The Future of Telepathology for the Developing World

2011 ◽  
Vol 135 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles L Hitchcock
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Digital Images ◽  
Virtual Slide ◽  
Digital Camera ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Software Application ◽  
Open Platform ◽  
Delays In Diagnosis

Abstract Physician shortages are acute in developing countries, where disease burden is the greatest and resources for health care are very limited. A lack of pathologists in these countries has lead to delays in diagnosis and misdiagnoses that adversely affect patient care and survival. The introduction of telepathology into countries with limited resources for health care is but one of multiple approaches that can be used to alleviate the problem. Telepathology is the electronic transmission of digital images that can be used for education and diagnostic consultation. A basic system consists of a microscope with a mounted digital camera linked to a computer. The ability to produce histologic slides, to repair and maintain equipment, and to provide training are also needed for the successful use of this technology. iPath is a Web-based, open platform, software application which was developed at the University of Basel, Switzerland, for telepathology and which brings together pathologists from around the world to provide telepathology support for diagnostic consultation and provides education to centers with limited resources. The use of virtual-slide technology to provide a digital image of an entire glass slide is another technology for diagnostic consultation and pathology education. This technology requires more costly resources to support it, which may limit its utility in many areas. Telepathology can generate collections of digital images and virtual slides needed for training indigenous pathologists in their countries to become self-sufficient. Thus, the long-term goal of this technology is to improve patient care and survival.

A Preliminary Study of Nursing Practice Patterns Concerning Dysphagia Diet Modification: Implications for Interprofessional Education With SLPs

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Naomi Gurevich ◽  
Danielle R. Osmelak ◽  
Sydney Osentoski
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Interprofessional Education ◽  
Practice Patterns ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Treatment Method ◽  
The United States ◽  
Diet Modification ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Swallowing Dysfunction

Purpose Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are trained to evaluate and treat dysphagia. One treatment method is to modify diet consistency or viscosity to compensate for swallowing dysfunction and promote a safer intake; this typically involves softening solids and thickening liquids. Thickening liquids is not safer for all patients, and modification of dysphagia diets without adequate training may reduce the quality of dysphagia patient care. Over 90% of SLPs working in health care report exposure to nurses who regularly downgrade dysphagia diets without an SLP consult. This study explores dysphagia diet modification practices of nursing staff with and without dysphagia training. Method Practicing nurses and student nurses ( N = 298) in the United States were surveyed regarding their dysphagia diet modification training and practice patterns. Additionally, a pre-/posttest design was used to determine the efficacy of a short general tutorial on willingness to modify diets without an SLP consult. Results Downgrading diets without an SLP consult is a common practice. Fewer than one third of nurses (31.41%) would avoid it, whereas 73.65% would avoid upgrading without SLP consult. Formal dysphagia training made little difference to this practice. The short general tutorial also had no beneficial effect, in fact slightly reducing the willingness to consult SLPs. Conclusions Dysphagia diet modification practice by nurses is pervasive in U.S. health care. This is a previously unexplored but common issue SLPs face in work settings. This study identifies a need to clarify guidelines and increase interprofessional education between both professions to improve patient care.

scholarly journals Can computers improve patient care by primary health care workers in India?

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 437-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H. Peters ◽  
Manish Kohli ◽  
Maya Mascarenhas ◽  
Krishna Rao
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Improve Patient

scholarly journals Pediatric and adult neurologist perspectives on the challenges of sustaining a transfer clinic

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 356-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tadeu A. Fantaneanu ◽  
Claire S. Jacobs ◽  
Claudio De Gusmao ◽  
Ann M. Bergin ◽  
Tracey A. Milligan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
North America ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Telephone Survey ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Transfer Of Care ◽  
Improve Patient ◽  
Adult Health Care

We present a novel epilepsy fellow–driven transfer clinic model and discuss the challenges experienced in finding sustainability; this is timely as many pioneering transition clinics are dissolving across North America. The goal of this clinic was to improve patient care and satisfaction, as measured by a post-visit telephone survey. Unfortunately, our transfer clinic model proved unsustainable due to several factors, broadly categorized as (1) cultural-societal differences between the pediatric and adult health care environments, (2) staffing issues, (3) lack of an established standardized process for transfer of care, and (4) financial and administrative barriers. We suggest potential solutions to these challenges, but the fate of transition and transfer of care clinics may ultimately depend on implementation of practice, policy, and/or financial guidelines.

