultsOur results captured cumbersome and ineffective workflows currently used to exchange information across PCPs and ADCs. Stakeholders characterized current communication as (1) infrequent, (2) delayed, (3) incomplete, (4) unreliable, (5) irrelevant, and (6) generic. Conversely, communication that was bidirectional, relevant, succinct, and interdisciplinary was needed to elevate the standard of care for PLWD.Discussion and ConclusionADCs possess a wealth of information that can support clinical decision-making across community-based providers involved in the care of PLWD, especially PCPs. However, effective information exchange is mired by complicated workflows that rely on antiquated technologies (eg, facsimile) and standard templates. Current information exchange largely focuses on satisfying regulatory guidelines rather than supporting clinical decision-making. Integrating community-based services into the health care continuum is a necessary step in elevating the standard of care for PLWD. In the absence of interoperable electronic health records, which may not be financially viable for ADCs, other options, such as mobile health, should be explored to facilitate productive information exchange of personalized relevant information.     

Effects of computer-aided clinical decision support systems in improving antibiotic prescribing by primary care providers: a systematic review

Objective To assess the effectiveness of computer-aided clinical decision support systems (CDSS) in improving antibiotic prescribing in primary care.Methods A literature search utilizing Medline (via PubMed) and Embase (via Embase) was conducted up to November 2013. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cluster randomized trials (CRTs) that evaluated the effects of CDSS aiming at improving antibiotic prescribing practice in an ambulatory primary care setting were included for review. Two investigators independently extracted data about study design and quality, participant characteristics, interventions, and outcomes.Results Seven studies (4 CRTs, 3 RCTs) met our inclusion criteria. All studies were performed in the USA. Proportions of eligible patient visits that triggered CDSS use varied substantially between intervention arms of studies (range 2.8–62.8%). Five out of seven trials showed marginal to moderate statistically significant effects of CDSS in improving antibiotic prescribing behavior. CDSS that automatically provided decision support were more likely to improve prescribing practice in contrast to systems that had to be actively initiated by healthcare providers.Conclusions CDSS show promising effectiveness in improving antibiotic prescribing behavior in primary care. Magnitude of effects compared to no intervention, appeared to be similar to other moderately effective single interventions directed at primary care providers. Additional research is warranted to determine CDSS characteristics crucial to triggering high adoption by providers as a perquisite of clinically relevant improvement of antibiotic prescribing.     

The SMART Platform: early experience enabling substitutable applications for electronic health records

Objective

The Substitutable Medical Applications, Reusable Technologies (SMART) Platforms project seeks to develop a health information technology platform with substitutable applications (apps) constructed around core services. The authors believe this is a promising approach to driving down healthcare costs, supporting standards evolution, accommodating differences in care workflow, fostering competition in the market, and accelerating innovation.

Materials and methods

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, through the Strategic Health IT Advanced Research Projects (SHARP) Program, funds the project. The SMART team has focused on enabling the property of substitutability through an app programming interface leveraging web standards, presenting predictable data payloads, and abstracting away many details of enterprise health information technology systems. Containers—health information technology systems, such as electronic health records (EHR), personally controlled health records, and health information exchanges that use the SMART app programming interface or a portion of it—marshal data sources and present data simply, reliably, and consistently to apps.

Results

The SMART team has completed the first phase of the project (a) defining an app programming interface, (b) developing containers, and (c) producing a set of charter apps that showcase the system capabilities. A focal point of this phase was the SMART Apps Challenge, publicized by the White House, using http://www.challenge.gov website, and generating 15 app submissions with diverse functionality.

Conclusion

Key strategic decisions must be made about the most effective market for further disseminating SMART: existing market-leading EHR vendors, new entrants into the EHR market, or other stakeholders such as health information exchanges.     

Let the left hand know what the right is doing: a vision for care coordination and electronic health records

Despite the potential for electronic health records to help providers coordinate care, the current marketplace has failed to provide adequate solutions. Using a simple framework, we describe a vision of information technology capabilities that could substantially improve four care coordination activities: identifying collaborators, contacting collaborators, collaborating, and monitoring. Collaborators can include any individual clinician, caregiver, or provider organization involved in care for a given patient. This vision can be used to guide the development of care coordination tools and help policymakers track and promote their adoption.     

