Clinical practice placements in the community: A survey to determine if they reflect the shift in healthcare delivery from secondary to primary care settings

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Betony
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
FU Leung Chan ◽  
Yim Chu Li ◽  
Xiao Rui Catherine Chen

Abstract Background Therapeutic inertia (TI), defined as physicians’ failure to increase therapy when treatment goals are unmet, is an impediment to chronic disease management. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of TI in proteinuria management among T2DM patients managed in primary care settings and to explore possible associating factors. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. T2DM patients with proteinuria (either microalbuminuria or macroalbuminuria) and had been followed up in 7 public primary care clinics of the Hospital Authority of Hong Kong from 1 Jan, 2014 to 31 Dec, 2015 were included. The prevalence of TI in proteinuria management and its association with patients’ demographic and clinical parameters and the working profile of the attending doctors were explored. Student’s t test and analysis of variance were used for analyzing continuous variables and Chi square test was used for categorical data. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression was used to determine the association between TI and the significant variables from patients' and doctors' characteristics. Results Among the 22,644 T2DM patients identified in the case register, 5163 (26.4%) patients were found to have proteinuria. Among the sampled 385 T2DM patients with proteinuria, TI was identified in 155 cases, with a prevalence rate of 40.3%. Male doctor, doctor with longer duration of clinical practice and have never received any form of Family Medicine training were found to have a higher TI. Patients with microalbuminuria range and lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) were also found to have higher TI. Logistic regression study revealed that patients’ systolic BP level and microalbuminuria range of proteinuria were negatively associated with the presence of TI, whereas doctor’s year of clinical practice being over 20 years and patients being treated with submaximal dose of medication were positively associated with the presence of TI. Conclusions TI is commonly present in proteinuria management among T2DM patients, with a prevalence of 40.3% in primary care. Systolic BP and microalbuminuria range of urine ACR were negatively associated with the presence of TI, whereas submaximal ACEI/ARB dose and doctors practicing over 20 years were positively associated with the presence of TI. Further studies exploring the strategies to combat TI are needed to improve the clinical outcome of T2DM patients.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
S. Chen

Late-life depression is associated with physical and psychological comorbidity, functional and cognitive impairment, and increased mortality due to suicide and other causes. However, studies in the west show that the identification of depression in older people is problematic and consequently the illness is underdiagnosed and undertreated. We investigated the prevalence of late-life depression and physicians’ attitude toward it in primary care settings of China.The survey was performed in urban primary care settings of Hangzhou, China. 1000 patients aged ≥ 55 years and 300 primary care physicians were recruited, of which 689 patients and 247 physicians provided complete data. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-30) was used for investigating the prevalence of late-life depression in patients, and the Depression Attitude Questionnaire (DAQ) for investigating physicians’ attitudes and knowledge about depression.Of the 689 patients, 23.4% (n=161) scored ≥ 11 on the GDS-30, including 3% (n=21) who scored ≥ 21. Among the physicians, 72% (n=178) endorsed that “Becoming depressed is a natural part of being old”, and 70% (n=173) of them thought “Working with depressed patients is heavy going”; in their clinical practice. Only 6.6% of physicians prescribed anti-depressants.Primary care physicians in China are ill prepared to diagnose and treat depression in older adults, which presents at high rates in primary care clinics. How to improve their attitudes and clinical practice is crucial to the well-being of older people in China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Manolios ◽  
Jordan Sibeoni ◽  
Maria Teixeira ◽  
Anne Révah-Levy ◽  
Laurence Verneuil ◽  
...  

AbstractPrimary Care Providers (PCPs) often deal with patients on daily clinical practice without knowing anything about their smoking status and willingness to quit. The aim of this metasynthesis is to explore the PCPs and patients who are smokers perspectives regarding the issue of smoking cessation within primary care settings. It relies on the model of meta-ethnography and follows thematic synthesis procedures. Twenty-two studies are included, reporting on the view of 580 participants. Three main themes emerge: (i) What lacks, (ii) Some expectations but no request, and (iii) How to address the issue and induce patients’ motivation. Our results reveal a global feeling of a lack of legitimacy among PCPs when it comes to addressing the issue of tobacco and smoking cessation with their patients, even though they have developed creative strategies based on what is at the core of their practice, that is proximity, continuity, long-term and trustworthy relationship.


