scholarly journals Teaching the pony new tricks: competences for specialists in laboratory medicine to meet the challenges of disruptive innovation

2018 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Laboratory Medicine ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Digital Revolution

Abstract The 20th century digital revolution has already seen the introduction of faster, more diverse, easier to use technologies with extended capacity and capability that has enhanced productivity in Laboratory Medicine and allowed more effective use of human resource. With increasing demands for better health and best care the challenge to future healthcare systems is to deploy technology, facilities and human resources more effectively. For the 21st century the digital age heralds opportunities for information-led technology providers to become healthcare providers when algorithm driven care can support patients’ needs at the point of care close to or in their homes. For Specialists in Laboratory Medicine the opportunity arises for working beyond the laboratory in partnership with the emerging providers. The challenge to specialists is to extend their skill and competence to leadership roles that (a) determine clinical need and strategic direction for local environments, (b) ensure technology solutions are cost-effective, safe and reliable, (c) assume the business acumen to market, negotiate and manage change in services, (d) expect understanding of the clinical bioinformatics that underpin genomics, health information science (data mining and health economics) and physical sciences (e) expect knowledge and skills in the provision of direct clinical care in the face of staffing shortfalls experienced by many healthcare systems and (f) enhance their communication and interactive skills. In growing their leadership contribution a partnership approach in education and training across healthcare divides, in conjunction with the diagnostics and/or information technology industries, through integrated professional organisation approaches, joint approaches with academia and policy related healthcare organisations is recommended.

Information systems in support of public health in high-income countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-12
Author(s):  
Tjeerd-Pieter van Staa ◽  
Liam Smeeth
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Healthcare Intervention ◽  
Healthcare Interventions

Public health activities are dependent on the availability of information and ability to disseminate information to clinicians/healthcare providers, individuals, and communities. The increasing computerization of healthcare systems can offer opportunities to improve these activities. Databases of electronic healthcare records are used for disease surveillance and monitoring healthcare interventions. The quality and quantity of reporting of notifiable diseases may be improved by regular review of the electronic healthcare records. Randomized trials that recruit patients at the point of care and use electronic healthcare records for collection of follow-up information can be used to test the effectiveness of healthcare intervention in routine clinical practice. Cluster trials that randomize different clinics or regions can compare different public health policies and improve the evidence base for the pragmatic use of public health interventions. Data generated within clinical information systems can be used to provide feedback and guidance to clinicians and patients as part of clinical care. Better information systems providing data on risks and benefits of healthcare interventions will provide an important impetus to evidence-based public health.

Telehealth model of care for routine follow up of renal transplant recipients in a tertiary centre: A case study

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 232-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narissa Andrew ◽  
Katherine A Barraclough ◽  
Karrie Long ◽  
Timothy N Fazio ◽  
Steve Holt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renal Transplant ◽  
Kidney Transplant ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Outpatient Service ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Renal Transplant Recipients ◽  
Transplant Recipients ◽  
Kidney Transplant Recipients ◽  
Royal Melbourne Hospital

Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) performs over 140 kidney transplant operations annually. Kidney transplant recipients require regular medical review, which results in loss of time and costs from travel, particularly for regional patients, and places high demand on the hospital outpatient service. The RMH renal transplant unit initiated a telehealth service in 2016 to provide cost effective, patient-centred clinical care for regional patients. To date, 263 clinical reviews have been conducted via telehealth, potentially saving 203,202 kilometres in travel distance; 2771 hours in car travel time; an estimated AUD $31,048 in petrol savings and 51 tonnes CO2 equivalents of greenhouse gas emissions. Lessons learnt have included the importance of using technology that allows patients to access telehealth from their place of choice. The option of a joint consultation with local healthcare providers has facilitated the development of extended care networks for our patients. Incorporation of telehealth into our outpatient system has been achieved with the existing nephrology workforce, making it a sustainable long-term review option. Our renal transplant telehealth outpatient clinic has been a successful change in the way we provide care to regional patients. Formal comparison of clinical outcomes and the patient experience of telehealth versus in person reviews are underway.

scholarly journals Glycoprotein- and Lectin-Based Approaches for Detection of Pathogens

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 694
Author(s):  
Sammer-ul Hassan ◽  
Ahmed Donia ◽  
Usman Sial ◽  
Xunli Zhang ◽  
Habib Bokhari
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Basic Research ◽  
High Specificity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Emerging Diseases ◽  
Public Healthcare ◽  
Point Of Use ◽  
Specificity And Sensitivity

