HealthPathways: a detailed analysis of utilisation trends in the northern Sydney region

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 338
Author(s):  
Kimberly E. Lind ◽  
Mikaela Jorgensen ◽  
Chanelle Stowers ◽  
Martyn Brookes
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Interquartile Range ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Mean Time

This study developed a model for using Google Analytics (GA) data to evaluate utilisation trends of the Sydney North HealthPathways portal. HealthPathways GA data merged with dates of page localisations and promotional events from March 2017 through June 2018 were analysed to evaluate engagement and use of HealthPathways, integration into clinical practice and how HealthPathways is used. Descriptive statistics and plots were generated for each clinical stream and page for the number of users per month (total, new and return users), mean time on page, navigation and search terms. The number of page views, new users and return users increased during the study period. Each clinical stream had between 26 and 2508 views, with a median of 199 views (interquartile range 84–461 views). Individual pages had 0–12388 total views. Return users visited seven times on average. Most usage occurred between mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Diabetes was the most frequently viewed and searched clinical stream, followed by palliative care. These streams had the greatest number of promotional events. Increasing use of and interaction with HealthPathways suggests that it is a useful tool to support clinical practice among northern Sydney primary care providers.

Primary Care Providers’ Perceptions of Care

1992 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 8-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Keizer ◽  
John-Francois Kozak ◽  
John F. Scott
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Palliative Care Service ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Unexpected Outcomes ◽  
Mean Time

The Regional Palliative Care Unit in Ottawa conducted a retrospective study to determine how satisfied patients and families were with the service the Unit offers. Forty-five primary care providers, bereaved from 6 to 12 months, completed the 64-item semistructured telephone interview in a mean time of 20 minutes. The 59 closed-ended questions rated satisfaction levels concerning various aspects of the palliative care service on a 5-point Likert scale. Five open-ended questions elicited family priorities and suggestions for improvement. The major finding was that care was perceived to be highly satisfactory. Unexpected outcomes of the study were the identification by family members of the criteria for a “good death” and families’ perceptions that the Unit offers the best quality of life and death even for those patients who resist admission to the hospice setting.

Systematic review of barriers and enablers to the delivery of palliative care by primary care practitioners

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 1131-1145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariko L Carey ◽  
Alison C Zucca ◽  
Megan AG Freund ◽  
Jamie Bryant ◽  
Anne Herrmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
Barriers And Enablers ◽  
Primary Care Practitioners

Background: There is increasing demand for primary care practitioners to play a key role in palliative care delivery. Given this, it is important to understand their perceptions of the barriers and enablers to optimal palliative care, and how commonly these are experienced. Aim: To explore the type and prevalence of barriers and enablers to palliative care provision reported by primary care practitioners. Design: A systematic review of quantitative data-based articles was conducted. Data sources: Medline, Embase and PsychINFO databases were searched for articles published between January 2007 and March 2019. Data synthesis: Abstracts were assessed against the eligibility criteria by one reviewer and a random sample of 80 articles were blind coded by a second author. Data were extracted from eligible full-texts by one author and checked by a second. Given the heterogeneity in the included studies’ methods and outcomes, a narrative synthesis was undertaken. Results: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. The most common barriers related to bureaucratic procedures, communication between healthcare professionals, primary care practitioners’ personal commitments, and their skills or confidence. The most common enablers related to education, nurses and trained respite staff to assist with care delivery, better communication between professionals, and templates to facilitate referral to out-of-hours services. Conclusion: A holistic approach addressing the range of barriers reported in this review is needed to support primary care providers to deliver palliative care. This includes better training and addressing barriers related to the interface between healthcare services.

scholarly journals Palliative Care in a Death-Denying Culture: Exploring Barriers to Timely Palliative Efforts for Heart Failure Patients in the Primary Care Setting

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca M. Crimmins ◽  
Lydia Elliott ◽  
Darren T. Absher
Keyword(s):  
Heart Failure ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Care Setting ◽  
Primary Care Setting ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Communication Time