Author(s):  
Howard N. Garb

How do clinicians arrive at diagnostic decisions? In most cases the decision is not made following formal criteria, but by intuition. In addition, routine interviews are often narrow and the feedback gleaned from patients is inadequate. Yet it is not clear if screening helps or hinders clinical judgment. It might be that only clinicians who have low confidence and interviewing and diagnostic skills are open to the use of and actually helped by diagnostic tools. To provide a theoretical framework for understanding why it is difficult for physicians to detect depression in primary care settings, a broad array of research in the mental health fields can be described. For example, more than 1,000 studies have been conducted on clinical judgment in the area of mental health practice, and the results from these studies can be used to illuminate the challenges physicians face in judging whether a patient is clinically depressed and can benefit from treatment. In this chapter, results on clinical judgment will be described. A second topic will also be briefly discussed. Results from research on clinical judgment would seem to indicate that screening should be of value. Yet, as noted in Chapter 7, stand-alone screening programs have added little or nothing to outcomes. Reasons for this unexpected result will be explored. Three topics will be discussed: (1) narrowness of interviews, (2) nature of patient feedback, and (3) the cognitive processes of clinicians. Depression goes undetected because in many cases physicians do not ask patients if they have symptoms of a depressive mood disorder.3 To place this in context, it can be noted that mental health professionals also often do not ask patients about important symptoms and behaviors. Failure to inquire about depression in primary care settings can be viewed in the broader context of failure to inquire about important symptoms and events in mental health settings. Research on clinical judgment has demonstrated that lack of comprehensiveness is often a problem for interviews made in clinical practice. For example, in one study,4 mental health professionals saw patients in routine clinical practice, and afterwards research investigators conducted semi-structured interviews with the patients. Remarkably, the mental health professionals had evaluated only about 50% of the symptoms that were recorded using the semi-structured interviews.


2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 413-424
Author(s):  
Hyo-Sun You ◽  
Yu-Jin Kwon ◽  
Sunyoung Kim ◽  
Yang-Hyun Kim ◽  
Ye-seul Kim ◽  
...  

Aging has become a global problem, and the interest in healthy aging is growing. Healthy aging involves a focus on the maintenance of the function and well-being of elderly adults, rather than a specific disease. Thus, the management of frailty, which is an accumulated decline in function, is important for healthy aging. The adaptation method was used to develop clinical practice guidelines on frailty management that are applicable in primary care settings. The guidelines were developed in three phases: preparation (organization of committees and establishment of the scope of development), literature screening and evaluation (selection of the clinical practice guidelines to be adapted and evaluation of the guidelines using the Korean Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool), and confirmation of recommendations (three rounds of Delphi consensus and internal and external reviews). A total of 16 recommendations (five recommendations for diagnosis and assessment, 11 recommendations for intervention of frailty) were made through the guideline development process. These clinical practice guidelines provide overall guidance on the identification, evaluation, intervention, and monitoring of frailty, making them applicable in primary care settings. As aging and “healthy aging” become more and more important, these guidelines are also expected to increase in clinical usefulness.