Infectious diseases alone are estimated to result in approximately 40% of the 50 million total annual deaths globally. The importance of basic research in the control of emerging and re-emerging diseases cannot be overemphasized. However, new nanotechnology-based methodologies exploiting unique surface-located glycoproteins or their patterns can be exploited to detect pathogens at the point of use or on-site with high specificity and sensitivity. These technologies will, therefore, affect our ability in the future to more accurately assess risk. The critical challenge is making these new methodologies cost-effective, as well as simple to use, for the diagnostics industry and public healthcare providers. Miniaturization of biochemical assays in lab-on-a-chip devices has emerged as a promising tool. Miniaturization has the potential to shape modern biotechnology and how point-of-care testing of infectious diseases will be performed by developing smart microdevices that require minute amounts of sample and reagents and are cost-effective, robust, and sensitive and specific. The current review provides a short overview of some of the futuristic approaches using simple molecular interactions between glycoproteins and glycoprotein-binding molecules for the efficient and rapid detection of various pathogens at the point of use, advancing the emerging field of glyconanodiagnostics.

scholarly journals Introducing an Endocrine Laboratory

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 1425-1426
Author(s):  
Vivek Pant
Keyword(s):  
Patient Care ◽  
Medical Practice ◽  
Health Personnel ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Laboratory Medicine ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Laboratory Investigations ◽  
Single Laboratory

The growing sub-specialty in Medical practice is beneficial for the patient as well as for the healthcare providers. Laboratory Medicine is also an emerging field to address the complexity of health arena. In earlier days, all laboratory investigations were performed in the single laboratory equipped with all sorts of machines and manpower. But the scenario has changed now with laboratories being specific for subject like Biochemistry, Hematology, Microbiology, Immunology, Genetics and many more. These specifications have proven that by doing so, there is better patient care and involvement of health personnel in various research activities, which ultimately helps in identification of cost effective laboratory approach of diseases.

scholarly journals Capillary-Driven Flow Microfluidics Combined with Smartphone Detection: An Emerging Tool for Point-of-Care Diagnostics

Diagnostics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 509
Author(s):  
Sammer-ul Hassan ◽  
Aamira Tariq ◽  
Zobia Noreen ◽  
Ahmed Donia ◽  
Syed Z. J. Zaidi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Scientific Community ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Internal Wall ◽  
Point Of Care Diagnostics ◽  
The World ◽  
Flow Devices ◽  
Near Patient Testing

Point-of-care (POC) or near-patient testing allows clinicians to accurately achieve real-time diagnostic results performed at or near to the patient site. The outlook of POC devices is to provide quicker analyses that can lead to well-informed clinical decisions and hence improve the health of patients at the point-of-need. Microfluidics plays an important role in the development of POC devices. However, requirements of handling expertise, pumping systems and complex fluidic controls make the technology unaffordable to the current healthcare systems in the world. In recent years, capillary-driven flow microfluidics has emerged as an attractive microfluidic-based technology to overcome these limitations by offering robust, cost-effective and simple-to-operate devices. The internal wall of the microchannels can be pre-coated with reagents, and by merely dipping the device into the patient sample, the sample can be loaded into the microchannel driven by capillary forces and can be detected via handheld or smartphone-based detectors. The capabilities of capillary-driven flow devices have not been fully exploited in developing POC diagnostics, especially for antimicrobial resistance studies in clinical settings. The purpose of this review is to open up this field of microfluidics to the ever-expanding microfluidic-based scientific community.

scholarly journals Emergency cricothyrotomy during the COVID-19 pandemic: how to suppress aerosolization

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e000542
Author(s):  
Nabil Issa ◽  
Whitney E Liddy ◽  
Sandeep Samant ◽  
David B Conley ◽  
Robert C Kern ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potential Risk ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Healthcare Setting ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Risk Of Infection ◽  
X Ray ◽  
General Surgeons ◽  
Fluorescein Dye ◽  
Nose And Throat

BackgroundCricothyrotomy is associated with significant aerosolization that increases the potential risk of infection among healthcare providers. It is important to identify simple yet effective methods to suppress aerosolization and improve the safety of healthcare providers.Methods5 ear, nose and throat and general surgeons used a locally developed hybrid cricothyrotomy simulator with a porcine trachea to test three draping methods to suppress aerosolization during the procedure: an X-ray cassette drape, dry operating room (OR) towels and wet OR towels. The three methods were judged based on three categories: effectiveness of suppression, availability in all healthcare systems and ease of handling.ResultsAll five surgeons performed the procedure independently using each of the three suppression methods. The wet OR towel drape was found to be an effective method to suppress aerosolization, and it did not hinder the surgeons from performing the procedure accurately. This finding was confirmed by using an atomized fluorescein dye injection into the porcine trachea, representing aerosolized material while performing the procedure.ConclusionsWe present a novel intervention using wet towels to suppress aerosolization during cricothyrotomy. Wet towels are cheap and readily available within any healthcare setting regardless of the financial resources available.

