Home-based initiatives for acute management of COVID-19 patients needing oxygen: differences across The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: During the COVID-19 pandemic new collaborative-care initiatives were developed for treating and monitoring COVID-19 patients with oxygen at home. Aim was to provide a structured overview focused on differences and similarities of initiatives of acute home-based management in the Netherlands. METHODS: Initiatives were eligible for evaluation if (i) COVID-19 patients received oxygen treatment at home; (ii) patients received structured remote monitoring; (iii) it was not an 'early hospital discharge' program; (iv) at least one patient was included. Protocols were screened, and additional information was obtained from involved physicians. Design choices were categorised into: eligible patient group, organization medical care, remote monitoring, nursing care, and devices used. RESULTS: Nine initiatives were screened for eligibility; five were included. Three initiatives included low-risk patients and two were designed specifically for frail patients. Emergency department (ED) visit for an initial diagnostic work-up and evaluation was mandatory in three initiatives before starting home management. Medical responsibility was either assigned to the general practitioner or hospital specialist, most often pulmonologist or internist. Pulse-oximetry was used in all initiatives, with additional monitoring of heart rate and respiratory rate in three initiatives. Remote monitoring staff's qualification and authority varied, and organization and logistics were covered by persons with various backgrounds. All initiatives offered remote monitoring via an application, two also offered a paper diary option. CONCLUSIONS: We observed differences in the organization of interprofessional collaboration for acute home management of hypoxemic COVID-19 patients. All initiatives used pulse-oximetry and an app for remote monitoring. Our overview may be of help to healthcare providers and organizations to set up and implement similar acute home management initiatives for critical episodes of COVID-19 (or other acute disorders) that would otherwise require hospital care.

Defining the palliative care patient: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The lack of a clear definition of the palliative care patient hampers the comparison of results across different studies and impedes implementation of research findings in everyday practice. AIM: The aim of this article is to propose minimum characteristics that define a palliative care patient. DESIGN: The design involved a systematic review of medical literature searching randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in palliative care for clear descriptions of their palliative care patients. We systematically describe relevant characteristics of the study populations of 60 eligible RCTs. DATA SOURCES: The data sources used were MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PSYCHINFO, including all non-cancer RCTs (1 January 1995-4 March 2010) and an equivalent number of the most recent cancer RCTs (1 January 2003-4 March 2010). RESULTS: Half of the non-cancer studies were excluded because they did not relate to palliative care. We conclude that published RCTs have no clear definitions of their palliative care patients and illustrate the diversity of this patient, the lack of consensus concerning the attributes of illnesses needing palliation and the ambiguous use of the adjective 'palliative'. CONCLUSIONS: We propose elements of the patients' health status (e.g. a progressive, life-threatening disease with no possibility of obtaining remission or stabilisation, or modifying the course of the illness) and the care delivered to them (e.g. a holistic interdisciplinary approach that focuses on supporting the quality of the end of life) to be included in the definition of a palliative care patient. We also suggest considering the patients' readiness to accept palliative care and a vision of palliative care shared by the patient and all caregivers involved as potentially important elements in this definition.

How family physicians address diagnosis and management of depression in palliative care patients.

PURPOSE: Depression is highly prevalent in palliative care patients. In clinical practice, there is concern about both insufficient and excessive diagnosis and treatment of depression. In the Netherlands, family physicians have a central role in delivering palliative care. We explored variation in family physicians' opinions regarding the recognition, diagnosis, and management of depression in palliative care patients. METHODS: We conducted a focus group study in a sample of family physicians with varied practice locations and varying expertise in palliative care. Transcripts were analyzed independently by 2 researchers using constant comparative analysis in ATLAS.ti. RESULTS: In 4 focus group discussions with 22 family physicians, the physicians described the diagnostic and therapeutic process for depression in palliative care patients as a continuous and overlapping process. Differentiating between normal and abnormal sadness was viewed as challenging. The physicians did not strictly apply criteria of depressive disorder but rather relied on their clinical judgment and strongly considered patients' context and background factors. They indicated that managing depression in palliative care patients is mainly supportive and nonspecific. Antidepressant drugs were seldom prescribed. The physicians described difficulties in diagnosing and treating depression in palliative care, and gave suggestions to improve management of depression in palliative care patients in primary care. CONCLUSIONS: Family physicians perceive the diagnosis and management of depression in palliative care patients as challenging. They rely on open communication and a long-standing physician-patient relationship in which the patient's context is of great importance. This approach fits with the patient-centered care that is promoted in primary care.

