Assessment of the Quality of Medical Care Among Patients with Early Stage Prostate Cancer Undergoing Expectant Management in the United States

2012 ◽  
Vol 188 (3) ◽  
pp. 769-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie Ritchey ◽  
E. Greer Gay ◽  
Benjamin A. Spencer ◽  
David C. Miller ◽  
Lauren P. Wallner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Expectant Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
Quality Of Medical Care

Medical Education and Instructional Design

1978 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 317-339
Author(s):  
Richard C. Boutwell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Medical Education ◽  
Instructional Design ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Acceptable Quality ◽  
Quality Of Medical Care

The rising costs of medical care and the training of medical professionals has brought about circumstances which threatens the acceptable quality of medical care in the United States. Fewer medical schools and a drop in the rate of enrolled medical students are but two indicators reflecting the issue between cost versus quality of medical training. One of the medical communities responses to this crisis has been the introduction of educational technology and instructional design processes in the training of medical professionals. This paper discusses the background of the problem and offers an instructional design model which has applied success.

scholarly journals �A Phenomenal Person and Doctor�: Thank You Letters to Medical Care Providers (Preprint)

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talya Miron-Shatz ◽  
Stefan Becker ◽  
Franklin Zaromb ◽  
Alexander Mertens ◽  
Avi Tsafrir
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Good Care ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Medical Facilities ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Quality Of Medical Care ◽  
The Web

BACKGROUND Thank you letters to physicians and medical facilities are an untapped resource, providing an invaluable glimpse into what patients notice and appreciate in their care. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze such thank you letters as posted on the Web by medical institutions to find what patients and families consider to be good care. In an age of patient-centered care, it is pivotal to see what metrics patients and families apply when assessing their care and whether they grasp specific versus general qualities in their care. METHODS Our exploratory inquiry covered 100 thank you letters posted on the Web by 26 medical facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom. We systematically coded and descriptively presented the aspects of care that patients and their families thanked doctors and medical facilities for. We relied on previous work outlining patient priorities and satisfaction (Anderson et al, 2007), to which we added a distinction between global and specific evaluations for each of the already existing categories with two additional categories: general praise and other, and several subcategories, such as treatment outcome, to the category of medical care. RESULTS In 73% of the letters (73/100), physicians were primarily thanked for their medical treatment. In 71% (71/100) of the letters, they were thanked for their personality and demeanor. In 52% cases (52/100), these two aspects were mentioned together, suggesting that from the perspective of patient as well as the family member, both are deemed necessary in positive evaluation of medical care. Only 8% (8/100) of the letters lacked reference to medical care, personality or demeanor, or communication. No statistically significant differences were observed in the number of letters that expressed gratitude for the personality or demeanor of medical care providers versus the quality of medical care (χ21, N=200=0.1, not statistically significant). Letters tended to express more specific praise for personality or demeanor, such as being supportive, understanding, humane and caring (48/71, 68%) but more general praise for medical care (χ21, N=424=63.9, P<.01). The most often mentioned specific quality of medical care were treatment outcomes (30/73, 41%), followed by technical competence (15/73, 21%) and treatment approach (14/73, 19%). A limitation of this inquiry is that we analyzed the letters that medical centers chose to post on the Web. These are not necessarily a representative sample of all thank you letters as are sent to health care institutions but are still indicative of what centers choose to showcase on the Web. CONCLUSIONS Physician demeanor and quality of interaction with patients are pivotal in how laymen perceive good care, no less so than medical care per se. This inquiry can inform care providers and medical curricula, leading to an improvement in the perceived quality of care.

Overtreatment of low-risk prostate cancer in the United States: Incidence, cost, complications, and implications for the screening debate.