Evaluation of an electronic health record-supported obesity management protocol implemented in a community health center: a cautionary note

Objective Primary care clinicians are well-positioned to intervene in the obesity epidemic. We studied whether implementation of an obesity intake protocol and electronic health record (EHR) form to guide behavior modification would facilitate identification and management of adult obesity in a Federally Qualified Health Center serving low-income, Hispanic patients.Materials and Methods In three studies, we examined clinician and patient outcomes before and after the addition of the weight management protocol and form. In the Clinician Study, 12 clinicians self-reported obesity management practices. In the Population Study, BMI and order data from 5000 patients and all 40 clinicians in the practice were extracted from the EHR preintervention and postintervention. In the Exposure Study, EHR-documented outcomes for a sub-sample of 46 patients actually exposed to the obesity management form were compared to matched controls.Results Clinicians reported that the intake protocol and form increased their performance of obesity-related assessments and their confidence in managing obesity. However, no improvement in obesity management practices or patient weight-loss was evident in EHR records for the overall clinic population. Further analysis revealed that only 55 patients were exposed to the form. Exposed patients were twice as likely to receive weight-loss counseling following the intervention, as compared to before, and more likely than matched controls. However, their obesity outcomes did not differ.Conclusion Results suggest that an obesity intake protocol and EHR-based weight management form may facilitate clinician weight-loss counseling among those exposed to the form. Significant implementation barriers can limit exposure, however, and need to be addressed.     

Harmonized patient-reported data elements in the electronic health record: supporting meaningful use by primary care action on health behaviors and key psychosocial factors

Background

Electronic health records (EHR) have the potential to improve patient care through efficient access to complete patient health information. This potential may not be reached because many of the most important determinants of health outcome are rarely included. Successful health promotion and disease prevention requires patient-reported data reflecting health behaviors and psychosocial issues. Furthermore, there is a need to harmonize this information across different EHR systems.

Methods

To fill this gap a three-phased process was used to conceptualize, identify and recommend patient-reported data elements on health behaviors and psychosocial factors for the EHR. Expert panels (n=13) identified candidate measures (phase 1) that were reviewed and rated by a wide range of health professionals (n=93) using the grid-enabled measures wiki social media platform (phase 2). Recommendations were finalized through a town hall meeting with key stakeholders including patients, providers, researchers, policy makers, and representatives from healthcare settings (phase 3).

Results

Nine key elements from three areas emerged as the initial critical patient-reported elements to incorporate systematically into EHR—health behaviors (eg, exercise), psychosocial issues (eg, distress), and patient-centered factors (eg, demographics). Recommendations were also made regarding the frequency of collection ranging from a single assessment (eg, demographic characteristics), to annual assessment (eg, health behaviors), or more frequent (eg, patient goals).

Conclusions

There was strong stakeholder support for this initiative reflecting the perceived value of incorporating patient-reported elements into EHR. The next steps will include testing the feasibility of incorporating these elements into the EHR across diverse primary care settings.     

苏北、苏中、苏南2235所中小学卫生保健工作现况的调查

目的:了解江苏省中小学卫生保健工作的基本情况,为完善中小学卫生保健工作提供依据。方法:采用随机整群抽样的方法,从13个地级市共抽取52个县(市、区),对抽到的每个县(市、区)所有普通中小学(不含农村办学点)卫生保健工作以及卫生(保健)室人员、设备、常用药物的配备情况进行调查。结果:调查发现,2 235所学校中把健康教育纳入课堂、每年组织学生体检、建立学生健康体检档案、对常见病统计、建立突发公共卫生应急处置制度的比例分别为94.0%、89.6%、90.1%、78.9%、98.4%,中小学之间比较差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05)。1 681所学校设立卫生(保健)室,其中26.8%持有医疗机构执业许可证,64.8%的配有内用非处方药,23.6%的配齐健康体检5大件,中小学比较差异均有统计学意义(P<0.01)。小学校医(保健教师)的配备达标率高于中学(P<0.05)。苏南地区卫生保健工作及卫生室基本情况好于苏中、苏北。结论:江苏省中小学卫生保健工作具有一定基础,但卫生保健基本情况不容乐观,且存在着明显的地区间差异,卫生保健工作需要规范建设、加大投入、加强专业队伍建设、加强督导检查。     