The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and a single screening question as screening tools for depressive disorder in Dutch advanced cancer patients.

PURPOSE: Depression is highly prevalent in advanced cancer patients, but the diagnosis of depressive disorder in patients with advanced cancer is difficult. Screening instruments could facilitate diagnosing depressive disorder in patients with advanced cancer. The aim of this study was to determine the validity of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and a single screening question as screening tools for depressive disorder in advanced cancer patients. METHODS: Patients with advanced metastatic disease, visiting the outpatient palliative care department, were asked to fill out a self-questionnaire containing the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and a single screening question "Are you feeling depressed?" The mood section of the PRIME-MD was used as a gold standard. RESULTS: Sixty-one patients with advanced metastatic disease were eligible to be included in the study. Complete data were obtained from 46 patients. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristics analysis of the BDI-II was 0.82. The optimal cut-off point of the BDI-II was 16 with a sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 69%. The single screening question showed a sensitivity of 50% and a specificity of 94%. CONCLUSIONS: The BDI-II seems an adequate screening tool for a depressive disorder in advanced cancer patients. The sensitivity of a single screening question is poor.

Primary care for young adult cancer survivors: an international perspective.

PURPOSE: Internationally, family physicians (FP) are not routinely involved in young adult cancer (YAC) care. In this short report, we would like to make a compelling argument for primary care involvement. METHODS: Comparative descriptions and literature review. RESULTS: Cancer among YAs is rare and usually not the first thing that comes into the FP's mind. Youth is sometimes mistakenly regarded as a protective factor. Across the countries, almost all YACs are treated in tertiary health care facilities with specialists providing the majority of care. Health care services are covered by the universal health insurance in Denmark, The Netherlands, and Canada but not in the US. Once the YAC has completed acute treatment and follow-up care, they often return to the care of the FPs who may potentially be expected to deal with and take action upon any possible medical, mental health, and psychosocial issues the YA cancer patient may present with. The role of the FP in follow-up care seems to be very limited. CONCLUSIONS: YACs in the western world seem to have comparable medical and psychosocial problems. However, the nature of health insurance is such that it impacts differently on the care of this group of cancer patients. Primary care features such as patient-centered, integrated, and comprehensive care over extended periods of time bring the FP into the unique position to provide follow-up for YAC. However, this will require integrating patient's perspectives on their care, professional continuing medical education (CME) initiatives, and an enhanced cooperative effort between those delivering and coordinating cancer care.

Barriers in recognising, diagnosing and managing depressive and anxiety disorders as experienced by Family Physicians; a focus group study.

BACKGROUND: The recognition and treatment of depressive- and anxiety disorders is not always in line with current standards. The results of programs to improve the quality of care, are not encouraging. Perhaps these programs do not match with the problems experienced in family practice. This study aims to systematically explore how FPs perceive recognition, diagnosis and management of depressive and anxiety disorders. METHODS: focus group discussions with FPs, qualitative analysis of transcriptions using thematic coding. RESULTS: The FPs considered recognising, diagnosing and managing depressive- and anxiety disorders as an important task. They expressed serious doubts about the validity and usefulness of the DSM IV concept of depressive and anxiety disorders in family practice especially because of the high frequency of swift natural recovery. An important barrier was that many patients have difficulties in accepting the diagnosis and treatment with antidepressant drugs. FPs lacked guidance in the assessment of patients' burden. The FPs experienced they had too little time for patient education and counseling. The under capacity of specialised mental health care and its minimal collaboration with FPs were experienced as problematic. Valuable suggestions for solving the problems encountered were made CONCLUSION: Next to serious doubts regarding the diagnostic concept of depressive- and anxiety disorders a number of factors were identified which serve as barriers for suitablemental health care by FPs. These doubts and barriers should be taken into account in future research and in the design of interventions to improve mental health care in family practice.