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (6_suppl) ◽  
pp. 161-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayal A. Aizer ◽  
Xiangmei Gu ◽  
Toni K. Choueiri ◽  
Neil E. Martin ◽  
Jim C. Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Specific Antigen ◽  
Expectant Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
Low Risk ◽  
Definitive Treatment ◽  
Risk Prostate Cancer ◽  
Low Risk Prostate Cancer

161 Background: The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends active surveillance as the sole option for men with low-risk prostate cancer (LRPC) and a life expectancy <10 years. We sought to describe the incidence, risk factors, cost, and morbidity related to overtreatment of LRPC within the United States. Methods: We used the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER)-Medicare Program to identify 11,744 men ≥66 years with LRPC diagnosed from 2004-2007. Expected survival was estimated using the 2007 Social Security Life Table and was increased and decreased by 50% in men in the upper and lower quartiles of comorbidity, respectively, as specified by the NCCN. Overtreatment was definitive treatment in men with LRPC and life expectancy <10 years. Costs were the amount paid by Medicare in the year following minus the year prior to diagnosis. Toxicities were defined as relevant Medicare diagnoses or interventions. Results: Of 3001 men with LRPC and a life expectancy <10 years, 2011 (67%) were treated definitively. On multivariable logistic regression, men overtreated for prostate cancer were more likely to be younger (p<.001), white (vs black, OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.03-2.02, p=.03), married (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.05-1.61, p=.02), urban (trend, OR 1.40, 95% CI 0.98-2.00, p=.06), have higher Elixhauser comorbidity (p<.001), and have a higher clinical stage (T2 vs T1, OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.19-2.07, p=.001) and prostate-specific antigen level (OR 1.02, 95% CI 1.02-1.02, p<.001). Relative to expectant management, the mean added cost per definitive treatment was $15,308. When extrapolated nationally the cumulative net cost of overtreatment in men ≥66 years is $32 million per annum. Long-term urinary, erectile, and bowel toxicity occurred in 59.2% and 50.0%, 47.9% and 19.7%, and 7.1% and 17.8% of prostatectomy and radiation patients, respectively. Conclusions: Overtreatment of prostate cancer is partially driven by sociodemographic factors and occurs in a high percentage of men with LRPC and limited life expectancy, with marked impact on patient quality of life and health care costs. Efforts to enhance appropriate management of LRPC would reduce the harms associated with screening.

scholarly journals Uncertainty and Quality of Life Among Men Undergoing Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer in the United States and Ireland

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephine M. Hegarty ◽  
Meredith Wallace ◽  
Harry Comber
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Active Surveillance ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Option

Background. Prostate cancer continues to be the most common site of male cancers, particularly among older men in Europe and the United States, and the second most common male cancer worldwide. Active surveillance involves the use of no local or systemic therapy once prostate cancer has been diagnosed. A description of uncertainty and quality of life among men undergoing active surveillance in samples from both the United States and Ireland has the potential to enhance global health care delivery. Methods. The specific aim of this study is to enhance the understanding of the experience of active surveillance for prostate cancer among Irish and American men by measuring quality of life and levels of uncertainty among men over the age of 65 in receipt of the active surveillance management option for prostate cancer. A quantitative, descriptive survey design was used. Results. Twenty-nine men completed questionnaires. The results reveal that men undergoing active surveillance in the United States have slightly higher levels of uncertainty. Primary appraisal, opportunity, and danger appraisal were consistent between samples from both countries. Total affective and health-related quality-of-life scores were similar among active surveillance participants in both countries, but subscale scores identified both similarities and differences. Irish men had lower mean role and social function than U.S. men, and higher general health and energy. Irish men reported more urine bother and less sexual bother than U.S. men. Conclusion. To assist men with prostate cancer who are treated with the active surveillance management option, health care professionals must develop an awareness of how prostate cancer affects the man's physical and psychological health care outcomes.

scholarly journals Measuring patient satisfaction in children

1993 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 661-662
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Walters
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Patient Satisfaction ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Child Mental Health Services ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Medical Advisory Committee ◽  
Quality Of Medical Care

