The Impact of Citywide and Practice-Level COVID-19 Lockdown Measures on Immunization Timeliness at a Philadelphia Pediatric Network

AbstractBackgroundOpenPrescribing is a freely accessible service that enables any user to view and analyse NHS primary care prescribing data at the level of individual practices. This tool is intended to improve the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of prescribing.ObjectivesWe set out to measure the impact of OpenPrescribing being viewed on subsequent prescribing.MethodsHaving pre-registered our protocol and code, we measured three different metrics of prescribing quality (mean percentile across 34 existing OpenPrescribing quality measures, available “price-per-unit” savings, and total “low-priority prescribing” spend) to see if they changed after CCG and practice pages were viewed. We also measured whether practices whose data were viewed on OpenPrescribing differed in prescribing, prior to viewing, to those who were not. We used fixed effects and between effects linear panel regression, to isolate change over time and differences between practices respectively. We adjusted for month of prescribing in the fixed effects model, to remove underlying trends in outcome measures.ResultsWe found a reduction in available price-per-unit savings for both practices and CCGs after their pages were viewed. The saving was greater at the practice level (−£40.42 per thousand patients per month, 95% confidence interval −54.04 to −26.01) than at CCG level (−£14.70 per thousand patients per month, 95% confidence interval −25.56 to −3.84). We estimate a total saving since launch of £243k at practice level and £1.47m at CCG level between the feature launch and end of follow-up (August to November 2017) among practices viewed. If the observed savings from practices viewed were extrapolated to all practices, this would generate £26.8m in annual savings for the NHS, approximately 20% of the total possible savings from this method. The other two measures were not different after CCGs/practices were viewed. Practices which were viewed had worse prescribing quality scores overall, prior to viewing.ConclusionsWe found a clinically significant positive impact from use of OpenPrescribing, specifically for the class of savings opportunities that can only be identified by using this tool. We also show that it is possible to conduct a robust analysis of the impact of such an online service on clinical practice.

Download Full-text

Impact of Value Education in Personal Behaviour of Students: A Case Study of Nepal

Nepal Journal of Multidisciplinary Research ◽

10.3126/njmr.v2i3.26285 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 1-8

Author(s):

Bharat Kumar Shrestha ◽

Pooja Gupta

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Teaching Practices ◽

Basic Education ◽

Quantitative Approach ◽

Individual Values ◽

Practice Level ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Impact

Values are certain characteristics which affect the behaviour and characters of an individual. Values are a kind of standard principles that are used to judge the worth of an idea or action. They provide the criteria by which we decide whether something is good or bad, right or wrong. Values are taught by the value education of school. In Nepal, there is separate course of value education in basic education (grade 6 to 8). The main aim of this study was to explore the impact of value education in personal behaviour of students. The study was conducted in three districts (Dolkha, Kavre and Chitwan) of Nepal among the 600 students and teachers. The study was based on the quantitative approach. The result shows that the value education had taught basic qualities of life like Honesty, hard work, respect for others, cooperation, compassion, and forgiveness. It has brought the positive change in personal behaviour of students. Though, they reported the need of improvement in teaching practices because there was significant difference between the importance level and practice level of value education to teach the quality of life to change in personal behaviour.

Download Full-text

Impact of guidance publication on primary care prescribing rates of simple analgesia: an interrupted time series analysis in England

British Journal of General Practice ◽

10.3399/bjgp20x714101 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. bjgp20X714101

Author(s):

Hannah Reichel ◽

Rhian Stanbrook ◽

Hans Johnson ◽

William Proto ◽

Mary Shantikumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Time Series ◽

Time Series Analysis ◽

Health Inequality ◽

Implementation Intentions ◽

Interrupted Time Series ◽

Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽

Practice Level ◽

Series Analysis ◽

The Impact

Abstract Background: In March 2018, NHS England published guidance for Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs; NHS bodies that commission health services for local areas) to encourage implementation of policy to reduce primary care prescriptions of over-the-counter medications, including simple analgesia. Aims: To investigate: the impact of guidance publication on prescribing rates of simple analgesia (oral paracetamol, oral ibuprofen and topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDS]) in primary care; CCG implementation intentions; and whether it has created a health inequality based on socioeconomic status. Design and Setting: Interrupted time series analysis of primary care prescribing data in England. Methods: Practice-level prescribing data from January 2015 to March 2019 were obtained from NHS Digital. Interrupted time series analyses assessed the association of guidance publication with prescribing rates. The association between practice-level prescribing rates and Index of Multiple Deprivation score (a marker of socioeconomic deprivation) before and after publication was quantified using multivariable Poisson regression. Freedom of information requests were submitted to all CCGs. Results: There was a 4% reduction in prescribing of simple analgesia following guidance publication (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 0.96, 95% CI 0.92-0.99, p=0.027), adjusting for underlying time trend and seasonality. Practice-level prescribing rates were greater in more deprived areas. There was considerable diversity across CCGs in whether or how they chose to implement the guidance. Conclusion: Guidance publication was associated with a small reduction in the prescribing rates of simple analgesia across England, without evidence of creating an additional health inequality.