Building to Make a Difference: Advanced Practice Nurses’ Experience of Power

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-116
Author(s):  
Catherine A. Schoales ◽  
Frances Fothergill Bourbonnais ◽  
Judy Rashotte
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Advanced Practice Nurses ◽  
Care Organization ◽  
Advanced Practice ◽  
Practice Nurses

Power is necessary for nurses to affect change in patient care and to move the nursing profession forward. Despite the evolving body of nursing research on power, there have been no studies that have investigated the nature of advanced practice nurses’ (APNs’) power. The purpose of this study was to explore the APNs’ lived experience of power. Interpretive phenomenology guided the method and analysis. Eight APNs employed in a single Canadian tertiary care teaching health-care organization engaged in in-depth interviews. The overarching theme, building to make a difference, reflected the APNs’ perception of power in their practice, which involved a passion to facilitate change in practice to improve patient care. Building to make a difference involved three themes: building on, building with, and building for. The APNs experienced more power—a process they described as power creep—when they used soft power that was shared with others to affect positive change in health care. These findings contribute to our understanding of how power is perceived and manifested in the APN role, thus further enabling organizations to create working conditions to support the APNs’ endeavors to empower others.

scholarly journals Automatic Digital Analysis of Chromogenic Media for Vancomycin-Resistant-Enterococcus Screens Using Copan WASPLab

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 2464-2469 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Faron ◽  
Blake W. Buchan ◽  
Christopher Coon ◽  
Theo Liebregts ◽  
Anita van Bree ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Digital Images ◽  
Package Insert ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Standard Of Care ◽  
Labor Cost ◽  
High Definition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chromogenic Agar ◽  
Vancomycin Resistant

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are an important cause of health care-acquired infections (HAIs). Studies have shown that active surveillance of high-risk patients for VRE colonization can aid in reducing HAIs; however, these screens generate a significant cost to the laboratory and health care system. Digital imaging capable of differentiating negative and “nonnegative” chromogenic agar can reduce the labor cost of these screens and potentially improve patient care. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the WASPLab Chromogenic Detection Module (CDM) (Copan, Brescia, Italy) software to analyze VRE chromogenic agar and compared the results to technologist plate reading. Specimens collected at 3 laboratories were cultured using the WASPLab CDM and plated to each site's standard-of-care chromogenic media, which included Colorex VRE (BioMed Diagnostics, White City, OR) or Oxoid VRE (Oxoid, Basingstoke, United Kingdom). Digital images were scored using the CDM software after 24 or 40 h of growth, and all manual reading was performed using digital images on a high-definition (HD) monitor. In total, 104,730 specimens were enrolled and automation agreed with manual analysis for 90.1% of all specimens tested, with sensitivity and specificity of 100% and 89.5%, respectively. Automation results were discordant for 10,348 specimens, and all discordant images were reviewed by a laboratory supervisor or director. After a second review, 499 specimens were identified as representing missed positive cultures falsely called negative by the technologist, 1,616 were identified as containing borderline color results (negative result but with no package insert color visible), and 8,234 specimens were identified as containing colorimetric pigmentation due to residual matrix from the specimen or yeast (Candida). Overall, the CDM was accurate at identifying negative VRE plates, which comprised 84% (87,973) of the specimens in this study.

A Network Model of Communication and Test Utilization: A Laboratory Ambassador Program

2019 ◽  
Vol 152 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S146-S146
Author(s):  
LeAnne Hutson
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Clinical Laboratory ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Laboratory Staff ◽  
Health Care Professions ◽  
Nursing Unit ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Specimen Quality ◽  
Small Team

Abstract Clinical laboratories often have the problem of poor communication between the lab and other health care professions, mainly nursing. This miscommunication can negatively influence employee satisfaction and patient care, requiring specimen recollections when quality is jeopardized. In an effort to improve specimen quality and build relationships between professionals, Parkland Hospital has worked to focus attention on laboratory/nursing communication by implementing the Laboratory Ambassador Program. The initial implementation of the Ambassador Program began in 2008 but ended in 2012 due to staffing issues. Afterward, the clinical laboratory noticed a marked increase in specimen recollections due to the specimen quality. They also found that both the nursing and laboratory staff missed the interactions between each other. As a result, the Ambassador Program restarted in 2018, targeting eight nursing units. A small team of laboratory professionals was assigned to each nursing unit and provided educational and reference material on specimen collections. The Ambassador Program at Parkland Hospital has proven to improve patient care by lessening specimen recollections by nearly 30%, and it has built critical relationships between nursing and the clinical laboratory staff. By working together with nursing, the laboratorians can now see the bigger picture of health care outside of the lab, and nursing now understands the complexities of laboratory testing and resulting.

Pharmacist-Initiated Prior Authorization Process to Improve Patient Care in a Psychiatric Acute Care Hospital

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shari N. Allen ◽  
Mebanga Ojong-Salako
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Acute Care ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Care Facility ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Care Hospital ◽  
Prior Authorization ◽  
Care Plans ◽  
Effective Manner

A prior authorization (PA) is a requirement implemented by managed care organizations to help provide medications to consumers in a cost-effective manner. The PA process may be seen as a barrier by prescribers, pharmacists, pharmaceutical companies, and consumers. The lack of a standardized PA process, implemented prior to a patient’s discharge from a health care facility, may increase nonadherence to inpatient prescribed medications. Pharmacists and other health care professionals can implement a PA process specific to their institution. This article describes a pharmacist-initiated PA process implemented at an acute care psychiatric hospital. This process was initiated secondary to a need for a standardized process at the facility. To date, the process has been seen as a valuable aspect to patient care. Plans to expand this process include collecting data with regards to adherence and readmissions as well as applying for a grant to help develop a program to automate the PA program at this facility.

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