安徽省农村卫生保健网网底医务人员的现状调查及分析

目的:了解安徽省农村卫生保健网网底医务人员现状,为进一步提高农村卫生室服务能力提供依据.方法:按分层抽样原则从皖北、皖中、皖南地区,按经济好、中、差抽取农村卫生室的医务人员,采用自编制调查表,调查其基本状况、教育培训状况、工作满意度、工作时间分布及基础知识测试.结果:村卫生室医疗人员年龄平均为41.54岁,男性占80.69%,高中及以上文化程度占68.23%,平均村卫生室工作年限13.94年;87.59%的人员接受过正规教育,对现有培训措施及成效评价较好,但在培训过程中也存在若干问题;对目前工作、收入、工作条件的满意度均评价为一般;预防免疫等公共卫生服务项目开展较少;基础知识测试及格率皖北为36.9%、皖中为40.5%、皖南为53.8%.结论:安徽省农村医务人员医疗技能不高,人员结构不合理,其职能不明确,应依靠完善的培训机制和政府有力的投入给予保障.     

北京基层医生实施《中国高血压防治指南》的现状分析

目的　分析《中国高血压防治指南》在北京基层医院的执行现状 ,为《指南》的推广实施提出具体的措施和建议 ,以提高基层医生高血压防治的整体水平。方法　采用系统随机抽样方法 ,对4 0 0位北京市城乡基层医生进行问卷调查。结果　《指南》的总体执行状况城区好于乡镇 ;对《指南》的知晓率为 87 8% ,培训率 2 9 0 % ,持有率为 5 5 5 % ,知识得分及格率 4 4 0 % ;知识和行为与《指南》培训有关 ,主要在药物和非药物治疗的知识和行为上。结论　应提高《指南》持有率和培训率 ,改进培训的方法和内容 ,将重点放在药物和非药物治疗的技能上。     

Virtualization of open-source secure web services to support data exchange in a pediatric critical care research network

Objectives To examine the feasibility of deploying a virtual web service for sharing data within a research network, and to evaluate the impact on data consistency and quality.Material and Methods Virtual machines (VMs) encapsulated an open-source, semantically and syntactically interoperable secure web service infrastructure along with a shadow database. The VMs were deployed to 8 Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network Clinical Centers.Results Virtual web services could be deployed in hours. The interoperability of the web services reduced format misalignment from 56% to 1% and demonstrated that 99% of the data consistently transferred using the data dictionary and 1% needed human curation.Conclusions Use of virtualized open-source secure web service technology could enable direct electronic abstraction of data from hospital databases for research purposes.     

Electronic health records and clinician burnout: A story of three eras

ObjectiveThe study sought to provide physicians, informaticians, and institutional policymakers with an introductory tutorial about the history of medical documentation, sources of clinician burnout, and opportunities to improve electronic health records (EHRs). We now have unprecedented opportunities in health care, with the promise of new cures, improved equity, greater sensitivity to social and behavioral determinants of health, and data-driven precision medicine all on the horizon. EHRs have succeeded in making many aspects of care safer and more reliable. Unfortunately, current limitations in EHR usability and problems with clinician burnout distract from these successes. A complex interplay of technology, policy, and healthcare delivery has contributed to our current frustrations with EHRs. Fortunately, there are opportunities to improve the EHR and health system. A stronger emphasis on improving the clinician’s experience through close collaboration by informaticians, clinicians, and vendors can combine with specific policy changes to address the causes of burnout.Target audienceThis tutorial is intended for clinicians, informaticians, policymakers, and regulators, who are essential participants in discussions focused on improving clinician burnout. Learners in biomedicine, regardless of clinical discipline, also may benefit from this primer and review.ScopeWe include (1) an overview of medical documentation from a historical perspective; (2) a summary of the forces converging over the past 20 years to develop and disseminate the modern EHR; and (3) future opportunities to improve EHR structure, function, user base, and time required to collect and extract information.     

Electronic consultations and economies of scale: a qualitative study of clinician perspectives on scaling up e-consult delivery

ObjectiveTo explore Veterans Health Administration clinicians’ perspectives on the idea of redesigning electronic consultation (e-consult) delivery in line with a hub-and-spoke (centralized) model.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a qualitative study in VA New England Healthcare System (VISN 1). Semi-structured phone interviews were conducted with 35 primary care providers and 38 specialty care providers, including 13 clinical leaders, at 6 VISN 1 sites varying in size, specialist availability, and e-consult volume. Interviews included exploration of the hub-and-spoke (centralized) e-consult model as a system redesign option. Qualitative content analysis procedures were applied to identify and describe salient categories.ResultsParticipants saw several potential benefits to scaling up e-consult delivery from a decentralized model to a hub-and-spoke model, including expanded access to specialist expertise and increased timeliness of e-consult responses. Concerns included differences in resource availability and management styles between sites, anticipated disruption to working relationships, lack of incentives for central e-consultants, dedicated staff’s burnout and fatigue, technological challenges, and lack of motivation for change.DiscussionBased on a case study from one of the largest integrated healthcare systems in the United States, our work identifies novel concerns and offers insights for healthcare organizations contemplating a scale-up of their e-consult systems.ConclusionsScaling up e-consults in line with the hub-and-spoke model may help pave the way for a centralized and efficient approach to care delivery, but the success of this transformation will depend on healthcare systems’ ability to evaluate and address barriers to leveraging economies of scale for e-consults.     