Download Full-text

Measuring the Impact of an Open Web-Based Prescribing Data Analysis Service on Clinical Practice: Cohort Study on NHS England Data (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.10929 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Alex J Walker ◽

Helen J Curtis ◽

Richard Croker ◽

Seb Bacon ◽

Ben Goldacre

Keyword(s):

Clinical Practice ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Fixed Effects Model ◽

Web Based ◽

Practice Level ◽

Prescribing Quality ◽

Two Measures ◽

The Impact

BACKGROUND OpenPrescribing is a freely accessible service that enables any user to view and analyze the National Health Service (NHS) primary care prescribing data at the level of individual practices. This tool is intended to improve the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of prescribing. OBJECTIVE We aimed to measure the impact of OpenPrescribing being viewed on subsequent prescribing. METHODS Having preregistered our protocol and code, we measured three different metrics of prescribing quality (mean percentile across 34 existing OpenPrescribing quality measures, available “price-per-unit” savings, and total “low-priority prescribing” spend) to see whether they changed after the viewing of Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and practice pages. We also measured whether practices whose data were viewed on OpenPrescribing differed in prescribing, prior to viewing, compared with those who were not. We used fixed-effects and between-effects linear panel regression to isolate change over time and differences between practices, respectively. We adjusted for the month of prescribing in the fixed-effects model to remove underlying trends in outcome measures. RESULTS We found a reduction in available price-per-unit savings for both practices and CCGs after their pages were viewed. The saving was greater at practice level (−£40.42 per thousand patients per month; 95% CI −54.04 to −26.81) than at CCG level (−£14.70 per thousand patients per month; 95% CI −25.56 to −3.84). We estimate a total saving since launch of £243 thosand at practice level and £1.47 million at CCG level between the feature launch and end of follow-up (August to November 2017) among practices viewed. If the observed savings from practices viewed were extrapolated to all practices, this would generate £26.8 million in annual savings for the NHS, approximately 20% of the total possible savings from this method. The other two measures were not different after CCGs or practices were viewed. Practices that were viewed had worse prescribing quality scores overall prior to viewing. CONCLUSIONS We found a positive impact from the use of OpenPrescribing, specifically for the class of savings opportunities that can only be identified by using this tool. Furthermore, we show that it is possible to conduct a robust analysis of the impact of such a Web-based service on clinical practice.

Download Full-text

Investigating the impact of case-mix on general practice cancer diagnostic outcome indicators

British Journal of General Practice ◽

10.3399/bjgp19x702881 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 69 (suppl 1) ◽

pp. bjgp19X702881

Author(s):

Carolynn Gildea ◽

Georgios Lyratzopoulos ◽

Sean McPhail ◽

Ruth Swann ◽

Gary Abel

Keyword(s):

Conversion Rate ◽

Case Mix ◽

Cancer Type ◽

Level Variation ◽

Mixed Effect ◽

Practice Level ◽

Patient Level ◽

Cancer Diagnostic ◽

Variation Explained ◽

The Impact

BackgroundThe Cancer Services profiles report indicators of cancer diagnostic activity for all English general practices. A recent study reported that several indicators were dominated by chance, with some practice-level variation explained by the practice’s age-sex profile.AimTo assess the variation explained by patient-level case-mix and whether the practice age-sex profile adequately adjusts for this.MethodFive indicators from Cancer Waiting Times (2016/17, 6050 practices) or Routes to Diagnosis (2015, 6355 practices) data were considered: Two Week Wait (TWW) conversion and detection rates, and emergency-, referred- and other-diagnosis proportions. Mixed-effect logistic regression adjusted for patient-level case-mix, using national cancer registration data on age, sex, deprivation, referral/cancer-type and, where possible, ethnicity and stage at diagnosis, with and without practice-level age-sex profile.ResultsChance explained 60–85% of practice-level variation, with the combination of chance and patient-level case-mix explaining 75% (TWW conversion rate) to 89% (emergency diagnosis proportion). For TWW conversion rate, there was considerable overlap in the variance explained by practice- and patient-level factors. For the other indicators, practice- or patient-level factors were largely independent.ConclusionChance is not synonymous with case-mix and is the dominant source of variation in single-year practice indicators. Therefore, we recommend the continued aggregation of data over multiple years. For most studied indicators, adjustment for the age-sex profile of the whole practice population is not a substitute for case-mix of individual cancer patients and so should not be used. Patient-level case-mix adjustment leads to a modest reordering of practices and so may not be a priority.

