Pharmacy staff views on the implementation of patient handheld medication tools to improve information transfer: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE: To explore the experiences of specialists, residents, and experienced personnel of obstetrics and gynecology regarding telephone consultation by specialized residents and on-call expertsDESIGN: Qualitative study based on inductive content analysis.SETTING: Three departments of obstetrics and gynecology, affiliated to Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.POPULATION: A purposive sample of 16 specialists, residents and experienced staff.METHODS: Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted.RESULTS: Analysis of interview data resulted in 363 primary codes and six main themes including: “attempt to direct the process of telephone consultation”, “decision-making challenges of diagnostic-therapeutic plans for patients”, “attempt to verify the acquired findings”, “inefficacy in the face of life-threatening conditions”, “discriminations in legal confrontation with medical errors”, and “impact on emotions and personal life”.CONCLUSIONS: Process of teleconsultation between physician and resident is associated with numerous challenges. Formal training sessions and considering new approaches of teleconsultation and telemedicine are needed to be implemented in order to reinforce the reliability of patient information transfer.

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Perspectives of pharmacy staff on dispensing subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics: a theory informed qualitative study

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy ◽

10.1007/s11096-017-0510-y ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (5) ◽

pp. 1110-1118 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Mohamed Ezzat Khamis Amin ◽

Amira Amine ◽

Mohammad Shoukry Newegy

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Pharmacy Staff

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High blood pressure readings on in-store machines: a qualitative study of the perspective of pharmacy staff

Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice ◽

10.1186/s40545-021-00297-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ivona Mostarac ◽

Clare L. Atzema

Keyword(s):

Blood Pressure ◽

Health Care ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

High Blood Pressure ◽

Health Care Provider ◽

Care Provider ◽

Urgent Care ◽

Pharmacy Staff ◽

Referral Patterns ◽

Pharmacy Technicians

Abstract Objectives Emergency department (ED) visits for high blood pressure are on the rise. Yet the majority of these patients are discharged home after their ED evaluation, particularly those who present following an elevated reading on an in-store pharmacy machine. We aimed to gain insight on the practice and referral patterns of pharmacy staff who encounter a patient with an elevated in-store blood pressure (BP) reading. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with pharmacy staff (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians/assistants) from California, United States and Ontario, Canada. Interview questions were designed to examine the practice and referral patterns of pharmacy staff for patients with elevated in-store BP readings. Standard descriptive content analysis techniques were used to analyze the data and to develop themes for current practice and referral patterns. Results Twenty-four interviews were completed: six with pharmacy technicians/assistants and 18 with pharmacists. Canadian pharmacy staff (83%) reported being approached frequently (defined as from weekly up to multiple times per day) by patients concerned about an elevated BP reading on an in-store machine, versus 50% reported by American participants. Participant definition of an elevated BP varied, with systolic values ranging from 120 to 150 mmHg and diastolic values from 60 to 90 mmHg. Participants emphasized the need to converse with and assess their patients prior to providing advice. The most frequently reported advice was to seek referral from an outside health care provider: ED, urgent care, or a primary care practitioner. Severity of the BP reading and symptomatology were reported as determining factors for referring patients to the ED. Pharmacists (92%) reported a lack of corporate and/or governing body policy for managing patients with in-store markedly elevated BP readings. Conclusions Managing patients with an elevated BP reading in the community pharmacy setting is complex and not standardized. Referral to an external health care provider, including the ED, was a common theme. The development of a pharmacy referral tool/algorithm may be helpful to refer in-store patients with elevated BP readings to the most appropriate healthcare resources.

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Why Healthcare and Education Professionals Underreport Suspicions of Child Abuse: A Qualitative Study

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci10030098 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 98

Author(s):

Jeanne Gubbels ◽

Mark Assink ◽

Peter Prinzie ◽

Claudia E. van der van der Put

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Decision Making ◽

Child Abuse ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Primary Schools ◽

Information Transfer ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Daily Work ◽

Education Professionals ◽

Abuse And Neglect

Education and healthcare professionals are crucial in detecting and reporting child abuse and neglect. However, signs of child abuse are often undetected, and professionals tend to underreport their suspicions of abuse and neglect. This qualitative study aimed to examine experiences, attitudes, perspectives, and decision-making skills of healthcare and education professionals with regard to identifying and reporting child abuse and to gain insight into how detection and reporting can be improved. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 49 Dutch professionals working in child health care, mental health care, primary schools, and secondary schools. The I-Change model was used as a theoretical framework to organize the results. Many professionals believe they miss child abuse signs in their daily work, partially due to a lack of focus on child abuse. Further, professionals indicated having insufficient knowledge of child abuse, and lack communication skills to detect or discuss signs indicative of child abuse in conversations with parents or children. As for risk assessment, professionals barely use structured instruments even though these are regarded as very helpful in the decision-making process. Finally, professionals experience deficits in the cooperation with child welfare organizations, and in particular with Child Protective Services (CPS). Various directions for improvement were discussed to overcome barriers in child abuse detection and reporting, including developing tools for detecting and assessing the risk of child abuse and improving communication and information transfer between organizations.

