Trust, Conflicts of Interest, and Concussion Reporting in College Football Players

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Baugh ◽  
Emily Kroshus ◽  
William P. Meehan ◽  
Eric G. Campbell

Sports medicine clinicians face conflicts of interest in providing medical care to athletes. Using a survey of college football players, this study evaluates whether athletes are aware of these conflicts of interest, whether these conflicts affect athlete trust in their health care providers, or whether conflicts or athletes' trust in stakeholders are associated with athletes' injury reporting behaviors.

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly S. Peer

Sports medicine professionals are facing new dilemmas in light of the changing dynamics of sport as an enterprise. These changes have considerable ethical implications as sports medicine team members are placed in challenging ethical decision-making situations that often create values tensions. These values conflicts have the potential to threaten and degrade the trust established through the mutual expectations inherent in the social contract between the health care providers and society. According to Starr,1 the social contract is defined as the relationship between medicine and society that is renegotiated in response to the complexities of modern medicine and contemporary society. Anchored in expectations of both society and the medical professions, this tacit contract provides a strong compass for professional practice as it exemplifies the powerful role and examines the deep responsibilities held by health care providers in our society. Although governed by professional boards and organizational codes of ethics, sports medicine professionals are challenged by the conflicts of interest between paternalistic care for the athlete and autonomous decisions often influenced by stakeholders other than the athletes themselves. Understanding how the construct of sport has impacted sports health care will better prepare sports medicine professionals for the ethical challenges they will likely face and, more importantly, facilitate awareness and change of the critical importance of upholding the integrity of the professional social contract.


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 276-284
Author(s):  
William J. Jefferson

The United States Supreme Court declared in 1976 that deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of prisoners constitutes the unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain…proscribed by the Eighth Amendment. It matters not whether the indifference is manifested by prison doctors in their response to the prisoner’s needs or by prison guards intentionally denying or delaying access to medical care or intentionally interfering with treatment once prescribed—adequate prisoner medical care is required by the United States Constitution. My incarceration for four years at the Oakdale Satellite Prison Camp, a chronic health care level camp, gives me the perspective to challenge the generally promoted claim of the Bureau of Federal Prisons that it provides decent medical care by competent and caring medical practitioners to chronically unhealthy elderly prisoners. The same observation, to a slightly lesser extent, could be made with respect to deficiencies in the delivery of health care to prisoners of all ages, as it is all significantly deficient in access, competencies, courtesies and treatments extended by prison health care providers at every level of care, without regard to age. However, the frailer the prisoner, the more dangerous these health care deficiencies are to his health and, therefore, I believe, warrant separate attention. This paper uses first-hand experiences of elderly prisoners to dismantle the tale that prisoner healthcare meets constitutional standards.


Author(s):  
Sheeba Marwah ◽  
Pratima Mittal

This article reviews significance, potential and principles to consider when setting up a telemedicine (TM) program to provide care to women in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, essentially deploying mobile technology. There are various benefits of such TM clinical applications. The consensus among patients and health care providers is that this technology is convenient to provide needed subspecialty medical care, even when it is not available locally. Such innovations are clinically successful, but economic and cost-effectiveness data are lacking.


2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 573-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M. Baugh ◽  
Emily Kroshus ◽  
Bailey L. Lanser ◽  
Tory R. Lindley ◽  
William P. Meehan