Interventions to improve management of anxiety disorders in general practice: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety disorders are common in general practice and are associated with several problems regarding recognition and management. AIM: To systematically evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving recognition, diagnosis, and management of patients with anxiety disorders. DESIGN OF STUDY: Systematic review. METHOD: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsychINFO, and the Cochrane Clinical Trials' Register were searched up until 2003. Randomised controlled trials, controlled before/after trials, and interrupted time series for professional, organisational, financial, and regulatory interventions were eligible. Primary effect measures consisted of anxiety outcomes, diagnosis, prescription, and referral. Two reviewers independently made eligibility judgments: eight out of 563 articles were found to be eligible. Two reviewers participated independently in the quality assessment and data extraction process using a standardised form based on the Effective Practice and Organisation of Care checklist. Relative risks or standardised mean differences were calculated when possible. RESULTS: Four professional interventions and three organisational interventions were examined. In general, the professional interventions seemed to increase recognition, referral, and prescription as well as improving anxiety outcomes. Two out of three organisational interventions showed a positive effect on anxiety outcomes. The one study that took prescription into account showed no effect. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of care for patients with anxiety can be improved. A combination of professional and organisational interventions in which an external expert is introduced seems to be most promising. Additional research is nevertheless necessary to determine the exact effects of such interventions using patient effect measures, economic evaluations, and feasibility studies.

Is somatic health screening in patients with severe mental illness of added value?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the added value of somatic screening for patients with severe mental illness over regular care. DESIGN AND METHODS: We compared the information on somatic health problems collected by screening with the general practitioner (GP) files (n = 118). FINDINGS: The mean number of somatic health problems detected with somatic health screening was significantly higher than those noted in GP records (p < .01). PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Somatic health screening is an addition to the care provided by the GP. Advanced mental health nurses can play a key role in somatic health screening and initiating further cooperation and communication of GP and mental health care.

How patients and family physicians communicate about persistent medically unexplained symptoms. A qualitative study of video-recorded consultations.

OBJECTIVE: To study doctor-patient interaction styles in consultations with patients presenting persistent medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) and to study on which stages of the consultation patients and doctors focus within the available time. METHODS: exploratory, qualitative analysis of transcripts of 20 videotaped consultations between family physicians (FP) and persistent MUS patients. RESULTS: Patients presented many symptoms in a rather unstructured way. However, FPs hardly used structuring techniques such as agenda setting and summarizing. Patients with persistent MUS got much opportunity to tell their story, but the reasons for encounter, their beliefs and concerns were not discussed in a structured manner. Although consultations were focused on these issues, mostly patients themselves initiated discussion of their ideas, concerns and expectations. FPs' extensive explanations of the origin of the symptoms often did not take patients' beliefs and concerns into account. CONCLUSIONS: Due to patients' multiple symptom presentation and the absence of FPs' structuring techniques, consultations of persistent MUS patients proceed rather unfocused. However, patients got ample opportunity to tell their story. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Persistent MUS patients might benefit from structured consultations focused on the exploration of the reason for encounter.

Low prevalence of depressive disorder in ambulatory advanced cancer patients using the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN 2.1).

Depressive disorder is assumed to be highly prevalent in advanced cancer patients, but the diagnosis of depressive disorder in patients with advanced cancer is difficult. The more robust the assessment instrument to diagnose depressive disorder is, the lower the reported prevalence of depressive disorder in advanced cancer patients. This study confirms a low prevalence of depressive disorder (3%) in 64 advanced cancer outpatients using a robust structured clinical assessment (SCAN 2.1). Furthermore, in this article we discuss possible implications of using predefined psychiatric labeling in the assessment of mood symptoms in advanced cancer patients.

Early identification of palliative care patients in general practice: development of RADboud indicators for PAlliative Care Needs (RADPAC).

BACKGROUND: According to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition, palliative care should be initiated in an early phase and not be restricted to terminal care. In the literature, no validated tools predicting the optimal timing for initiating palliative care have been determined. AIM: The aim of this study was to systematically develop a tool for GPs with which they can identify patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cancer respectively, who could benefit from proactive palliative care. DESIGN: A three-step procedure, including a literature review, focus group interviews with input from the multidisciplinary field of palliative healthcare professionals, and a modified Rand Delphi process with GPs. METHOD: The three-step procedure was used to develop sets of indicators for the early identification of CHF, COPD, and cancer patients who could benefit from palliative care. RESULTS: Three comprehensive sets of indicators were developed to support GPs in identifying patients with CHF, COPD, and cancer in need of palliative care. For CHF, seven indicators were found: for example, frequent hospital admissions. For COPD, six indicators were found: such as, Karnofsky score ≤50%. For cancer, eight indicators were found: for example, worse prognosis of the primary tumour. CONCLUSION: The RADboud indicators for PAlliative Care Needs (RADPAC) is the first tool developed from a combination of scientific evidence and practice experience that can help GPs in the identification of patients with CHF, COPD, or cancer, in need of palliative care. Applying the RADPAC facilitates the start of proactive palliative care and aims to improve the quality of palliative care in general practice.