scholarly journals Aptamer-Based Diagnostic Systems for the Rapid Screening of TB at the Point-of-Care

Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1352
Author(s):  
Darius Riziki Martin ◽  
Nicole Remaliah Sibuyi ◽  
Phumuzile Dube ◽  
Adewale Oluwaseun Fadaka ◽  
Ruben Cloete ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Rapid Screening ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Sputum Smear ◽  
Diagnostic Systems ◽  
Molecular Tests ◽  
Rapid Tests

The transmission of Tuberculosis (TB) is very rapid and the burden it places on health care systems is felt globally. The effective management and prevention of this disease requires that it is detected early. Current TB diagnostic approaches, such as the culture, sputum smear, skin tuberculin, and molecular tests are time-consuming, and some are unaffordable for low-income countries. Rapid tests for disease biomarker detection are mostly based on immunological assays that use antibodies which are costly to produce, have low sensitivity and stability. Aptamers can replace antibodies in these diagnostic tests for the development of new rapid tests that are more cost effective; more stable at high temperatures and therefore have a better shelf life; do not have batch-to-batch variations, and thus more consistently bind to a specific target with similar or higher specificity and selectivity and are therefore more reliable. Advancements in TB research, in particular the application of proteomics to identify TB specific biomarkers, led to the identification of a number of biomarker proteins, that can be used to develop aptamer-based diagnostic assays able to screen individuals at the point-of-care (POC) more efficiently in resource-limited settings.

scholarly journals Longitudinal remotely mentored self-performed lung ultrasound surveillance of paucisymptomatic Covid-19 patients at risk of disease progression

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew W. Kirkpatrick ◽  
Jessica L. McKee ◽  
John M. Conly
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Lung Ultrasound ◽  
Point Of Care ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Vital Signs ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Vital Signs Monitoring ◽  
Ultrasound Probes

AbstractCOVID-19 has impacted human life globally and threatens to overwhelm health-care resources. Infection rates are rapidly rising almost everywhere, and new approaches are required to both prevent transmission, but to also monitor and rescue infected and at-risk patients from severe complications. Point-of-care lung ultrasound has received intense attention as a cost-effective technology that can aid early diagnosis, triage, and longitudinal follow-up of lung health. Detecting pleural abnormalities in previously healthy lungs reveal the beginning of lung inflammation eventually requiring mechanical ventilation with sensitivities superior to chest radiographs or oxygen saturation monitoring. Using a paradigm first developed for space-medicine known as Remotely Telementored Self-Performed Ultrasound (RTSPUS), motivated patients with portable smartphone support ultrasound probes can be guided completely remotely by a remote lung imaging expert to longitudinally follow the health of their own lungs. Ultrasound probes can be couriered or even delivered by drone and can be easily sterilized or dedicated to one or a commonly exposed cohort of individuals. Using medical outreach supported by remote vital signs monitoring and lung ultrasound health surveillance would allow clinicians to follow and virtually lay hands upon many at-risk paucisymptomatic patients. Our initial experiences with such patients are presented, and we believe present a paradigm for an evolution in rich home-monitoring of the many patients expected to become infected and who threaten to overwhelm resources if they must all be assessed in person by at-risk care providers.

scholarly journals HealthTEC Innovation Design - a proposal for a novel Master degree program based on Unmet Clinical Need, global Healthcare Challenges, and 21st century skills

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-603
Author(s):  
Michael Friebe
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
21St Century ◽  
21St Century Skills ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Data Gathering ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Incremental Innovation ◽  
Healthcare Provision

AbstractThe effectiveness, efficiency, availability, agility, and equality of global healthcare systems are in question. The COVID-19 pandemic have further highlighted some of these issues and also shown that healthcare provision is in many parts of the world paternalistic, nimble, and often governed too extensively by revenue and profit motivations. The 4th industrial revolution - the machine learning age - with data gathering, analysis, optimisation, and delivery changes has not yet reached Healthcare / Health provision. We are still treating patients when they are sick rather then to use advanced sensors, data analytics, machine learning, genetic information, and other exponential technologies to prevent people from becoming patients or to help and support a clinicians decision. We are trying to optimise and improve traditional medicine (incremental innovation) rather than to use technologies to find new medical and clinical approaches (disruptive innovation). Education of future stakeholders from the clinical and from the technology side has not been updated to Health 4.0 demands and the needed 21st century skills. This paper presents a novel proposal for a university and innovation lab based interdisciplinary Master education of HealthTEC innovation designers.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document