基于电子健康档案的慢性病管理模式研究

目的:研究电子信息档案在慢性病管理模式中的应用?方法:选取南京市鼓楼区2008年10月~2011年10月的社区慢性病中高血压?糖尿病和恶性肿瘤三种疾病的管理情况作为研究对象,按照不同时期分为2008年10月~2009年9月(A)?2009年10月~2010年9月(B)以及2010年10月~2011年9月(C)三个时段,比较三个时段的辖区人数?建档管理数?建档管理率?规范管理数以及规范管理率?结果:截至2011年9月底,全区完成规范性电子健康档案59.88万份,建档率达72.43%,其中规范管理数达33.34万份,规范管理率高达55.68%?数据间比较,B?C两时段均显著高于A时段(P < 0.05),建档管理数与建档管理率C时段显著高于B时段(P < 0.05),但B?C两时段在规范管理数与规范管理率上差异无统计学意义(P > 0.05)?结论:慢性病信息化管理模式可以有效整合医疗资源,实现慢性病防治的科学管理,可以动态观察个体和群体的相关健康问题,定时评估,及时发现问题并采取措施干预和控制,效果明显,可以有效提高慢性病管理工作效率?     

Can costs of screening for hypertension and diabetes in dental care and follow-up in primary health care be predicted?

Abstract

Aim. The purpose was to assess the direct costs of screening for high blood pressure and blood glucose in dental care and of follow-up in primary health care and, based on these data, arrive at a prediction function.

Study population. All subjects coming for routine check-ups at three dental health clinics were invited to have blood pressure or blood glucose measurements; 1,623 agreed to participate. Subjects screening positive were referred to their primary health care centres for follow-up.

Methods. Information on individual screening time was registered during the screening process, and information on accountable time, costs for the screening staff, overhead costs, and analysis costs for the screening was obtained from the participating dental clinics. The corresponding items in primary care, i.e. consultation time, number of follow-up appointments, accountable time, costs for the follow-up staff, overhead costs, and analysis costs during follow-up were obtained from the primary health care centres.

Results. The total screening costs per screened subject ranged from €7.4 to €9.2 depending on subgroups, corresponding to 16.7–42.7 staff minutes. The corresponding follow-up costs were €57–€91. The total resource used for screening and follow-up per diagnosis was 563–3,137 staff minutes. There was a strong relationship between resource use and numbers needed to screen (NNS) to find one diagnosis (P < 0.0001, degree of explanation 99%).

Conclusions. Screening and follow-up costs were moderate and appear to be lower for combined screening of blood pressure and blood glucose than for separate screening. There was a strong relationship between resource use and NNS.     

基于本体论的电子健康档案知识库构建初探

电子健康档案具有明显的文献特征,有较强的研究价值和挖掘价值。在概述电子健康档案文献特点和生物医药语义知识库研究现状的基础上,论述了电子健康档案知识库构建的步骤、技术难点及解决思路。讨论了电子健康档案如何引入本体和本体技术以及进行语义抽取,在此基础上提出基于本体的数据挖掘技术应用于健康档案的构想,实现健康档案中医学知识的多维度关联与智能检索功能。     

江苏省基层医疗机构医疗废物管理现状调查与分析

目的:了解江苏省基层医疗机构医疗废物管理现状,为政府制定决策提供依据?方法:采用抽样方法,选取苏南?苏中?苏北中的3个市作为实地调研单位,依据国家目前颁布出台的医疗废物相关法律法规,共调研了22家基层医疗机构?结果:基层医疗机构在医疗废物管理中存在一定的不足之处,在利器存放?暂存地建设?医疗废物收集时间频次以及集中处置问题等方面还需进一步优化?结论:政府和行政主管部门在制定具体政策时应考虑基层医疗机构的实际情况,采取切实可行的政策和措施,真正做好医疗废物减量化?无害化和资源化处理?