An overview of 19 instruments assessing the doctor-patient relationship: different models or concepts are used.

OBJECTIVES: The doctor-patient relationship has been linked to patient satisfaction, treatment adherence, and treatment outcome. Many different instruments have been developed to assess this relationship. The large variety makes it difficult to compare results of different studies and choose an instrument for future research. This review aims to provide an overview of the existing instruments assessing the doctor-patient relationship. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We performed a systematic search in PubMed, PsychInfo, EMBASE, and Web of Science for questionnaires measuring the doctor-patient relationship. We appraised each instrument ascertaining the questionnaires focused on the doctor-patient relationship. We compared the content and psychometric characteristics of the instruments. RESULTS: We found 19 instruments assessing the doctor-patient relationship. The instruments assess a variety of dimensions and use diverse conceptual models for the doctor-patient relationship. The instruments found also vary in terms to which they have been psychometrically tested. CONCLUSION: We have provided an overview of 19 instruments assessing the doctor-patient relationship. The selection of an instrument for future research should be based on the model or conceptual basis of the doctor-patient relationship that is most applicable to the study objectives and the health care field in which it will be applied.

Spirituality in general practice: a qualitative evidence synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Although it is now common to see spirituality as an integral part of health care, little is known about how to deal with this topic in daily practice. AIM: To investigate the literature about GPs' views on their role in spiritual care, and about their perceived barriers and facilitating factors in assessing spiritual needs. DESIGN: Qualitative evidence synthesis. METHOD: The primary data sources searched were MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, and ATLA Religion Database. Qualitative studies that described the views of GPs on their role in providing spiritual care, or that described the barriers and facilitating factors they experience in doing so, were included. Quantitative studies, descriptive papers, editorials, and opinion papers were excluded. RESULTS: Most GPs see it as their role to identify and assess patients' spiritual needs, despite perceived barriers such as lack of time and specific training. However, they struggle with spiritual language and experience feelings of discomfort and fear that patients will refuse to engage in the discussion. Communicating willingness to engage in spiritual care, using a non-judgemental approach, facilitates spiritual conversations. CONCLUSION: The results of the studies included here were mostly congruent, affirming that many GPs see themselves as supporters of patients' spiritual wellbeing, but lack specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes to perform a spiritual assessment and to provide spiritual care. Spirituality may be of special consequence at the end of life, with an increased search for meaning. Actively addressing spiritual issues fits into the biopsychosocial-spiritual model of care. Further research is needed to clarify the role of the GP as a spiritual care giver.

Making fewer depression diagnoses: beneficial for patients?

Currently, general practitioners actively search for depressive disorders in their patients. When they diagnose 'depressive disorder', they tell their patients that they have a disease and can be treated accordingly. This is probably an important reason for the huge prescription rates of anti-depressants. In doing so, general practitioners implement specialised, psychiatric diagnostic methods in a setting characterised by patients with symptoms that superficially may resemble those of depressive disorder but in reality mainly arise from normal problems in everyday life due to losses of valued relations or failure to achieve desired goals. We argue that it might be beneficial for patients if general practitioners, in a stepped care approach, hold back on specialised methods of psychiatry and instead use a more generalist approach as first step, in which patients' problems are formulated in their own words, and efforts are directed in helping patients regain their self-confidence to solve them. Our arguments for directing attention away from diagnosing depressive disorder are: depressive disorder is a diagnosis by agreement and therefore relative, so there are other ways to look at problems than though psychiatric glasses; depression has unclear boundaries with other mental disorders and with normality; depression is often not an adequate summary of the real problems of the patient; the patient often has a very different conception about what is wrong and often does not agree with the proposed presence of a mental disorder; to diagnose depressive disorder may have more disadvantages than advantages for the patient;. the efficacy of anti-depressants is very modest.