Download Full-text

Influence of Office Systems on Pediatric Vaccination Rates

Clinical Pediatrics ◽

10.1177/0009922816650396 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 56 (3) ◽

pp. 231-237 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rachael T. Zweigoron ◽

James R. Roberts ◽

Marcia Levin ◽

Jean Chia ◽

Myla Ebeling ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Quality Improvement ◽

Linear Regression ◽

Vaccination Rates ◽

Practice Level ◽

Private Practices ◽

Publicly Insured ◽

Insured Patients ◽

Pediatric Vaccination ◽

The Impact ◽

Office Systems

This study seeks to better understand the impact of practice-level factors on up-to-date (UTD) rates in children. We compared practice-level vaccination rates for 54 practices to survey data regarding office practices for staffing, vaccine delivery, reminder-recall, and quality improvement. Vaccination rates at 24 and 35 months were analyzed using t tests, analysis of variance, and linear regression. Private practices and those using standing orders had higher UTD rates at 24 months ( P = .01; P = .03), but not at 35 months. Having a pediatrician in the office was associated with higher UTD rates at both 24 and 35 months ( P < .01). Participating in a network and taking walk-in patients were associated with lower UTD rates ( P = .03; P = .03). As the percentage of publicly insured patients decreases, the UTD rate rises at 24 and 35 months ( r = −0.43, P = .001; r = −0.037, P = .007). Reported use of reminder recall-systems, night/evening hours, and taking walk-in patients were not associated with increased UTD rates.

Download Full-text

Formation of Lunar Craters and Bright Rays as a Result of Meteorite Impacts

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900178404 ◽

1962 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 415-418

Author(s):

K. P. Stanyukovich ◽

V. A. Bronshten

Keyword(s):

Explosive Charge ◽

The Moon ◽

Meteorite Impacts ◽

The Earth ◽

Lunar Craters ◽

The Impact

The phenomena accompanying the impact of large meteorites on the surface of the Moon or of the Earth can be examined on the basis of the theory of explosive phenomena if we assume that, instead of an exploding meteorite moving inside the rock, we have an explosive charge (equivalent in energy), situated at a certain distance under the surface.

Download Full-text

The Geosciences Applied to Lunar Exploration

Symposium - International Astronomical Union ◽

10.1017/s0074180900178222 ◽

1962 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 169-257 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

J. Green

Keyword(s):

Lunar Surface ◽

Probable Mechanism ◽

Point Of View ◽

Lunar Exploration ◽

Geological Model ◽

Apply Geophysics ◽

Surface Features ◽

The Impact

The term geo-sciences has been used here to include the disciplines geology, geophysics and geochemistry. However, in order to apply geophysics and geochemistry effectively one must begin with a geological model. Therefore, the science of geology should be used as the basis for lunar exploration. From an astronomical point of view, a lunar terrain heavily impacted with meteors appears the more reasonable; although from a geological standpoint, volcanism seems the more probable mechanism. A surface liberally marked with volcanic features has been advocated by such geologists as Bülow, Dana, Suess, von Wolff, Shaler, Spurr, and Kuno. In this paper, both the impact and volcanic hypotheses are considered in the application of the geo-sciences to manned lunar exploration. However, more emphasis is placed on the volcanic, or more correctly the defluidization, hypothesis to account for lunar surface features.

Download Full-text

Asteroid and Comet Impact Speeds upon Mars: Significance for Panspermia and the Supply of Organics

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100014718 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 161 ◽

pp. 197-201 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Duncan Steel

Keyword(s):

Probability Distributions ◽

Regions Of Interest ◽

Significant Fraction ◽

Organic Chemicals ◽

Impact Speed ◽

The Mean ◽

The Impact

AbstractWhilst lithopanspermia depends upon massive impacts occurring at a speed above some limit, the intact delivery of organic chemicals or other volatiles to a planet requires the impact speed to be below some other limit such that a significant fraction of that material escapes destruction. Thus the two opposite ends of the impact speed distributions are the regions of interest in the bioastronomical context, whereas much modelling work on impacts delivers, or makes use of, only the mean speed. Here the probability distributions of impact speeds upon Mars are calculated for (i) the orbital distribution of known asteroids; and (ii) the expected distribution of near-parabolic cometary orbits. It is found that cometary impacts are far more likely to eject rocks from Mars (over 99 percent of the cometary impacts are at speeds above 20 km/sec, but at most 5 percent of the asteroidal impacts); paradoxically, the objects impacting at speeds low enough to make organic/volatile survival possible (the asteroids) are those which are depleted in such species.

Download Full-text

Organic Syntheses During the Impact of a Comet with a Gaseous Planet

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100014706 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 161 ◽

pp. 189-195

Author(s):

Cesare Guaita ◽

Roberto Crippa ◽

Federico Manzini

Keyword(s):

Polymeric Material ◽

Molecular Form ◽

Parent Compound ◽

Blue Filter ◽

Organic Syntheses ◽

The Impact

AbstractA large amount of CO has been detected above many SL9/Jupiter impacts. This gas was never detected before the collision. So, in our opinion, CO was released from a parent compound during the collision. We identify this compound as POM (polyoxymethylene), a formaldehyde (HCHO) polymer that, when suddenly heated, reformes monomeric HCHO. At temperatures higher than 1200°K HCHO cannot exist in molecular form and the most probable result of its decomposition is the formation of CO. At lower temperatures, HCHO can react with NH3 and/or HCN to form high UV-absorbing polymeric material. In our opinion, this kind of material has also to be taken in to account to explain the complex evolution of some SL9 impacts that we observed in CCD images taken with a blue filter.

Download Full-text