Context The ratio of clinicians to patients has been associated with health outcomes in many medical contexts but has not been explored in collegiate sports medicine. The relationship between administrative and financial oversight models and staffing is also unknown. Objective To (1) evaluate staffing patterns in National Collegiate Athletic Association sports medicine programs and (2) investigate whether staffing was associated with the division of competition, Power 5 conference status, administrative reporting structure (medical or athletic department), or financial structure (medical or athletic department). Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Collegiate sports medicine programs. Patients or Other Participants Representatives of 325 universities. Main Outcome Measure(s) A telephone survey was conducted during June and July 2015. Participants were asked questions regarding the presence and full-time equivalence of the health care providers on their sports medicine staff. The number of athletes per athletic trainer was determined. Results Responding sports medicine programs had 0.5 to 20 full-time equivalent staff athletic trainers (median = 4). Staff athletic trainers at participating schools cared for 21 to 525 athletes per clinician (median = 100). Both administrative and financial oversight from a medical department versus the athletics department was associated with improved staffing across multiple metrics. Staffing levels were associated with the division of competition; athletic trainers at Division I schools cared for fewer athletes than athletic trainers at Division II or III schools, on average. The support of graduate assistant and certified intern athletic trainers varied across the sample as did the contributions of nonphysician, nonathletic trainer health care providers. Conclusions In many health care settings, clinician : patient ratios are associated with patient health outcomes. We found systematic variations in clinician : patient ratios across National Collegiate Athletic Association divisions of competition and across medical versus athletics organizational models, raising the possibility that athletes' health outcomes vary across these contexts. Future researchers should evaluate the relationships between clinician : patient ratios and athletes' access to care, care provision, health care costs, health outcomes, and clinician job satisfaction.


Author(s):  
Robert G. Evans ◽  
Morris L. Barer ◽  
Greg L. Stoddart

ABSTRACTCalls for user fees in Canadian health care go back as far as the debate leading up to the establishment of Canada's national hospital insurance program in the late 1950s. Although the rationales have shifted around somewhat, some of the more consistent claims have been that user fees are necessary as a source of additional revenue for a badly underfunded system, that they are necessary to control runaway health care costs, and that they will deter unnecessary use (read abuse) of the system. But the real reasons that user fees have been such hardy survivors of the health policy wars, bear little relation to the claims commonly made for them. Their introduction in the financing of hospital or medical care in Canada would be to the benefit of a number of groups, and not just those one usually thinks of. We show that those who are healthy, and wealthy, would join health care providers (and possibly insurers) as net beneficiaries of a reintroduction of user fees for hospital and medical care in Canada. The flip side of this is that those who are indigent and ill will bear the brunt of the redistribution (for that is really what user fees are all about), and seniors feature prominently in those latter groups. Claims of other positive effects of user fees, such as reducing total health care costs, or improving appropriateness or accessibility, simply do not stand up in the face of the available evidence. In the final analysis, therefore, whether one is for or against user fees reduces to whether one is for or against the resulting income redistribution.


2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 669-675
Author(s):  
Mehmet Ali Ceyhan ◽  
Gültekin Günhan Demir

AbstractBackground:Shopping centers (SCs) are social areas with a group of commercial establishments which attract customers of numerous people every day. However, analysis of urgent health conditions and provided health care in SCs has not been performed so far.Objective:The aim of the study was to perform a comparative analysis of clients visiting SCs and demographics, complaints, and health care of patients admitted to Emergency Medical Intervention Units (EMIU) located in grand SCs in Ankara, Turkey.Methods:Customer and health care records of nine grand SCs in Ankara from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. Health care services in EMIUs of SCs were provided by employed medical staff. Data including demographic characteristics, complaints, treatment protocols, discharge, and referral to hospital of the patients were retrospectively analyzed from medical registration forms.Results:Medical records of nine grand SCs were analyzed. Number of customers could not be obtained in three SCs due to privacy issues and were not included in patient presentation rate (PPR) and transport-to-hospital rate (TTHR) calculation. Total number of customers in the remaining six SCs were 53,277,239. The total number of patients seeking medical care was 6,749. The number of patients seeking health care in six SCs with known number of customers was 4,498 and PPR ranged from 0.018 to 0.381 patients per 1,000 attendants. The median age of the recorded 4,065 patients (60.2%) was 28 (interquartile range [IQR]: 38-21), and 3,611 (53.5%) of the patients admitted to EMIUs were female. The number of patients treated in the SC was 4,634 (68.6%) and 189 patients (2.8%) were transferred-to-hospital by ambulance for further evaluation and treatment. Transportation to hospital was required in 125 patients who sought medical care in six SCs which provided total number of customers, and TTHR ranged from 0.000 to 0.005 patients per 1,000 attendants. No sudden cardiac death was seen. Medical conditions were the primary reasons for seeking health care. The most frequent causes of presentation were laceration and abrasions (639 patients, 9.4%).Conclusion:The PPR and TTHR in SCs are low. The most common causes of presentation are minor conditions and injuries. Majority of urgent medical conditions in SCs can be managed by health care providers in EMIUs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (9) ◽  
pp. 1150-1166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eveline Matifat ◽  
Marianne Méquignon ◽  
Caitriona Cunningham ◽  
Catherine Blake ◽  
Oma Fennelly ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Over the past few decades, physical therapists have emerged as key health care providers in emergency departments (EDs), especially for patients with musculoskeletal disorders (MSKD). Purpose The purpose of this review was to update the current evidence regarding physical therapist care for patients with MSKD in EDs and to update current recommendations for these models of care. Data Sources Systematic searches were conducted in 5 bibliographic databases. Study Selection The studies selected presented quantitative data related to the care of patients with MSKD by physical therapists in an ED setting. Data Extraction Raters reviewed studies and used the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool to assess their methodological quality. Data Synthesis Fifteen studies were included. Two studies, 1 of weak and 1 of strong quality, demonstrated that physical therapist care in EDs was as effective as or more effective than usual medical care for pain reduction, and 6 studies of varying quality reported that physical therapist care in EDs was as effective as usual care in EDs in reducing disability. Eight studies of varying quality reported that physical therapist care could significantly reduce waiting time in EDs. Four studies of varying quality reported that physical therapists ordered no more, or even fewer, medical images than physicians. In terms of health care costs, 2 studies of moderate to high quality found no significant differences in costs between physical therapist care and usual care in EDs. Finally, 6 studies of varying quality reported that patients were as satisfied or more satisfied with physical therapist care as with usual medical care in EDs. Limitations The roles of physical therapists in EDs vary depending on the setting, legislation, and training of providers. Only a limited number of high-quality studies were identified. Conclusions Although the quality of the evidence is heterogeneous, physical therapist care for patients with MSKD in EDs may be beneficial.