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Patient, Caregiver, and Provider Perspectives on Improving Information Delivery in Hemodialysis: A Qualitative Study

Canadian Journal of Kidney Health and Disease ◽

10.1177/20543581211046078 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 205435812110460

Author(s):

Priscila Ferreira da Silva ◽

Melanie D. Talson ◽

Juli Finlay ◽

Krista Rossum ◽

Kaytlynn V. Soroka ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Peer Support ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Information Transfer ◽

Information Delivery ◽

Technological Innovations ◽

Care Providers ◽

Provider Perspectives

Background: Patients with kidney failure are exposed to a surfeit of new information about their disease and treatment, often resulting in ineffective communication between patients and providers. Improving the amount, timing, and individualization of information received has been identified as a priority in in-center hemodialysis care. Objective: To describe and explicate patient, caregiver, and health care provider perspectives regarding challenges and solutions to information transfer in clinical hemodialysis care. Design: In this multicenter qualitative study, we gathered perspectives of patients, their caregivers, and health care providers conducted through focus groups and interviews. Setting: Five Canadian hemodialysis centers: Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Halifax. Participants: English-speaking adults receiving in-center hemodialysis for longer than 6 months, their caregivers, and hemodialysis health care providers. Methods: Between May 24, 2017, and August 16, 2018, data collected through focus groups and interviews with hemodialysis patients and their caregivers subsequently informed semi-structured interviews with health care providers. For this secondary analysis, data were analyzed through an inductive thematic analysis using grounded theory, to examine the data more deeply for overarching themes. Results: Among 82 patients/caregivers and 31 healthcare providers, 6 main themes emerged. Themes identified from patients/caregivers were (1) overwhelmed at initiation of hemodialysis care, (2) need for peer support, and (3) improving comprehension of hemodialysis processes. Themes identified from providers were (1) time constraints with patients, (2) relevance of information provided, and (3) technological innovations to improve patient engagement. Limitations: Findings were limited to Canadian context, English speakers, and individuals receiving hemodialysis in urban centers. Conclusions: Participants identified challenges and potential solutions to improve the amount, timing, and individualization of information provided regarding in-center hemodialysis care, which included peer support, technological innovations, and improved knowledge translation activities. Findings may inform the development of interventions and strategies aimed at improving information delivery to facilitate patient-centered hemodialysis care.

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Determination of the Best Emulsion for the Microscopy of Crystals

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100096886 ◽

1981 ◽

Vol 39 ◽

pp. 32-33

Author(s):

David A. Grano ◽

Kenneth H. Downing

Keyword(s):

Spatial Frequency ◽

Information Transfer ◽

Signal To Noise Ratio ◽

Experimental Situation ◽

Photographic Emulsion ◽

Modulation Transfer ◽

Signal To Noise ◽

Frequency Space ◽

Noise Ratio

The retrieval of high-resolution information from images of biological crystals depends, in part, on the use of the correct photographic emulsion. We have been investigating the information transfer properties of twelve emulsions with a view toward 1) characterizing the emulsions by a few, measurable quantities, and 2) identifying the “best” emulsion of those we have studied for use in any given experimental situation. Because our interests lie in the examination of crystalline specimens, we've chosen to evaluate an emulsion's signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as a function of spatial frequency and use this as our critereon for determining the best emulsion.The signal-to-noise ratio in frequency space depends on several factors. First, the signal depends on the speed of the emulsion and its modulation transfer function (MTF). By procedures outlined in, MTF's have been found for all the emulsions tested and can be fit by an analytic expression 1/(1+(S/S0)2). Figure 1 shows the experimental data and fitted curve for an emulsion with a better than average MTF. A single parameter, the spatial frequency at which the transfer falls to 50% (S0), characterizes this curve.

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Ultimate resolution and information in electron microscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100086787 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 496-497

Author(s):

D. Van Dyck

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Electron Microscope ◽

Transfer Function ◽

Information Transfer ◽

Communication Channel ◽

Structural Information ◽

Information Rate ◽

Noise Power ◽

Signal Power ◽

Imaging Device

An (electron) microscope can be considered as a communication channel that transfers structural information between an object and an observer. In electron microscopy this information is carried by electrons. According to the theory of Shannon the maximal information rate (or capacity) of a communication channel is given by C = B log2 (1 + S/N) bits/sec., where B is the band width, and S and N the average signal power, respectively noise power at the output. We will now apply to study the information transfer in an electron microscope. For simplicity we will assume the object and the image to be onedimensional (the results can straightforwardly be generalized). An imaging device can be characterized by its transfer function, which describes the magnitude with which a spatial frequency g is transferred through the device, n is the noise. Usually, the resolution of the instrument ᑭ is defined from the cut-off 1/ᑭ beyond which no spadal information is transferred.

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Qualitative study on “hydropic degeneration” of The hepatocytes in viral hepatitis

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s042482010016039x ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 568-569

Author(s):

Le Meizhao ◽

Ye Ming ◽

Song Xiaoming ◽

Xu Jiazhang

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Viral Hepatitis ◽

Chronic Active Hepatitis ◽

Microscopic Observation ◽

Hydropic Degeneration ◽

Light Microscopic Observation ◽

Biopsy Specimens ◽

Endoplasm Reticulum ◽

Mixed Fluid ◽

Peripheral Cytoplasm

“Hydropic degeneration” of the hepatocytes are often found in biopsy of the liver of some kinds of viral hepatitis. Light microscopic observation, compareted with the normal hepatocytes, they are enlarged, sometimes to a marked degree when the term “balloning” degeneration is used. Their cytoplasm rarefied, and show some clearness in the peripheral cytoplasm, so, it causes a hydropic appearance, the cytoplasm around the nuclei is granulated. Up to the present, many studies belive that main ultrastructural chenges of hydropic degeneration of the hepatocytes are results of the RER cristae dilatation with degranulation and disappearance of glycogen granules.The specimens of this study are fixed with the mixed fluid of the osmium acidpotassium of ferricyanide, Epon-812 embed. We have observed 21 cases of biopsy specimens with chronic severe hepatitis and severe chronic active hepatitis, and found that the clear fields in the cytoplasm actually are a accumulating place of massive glycogen. The granules around the nuclei are converging mitochondria, endoplasm reticulum and other organelles.

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