Context: Heart failure (HF) is a complex, life-limiting disease that is prevalent and burdensome. All major cardiology societies and international clinical practice guidelines recommend the integration of palliative care (PC) interventions alongside usual HF management. Objectives: The purpose of this review of the literature was to evaluate the various barriers to the early initiation of PC for HF patients in the primary care setting. Methods: An integrative literature review was conducted in order to assess and incorporate the diverse sources of literature available. An EBSCO search identified relevant articles in the following databases: Medline complete, Academic Search Premier, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, and SocINDEX. The search was limited to full text, peer reviewed, English only, and published between 2010 and 2019. Results: Barriers to the integration of PC for HF patients include poor communication between provider/patient and interdisciplinary providers, the misperception and miseducation of what PC is and how it can be incorporated into patient care, the unpredictable disease trajectory of HF, and the limited time allowed for patient care in the primary care setting. Conclusion: The results of this review highlight a lack of communication, time, and knowledge as barriers to delivering PC. Primary care providers caring for patients with HF need to establish an Annual Heart Failure Review to meticulously evaluate symptoms and allow the time for communication involving prognosis, utilize a PC referral screening tool such as the Needs Assessment Tool: Progressive Disease-Heart Failure, and thoroughly understand the benefits and appropriate integration of PC.

Evaluation of coordination of cancer care between designated cancer hospitals and primary care providers: Results from a nationwide survey in Japan.

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (7_suppl) ◽  
pp. 84-84
Author(s):  
Taro Tomizuka ◽  
Tomone Watanabe ◽  
Satoru Kamitani ◽  
Takahiro Higashi
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Care Coordination ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Critical Path ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Follow Up Care ◽  
Cancer Specialist

84 Background: To improve coordination of cancer care between cancer specialist hospitals and primary care providers (PCPs), the Japanese government accredited cancer specialist hospitals, so called “designated cancer care hospitals (DCCHs)” and introduced “Cancer care coordination instruction fee” which PCPs can receive if they share a cancer critical path (Japanese version of Survivorship Care Plans) of each cancer patient with DCCHs. We sought to assess the current status of coordination of cancer care in Japan and communication between DCCHs and PCPs from PCPs’ point of view. Methods: A cross-sectional mail survey was administered to randomly selected clinic-based PCPs (4,000 clinics) from a nation-wide database of medical institutions authorized by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Japan to treat patients with health insurance (87,869 clinics). The survey evaluated how much PCPs provided cancer follow-up care and how well DCCHs coordinated care and communicated with PCPs in cancer survivorship. Results: 1,873 PCPs returned the questionnaire (response rate: 46.8%). 1,223 (65.3%) answered to provide cancer follow-up care in outpatient setting. Most of the PCPs which provided cancer follow-up care evaluated the care coordination and support by DCCHs were satisfactory (946, 77.4%) but the degree of good evaluation varied by region (highest: 91.3%, lowest: 45.8%). In regression analysis, provision of palliative care by PCPs (OR 1.52 95%CI 1.05-2.17) and use of cancer critical path (OR 2.10 95%CI 1.63-2.71) were significantly correlated with better evaluation of communication and care coordination. Conclusions: DCCHs communicated well with PCPs and PCPs were satisfied with the communication and care coordination by DCCHs. Provision of palliative care by PCPs and use of cancer critical path are likely to lead good care coordination in cancer care.

scholarly journals Dementia assessment and management in primary care settings: a survey of current provider practices in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alissa Bernstein ◽  
Kirsten M. Rogers ◽  
Katherine L. Possin ◽  
Natasha Z.R. Steele ◽  
Christine S. Ritchie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Diagnostic Criteria ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cognitive Testing ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
High Confidence