2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 376-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Malcolm

In this article I examine the role and working practice of rugby union club doctors in England. While medicine is widely perceived to be one of the most powerful professions in Western societies, sociologists of sport have argued that sport clinicians often wield relatively limited power over their athlete-patients. In this article I therefore attempt to shed further light on the “peculiar” character of sports medicine. Using data drawn from interviews and questionnaires, I argue that this phenomenon can be understood only by looking at the structure of the sports medicine profession, the specificities of the rugby club as a workplace setting, and the relationships club doctors have with clients (coaches and athletes) and other health care providers (physiotherapists).


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 148-154
Author(s):  
Robert B. Berry ◽  
Francis Neric ◽  
Gregory B. Dwyer

ABSTRACT The current state of the profession of clinical exercise physiology in the United States is that of evolution. Individuals now identified as clinical exercise physiologists (CEPs) first emerged in health care in the nascent cardiac rehabilitation programs in the late 1960s and have remained strongly identified in that role ever since. However, the profession has had difficulty expanding into other similar areas, largely due to the lack of standardized academic preparation. This contributes to uncertainty and confusion among other health care providers regarding appropriate roles and responsibilities for a CEP. Future directions for the profession of clinical exercise physiology include requiring certification candidates to graduate from accredited programs so the academic preparation becomes standardized. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) is currently investigating modifying the eligibility criteria for the ACSM-CEP certification to address this requirement. The Clinical Exercise Physiology Association is currently assembling a writing team to draft a CEP scope of practice document for the support and endorsement of other professional organizations The last item is the strengthening or creation of liaisons with other professions to develop a collaborative care model that takes full advantage of the skillset CEPs bring to chronic disease management.


Concussion ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 161-164
Author(s):  
Brian Hainline ◽  
Lindsey J. Gurin ◽  
Daniel M. Torres

Sport coaches are the primary interface with athletes and have considerable influence over the athletic environment. There is an evolving cultural shift to an athlete-centered approach to sports medicine, meaning that athletes should receive medical care that is completely independent of the influence of the coach. This is an especially important concept when athletic trainers, physicians and other sports medicine personnel are housed in athletics, a space where a coach may have considerable influence. Ultimately, primary health-care providers for athletic teams or organizations should have unchallengeable, autonomous authority for all medical and return-to-play decisions in sport.


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