The report of the Standing Medical Advisory Committee to the Department of Health, The Quality of Medical Care (1990), states that outcome is the most relevant indicator of quality of medical care. In addition to providing information about the appropriateness of treatments, there are important ethical and resource implications if activities are found to be unjustified. However, measuring outcome is difficult if there is no quantifiable change in symptoms or function following treatment. In child psychiatry this is a relatively common dilemma and outcome studies, while agreed to be essential, are frequently abandoned at an early stage or fail to get off the ground because of the complexity of the problems they generate. In a review of the ways in which child mental health services attempt to measure outcome (Pound & Cottrell, 1989) the authors acknowledge these difficulties and conclude that a start should be made by “Asking the customer's opinion” about the treatment they have received. In other words, “Are they satisfied?”.

scholarly journals An International Mapping of Medical Care in Nursing Homes

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 117863291882508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gudmund Ågotnes ◽  
Margaret J McGregor ◽  
Joel Lexchin ◽  
Malcolm B Doupe ◽  
Beatrice Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Medical Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Fee For Service ◽  
Care Provision ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Service Models ◽  
Academic Publications

Nursing home (NH) residents are increasingly in need of timely and frequent medical care, presupposing not only available but perhaps also continual medical care provision in NHs. The provision of this medical care is organized differently both within and across countries, which may in turn profoundly affect the overall quality of care provided to NH residents. Data were collected from official legislations and regulations, academic publications, and statistical databases. Based on this set of data, we describe and compare the policies and practices guiding how medical care is provided across Canada (2 provinces), Germany, Norway, and the United States. Our findings disclose that there is a considerable difference to find among jurisdictions regarding specificity and scope of regulations regarding medical care in NHs. Based on our data, we construct 2 general models of medical care: (1) more regulations—fee-for-service payment—open staffing models and (2) less regulation—salaried positions—closed staffing models. Some evidence indicates that model 1 can lead to less available medical care provision and to medical care provision being less integrated into the overall care services. As such, we argue that the service models discussed can significantly influence continuity of medical care in NH.

scholarly journals Epileptic status: reality 2021

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 59-68
Author(s):  
Sergey N. Bazilevich ◽  
Mikhail Yu. Prokudin ◽  
Dmitriy A. Averyanov ◽  
Dmitriy E. Dyskin
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Antiepileptic Drugs ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Treatment Protocol ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Medical Personnel ◽  
General Anesthetics ◽  
Quality Of Medical Care ◽  
The Russian Federation

Epileptic status is one of the urgent conditions in neurology that requires clear and urgent measures at any stage of medical care. It ranks second among all urgent neurological conditions. The therapeutic principle time-brain is applicable not only for urgent measures in acute cerebrovascular accident, but also for the relief of epileptic status, since the worst prognosis is associated with an increase in the duration of seizure activity. According to the standards proposed in the world for the treatment of epileptic status, benzodiazepines, intravenous forms of antiepileptic drugs, and general anesthetics are used. In the Russian Federation, the use of many drugs is limited due to the lack of registration, their lack in standards, and unavailability in hospitals. Due to the lack of studies on the treatment of epileptic status that go beyond the early stage of status, most of the recommendations presented worldwide remain based on case series or expert judgment. The efficacy benefits of anti-status drugs used in the second and third stages of epileptic status therapy remain unclear. Therefore, if there is a choice of anti-status drugs, the decision of which drug, in what dose and in what sequence will be used, should be made by the senior and most trained doctor in this matter, taking into account the characteristics of each patient. Based on modern international and personal experience, the paper presents a step-by-step protocol for the treatment of generalized convulsive epileptic status, discusses the successes and problems of providing care to patients with this pathology in Russia. The quality of medical care in epileptic status can be significantly improved provided that medical personnel at all stages of the treatment protocol are required to evacuate patients with epileptic status to specialized centers of multidisciplinary hospitals with the possibility of examination and therapy, including the availability of EEG monitors, neuroimaging and laboratory capabilities, and also access to modern antiepileptic drugs (1 table, bibliography: 30 refs)

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document