Abstract Background Primary care providers (PCPs) are typically the first to screen and evaluate patients for neurocognitive disorders (NCDs), including mild cognitive impairment and dementia. However, data on PCP attitudes and evaluation and management practices are sparse. Our objective was to quantify perspectives and behaviors of PCPs and neurologists with respect to NCD evaluation and management. Methods A cross-sectional survey with 150 PCPs and 50 neurologists in the United States who evaluated more than 10 patients over age 55 per month. The 51-item survey assessed clinical practice characteristics, and confidence, perceived barriers, and typical practices when diagnosing and managing patients with NCDs. Results PCPs and neurologists reported similar confidence and approaches to general medical care and laboratory testing. Though over half of PCPs performed cognitive screening or referred patients for cognitive testing in over 50% of their patients, only 20% reported high confidence in interpreting results of cognitive tests. PCPs were more likely to order CT scans than MRIs, and only 14% of PCPs reported high confidence interpreting brain imaging findings, compared to 70% of specialists. Only 21% of PCPs were highly confident that they correctly recognized when a patient had an NCD, and only 13% were highly confident in making a specific NCD diagnosis (compared to 72 and 44% for neurologists, both p < 0.001). A quarter of all providers identified lack of familiarity with diagnostic criteria for NCD syndromes as a barrier to clinical practice. Conclusions This study demonstrates how PCPs approach diagnosis and management of patients with NCDs, and identified areas for improvement in regards to cognitive testing and neuroimaging. This study also identified all providers’ lack of familiarity with published diagnostic criteria for NCD syndromes. These findings may inform the development of new policies and interventions to help providers improve the efficacy of their decision processes and deliver better quality care to patients with NCDs.

scholarly journals When primary care providers and smokers meet: a systematic review and metasynthesis

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilie Manolios ◽  
Jordan Sibeoni ◽  
Maria Teixeira ◽  
Anne Révah-Levy ◽  
Laurence Verneuil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Smoking Cessation ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Smoking Status ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
The Core ◽  
Primary Care Settings

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.

scholarly journals Clinical and Socioeconomic Predictors of Palliative Care Utilization

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohan Tummala ◽  
Andrew de Jesus ◽  
Natasha Tillett ◽  
Jeffrey Nelson ◽  
Christine Lamey
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Care Utilization ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Lower Systolic Blood Pressure ◽  
Care Clinic ◽  
Hospital Referral ◽  
Primary Care Patients

INTRODUCTION: Palliative care continues to gain recognition among primary care providers, as patients suffering from chronic conditions may benefit from use of this growing service. OBJECTIVES: This single-institution quality improvement study investigates the clinical characteristics and socioeconomic status (SES) of palliative care patients and identifies predictors of palliative care utilization. METHODS: Retrospective chart review was used to compare clinical and SES parameters for three groups of patients: (1) palliative care patients who attended at least one visit since the inception of the University Clinical Health Palliative Care Clinic in Memphis, TN in October 2018 (n = 61), (2) palliative care patients who did not attend any appointments (n = 19), and (3) a randomized group of age-matched primary care patients seen by one provider from May 2018 to May 2019 (n = 36). A Poisson regression model with backward conditional variable selection was used to determine predictors of palliative care utilization. RESULTS: Patients across the three care groups did not differ in demographic parameters. Compared to palliative care-referred non-users and primary care patients, palliative care patients tended to have lower health risk (p < 0.001). Palliative care patients did not differ from primary care patients in socioeconomic status but did differ in comorbidity distribution, having a higher prevalence of cancer (𝜒2 = 14.648, df = 7, p = 0.041). Chance of 10-year survival did not differ across risk categories for palliative care patients but was significantly lower for very high-risk compared to moderate-risk primary care patients (30% vs. 78%, p = 0.019). Significant predictors of palliative care use and their corresponding incidence rate ratios (IRR) were hospital referral (IRR = 1.471; p = 0.039), higher number of prescribed medications (IRR = 1.045; p = 0.003), lower Charlson Comorbidity Index (IRR = 0.907; p = 0.003), and lower systolic blood pressure (IRR = 0.989; p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Patients who are expected to benefit from and of being high utilizers of palliative care may experience greater clinical benefit from earlier referral to this service.

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