2011 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. e439
Author(s):  
F. Valls-Roca ◽  
V. Pallares-Carratala ◽  
V. Gil-Guillen ◽  
D. Orozco-Beltran ◽  
J. L. Llisterri-Caro ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Jose Garcia Sanchez ◽  
Alyshah Abdul Sultan ◽  
Johan Ärnlöv ◽  
Claudia Cabrera ◽  
Joshua Card-Gowers ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and Aims With an estimated global prevalence of 10% or more, chronic kidney disease (CKD) and its associated complications constitute a major challenge for healthcare systems worldwide, which is worsened by the burden of undiagnosed CKD. Early diagnosis of CKD followed by guideline-recommended interventions can improve patient outcomes, particularly by delaying or preventing progression to kidney failure. This may result in a reduction in the costs associated with managing CKD. Elevated albuminuria is a strong predictor of risk of complications and death in patients with CKD, and measurement of urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) is an important diagnostic and prognostic tool. However, adherence to screening recommendations is suboptimal in routine care. Inside CKD aims to model the global clinical and economic burden of CKD using country-specific, patient-level microsimulation models. We used the Inside CKD microsimulation to model the potential clinical and economic impacts of routine UACR measurement with appropriate intervention in primary care settings in UK patients aged 45 years and over. This analysis is being expanded to further European countries. Method We used the Inside CKD microsimulation to model the clinical and economic impacts of measuring UACR with subsequent appropriate intervention during routine primary care visits in all individuals aged 45 years and over, versus current practice (i.e. screening in patients with diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease). The model covers the period 2020–2025. First, a virtual population representing the general population of the UK was constructed using data from the 2016 Health Survey for England, covering demographics, prevalence of CKD and comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension and heart failure) and incidence of complications (heart failure, myocardial infarction, stroke and acute kidney injury). The model also included parameters relating to the direct and indirect costs associated with CKD (e.g. cost of renal replacement therapy), the proportion of patients who visit a primary care physician at least once a year, the proportion of patients who agree to UACR measurements, and the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of UACR measurements. Results Preliminary results from the UK show that over the 2020–2025 period, routinely measuring UACR in all patients aged 45 years and over during primary care visits could prevent progression to CKD stages 3b–5 in approximately 327 000 patients, compared with current clinical practice, with a linear increase in the cumulative number of prevented cases over the 5 years (Figure). Associated savings in costs related to the management of CKD and its complications are projected to be approximately £300M in 2025, corresponding to a 1.9% reduction from current clinical practice. Conclusion Preliminary results from this Inside CKD microsimulation model show that implementation of routine measurement of UACR in primary care settings in the UK could prevent a substantial number of patients progressing to CKD stages 3b–5 and has the potential to reduce the associated healthcare-related costs considerably. This analysis is being extended to other European countries.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delphine S Tuot ◽  
Susan T Crowley ◽  
Lois A Katz ◽  
Joseph Leung ◽  
Delly K Alcantara-Cadillo ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Patient awareness, clinician detection, and management of chronic kidney disease remain suboptimal, despite clinical practice guidelines and diverse education programs. OBJECTIVE This protocol describes a study to develop and investigate the impact of the National Kidney Foundation Kidney Score Platform on chronic kidney disease awareness, communication, and management, by leveraging the Behavior Change Wheel, an implementation science framework that helps identify behavioral intervention targets and functions that address barriers to behavior change. METHODS We interviewed 20 patients with chronic kidney disease and 11 clinicians to identify patient and clinician behaviors suitable for intervention and barriers to behavior change (eg, limited awareness of chronic kidney disease clinical practice guidelines within primary care settings, limited data analytics to highlight chronic kidney disease care gaps, asymptomatic nature of chronic kidney disease in conjunction with patient reliance on primary care clinicians to determine risk and order kidney testing). Leveraging the Behavior Change Wheel, the Kidney Score Platform was developed with a patient-facing online Risk Calculator and a clinician-facing Clinical Practice Toolkit. The Risk Calculator utilizes risk predictive analytics to provide interactive health information tailored to an individual’s chronic kidney disease risk and health status. The Clinical Practice Toolkit assists clinicians in discussing chronic kidney disease with individuals at risk for and with kidney disease and in managing their patient population with chronic kidney disease. The Kidney Score Platform will be tested in 2 Veterans Affairs primary health care settings using a pre–post study design. Outcomes will include changes in patient self-efficacy for chronic kidney disease management (primary outcome), quality of communication with clinicians about chronic kidney disease, and practitioners’ knowledge of chronic kidney disease guidelines. Process outcomes will identify usability and adoption of different elements of the Kidney Score Platform using qualitative and quantitative methods. RESULTS As of September 2020, usability studies are underway with veterans and clinicians to refine the patient-facing components of the Kidney Score Platform before study initiation. Results and subsequent changes to the Kidney Score Platform will be published at a later date. The study is expected to be completed by December 2021. CONCLUSIONS Results of this study will be used to inform integration of the Kidney Score Platform within primary care settings so that it can serve as a central component of the National Kidney Foundation public awareness campaign to educate, engage, and empower individuals at risk for and living with chronic kidney disease. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT PRR1-10.2196/22024


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0260882
Author(s):  
Michael R. Gionfriddo ◽  
Vanessa Duboski ◽  
Allison Middernacht ◽  
Melissa S. Kern ◽  
Jove Graham ◽  
...  

Objectives To understand the extent to which behaviors consistent with high quality medication reconciliation occurred in primary care settings and explore barriers to high quality medication reconciliation. Design Fully mixed sequential equal status design including ethnographic observations, semi-structured interviews, and surveys. Setting Primary care practices within an integrated healthcare delivery system in the United States. Participants We conducted 170 observations of patient encounters across 15 primary care clinics, 48 semi-structured interviews with staff, and 10 semi-structured interviews with patients. We also sent out surveys to 2,541 eligible staff with 616 responses (24% response rate) and to 5,132 eligible patients with 577 responses (11% response rate). Results Inconsistency emerged as a major barrier to effective medication reconciliation. This inconsistency was present across a variety of factors such as the lack of standardized workflows for conducting medication reconciliation, a lack of knowledge about medication and the process of medication reconciliation, varying levels of importance ascribed to medication reconciliation, and inadequate integration of medication reconciliation into clinical workflows. Findings were generally consistent across all data collection methods. Conclusion We have identified several barriers which impact the process of medication reconciliation in primary care settings. Our key finding is that the process of medication reconciliation is plagued by inconsistencies which contribute to inaccurate medication lists. These inconsistencies can be broken down into several categories (standardization, knowledge, importance, and inadequate integration) which can be targets for future studies and interventions.


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