Knowledge transfer and improvement of primary and ambulatory care for patients with anxiety.

OBJECTIVE: To summarize current evidence on the effectiveness of different knowledge transfer and change interventions for improving primary and ambulatory anxiety care to provide guidance to professionals and policy-makers in mental health care. METHOD: We searched electronic medical and psychological databases, conducted correspondence with authors, and checked reference lists. Studies examining the effectiveness of knowledge transfer and interventions targeted at improvement of the recognition or management of anxiety in primary and ambulatory health care settings were included. Methodological details and outcomes were independently extracted and checked by 2 reviewers. Where appropriate, data concerning the impact of interventions on symptoms of anxiety were pooled using metaanalytical procedures. RESULTS: We identified 24 studies that met our inclusion criteria. Seven professional-directed interventions and 17 organizational interventions (including patient-oriented interventions) were identified. The methodological quality of studies was variable. Professional-directed interventions only impact the process and outcome of care when embedded in some sort of organizational intervention. Metaanalysis (n = 8 studies) showed no effect of diverse organizational interventions on patients' anxiety symptoms (effect size, -0.08; 95% confidence interval, -0.31 to 0.15; P = 0.50). Collaborative care interventions proved to be the most effective organizational intervention strategies. Six studies reported economic results: 4 studies showed that intervention had a high probability of being cost-effective. CONCLUSIONS: Collaborative care seems to be very promising for improving primary and ambulatory care for anxiety. At the level of management and policy, the results of this review mandate the need to offer fair and reasonable reimbursement for collaborative care programs.

Depressed and a co-morbid condition: more psychotropics prescribed!

BACKGROUND: Depression often occurs simultaneously with a variety of somatic, psychiatric, and social conditions. Knowledge about differences in the pharmacological treatment of depressed patients with and without co-morbidity is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To compare GPs' pharmacological treatment of depressed patients with and without co-morbidity. METHODS: Data were extracted from the computerized medical records of 77 general practices participating in the Dutch National Information Network of General Practice (LINH). We used diagnosis and prescription data of newly diagnosed depressed patients aged 18-65 years (n=4372). A mixed-model technique was used for analyzing the medical data. RESULTS: During the year after diagnosing depression, depressed patients who also suffered from chronic somatic or psychiatric morbidity were prescribed more psychotropics than patients with depression only. Prescription patterns of psychotropic drugs for depressed patients with and without co-morbid social problems differed only during the first 3 months after diagnosis. For the whole 1-year period after diagnosis, the pharmacological treatment of depression in patients with and without co-morbid social problems did not differ. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that chronic somatic or psychiatric co-morbidity in depressed patients leads to higher GP prescription levels of psychotropics, whereas co-morbid social problems do not seem to influence GPs' pharmacological treatment decisions for depression.

Mental health problems and the presentation of minor illnesses: data from a 30-year follow-up in general practice.

BACKGROUND: Somatic comorbidity in patients with depression and anxiety is very prevalent and mainly studied with respect to chronic conditions. Patients with mental health problems are high utilizers of medical care. This may be a result of their functional impairment and illness behaviour, but also of their interpretation of common symptoms and their attitude towards healthcare. Therefore, we expect that patients with mental health problems are more likely to present with minor illnesses to the general practitioner. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of minor illnesses with depression and anxiety. METHODS: A historic cohort study in a general practice database of 13,500 patients, with more than 30 years' follow-up. Three prevalent categories of minor illnesses were assessed: skin, musculoskeletal, and respiratory disorders. We studied the number of patients with a diagnosis of a minor illness in patients with depression and anxiety disorder compared with their matched controls. RESULTS: We found 799 patients with depression and 153 patients with anxiety disorder. More patients with depression present skin, musculoskeletal, and respiratory disorders in the year before and the years following the initial diagnosis of depression. Depression appeared to be statistically significantly associated with presenting all three types of minor illnesses. More patients with anxiety disorder present skin and respiratory disorders in the year before diagnosis, and more musculoskeletal disorders in the years following the diagnosis of anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorder appeared to be statistically significantly associated with presenting skin and musculoskeletal morbidity. CONCLUSION: Compared to controls, more patients with depression and anxiety disorder present minor illnesses. This could be due to their high attendance rate, altered illness behaviour, or to factors--e.g., stress--underlying both the development of depression or anxiety and the susceptibility to diseases.