Patient contracts for chronic medical conditions: Scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: To describe how and why patient contracts are used for the management of chronic medical conditions. DATA SOURCES: A scoping review was conducted in the following databases: MEDLINE, Embase, AMED, PsycInfo, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and Nursing & Allied Health. Literature from 1997 to 2017 was included. STUDY SELECTION: Articles were included if they were written in English and described the implementation of a patient contract by a health care provider for the management of a chronic condition. Articles had to present an outcome as a result of using the contract or an intervention that included the contract. SYNTHESIS: Of the 7528 articles found in the original search, 76 met the inclusion criteria for the final review. Multiple study types were included. Extensive variety in contract elements, target populations, clinical settings, and cointerventions was found. Purposes for initiating contracts included behaviour change and skill development, including goal development and problem solving; altering beliefs and knowledge, including motivation and perceived self-efficacy; improving interpersonal relationships and role clarification; improving quality and process of chronic care; and altering objective and subjective health indices. How contracts were developed, implemented, and assessed was inconsistently described. CONCLUSION: More research is required to determine whether the use of contracts is accomplishing their intended purposes. Questions remain regarding their rationale, development, and implementation.

Pandemic Planning in Homeless Shelters: A Pilot Study of a Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Testing and Support Program to Mitigate the Risk of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Congregate Settings.

We tested 104 residents and 141 staff for coronavirus disease 2019 who failed daily symptom screening in homeless shelters in Hamilton, Canada. We detected 1 resident (1%), 7 staff (5%), and 1 case of secondary spread. Shelter restructuring to allow physical distancing, testing, and isolation can decrease outbreaks in shelters.

Advance care planning conversations in primary care: a quality improvement project using the Serious Illness Care Program.

BACKGROUND: Advance care planning (ACP) conversations are associated with improved end-of-life healthcare outcomes and patients want to engage in ACP with their healthcare providers. Despite this, ACP conversations rarely occur in primary care settings. The objective of this study was to implement ACP through adapted Serious Illness Care Program (SICP) training sessions, and to understand primary care provider (PCP) perceptions of implementing ACP into practice. METHODS: We conducted a quality improvement project guided by the Normalization Process Theory (NPT), in an interprofessional academic family medicine group in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. NPT is an explanatory model that delineates the processes by which organizations implement and integrate new work. PCPs (physicians, family medicine residents, and allied health care providers), completed pre- and post-SICP self-assessments evaluating training effectiveness, a survey evaluating program implementability and sustainability, and semi-structured qualitative interviews to elaborate on barriers, facilitators, and suggestions for successful implementation. Descriptive statistics and pre-post differences (Wilcoxon Sign-Rank test) were used to analyze surveys and thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative interviews. RESULTS: 30 PCPs participated in SICP training and completed self-assessments, 14 completed NoMAD surveys, and 7 were interviewed. There were reported improvements in ACP confidence and skills. NoMAD surveys reported mixed opinions towards ACP implementation, specifically concerning colleagues' abilities to conduct ACP and patients' abilities to participate in ACP. Physicians discussed busy clinical schedules, lack of patient preparedness, and continued discomfort or lack of confidence in having ACP conversations. Allied health professionals discussed difficulty sharing patient prognosis and identification of appropriate patients as barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Training in ACP conversations improved PCPs' individual perceived abilities, but discomfort and other barriers were identified. Future iterations will require a more systematic process to support the implementation of ACP into regular practice, in addition to addressing knowledge and skill gaps.

Understanding Why Frequent Users of EMS Call 9-1-1: A Grounded Theory Study.

INTRODUCTION: Frequent users of emergency medical services (EMS) have disproportionately high 9-1-1 call frequency. Evidence suggests that this small group burdens the health care system, leading to misallocation of already-limited health resources. AIM: To understand frequent users' perceptions and experiences regarding EMS, as well as the driving factors underlying their frequent use. METHOD: A grounded theory approach guided our qualitative research process. Participants older than 17 years who called EMS five or more times in the past year were consecutively sampled where each participant was contacted in the order they appeared on our list of potential participants for interviews until data saturation was achieved. Transcripts were analyzed to derive common themes among frequent EMS callers. RESULTS: Frequent EMS calls often resulted from chronic medical conditions creating recurrent crisis situations, mental health issues as well as mobility issues, frequent noninjurious falls, and social isolation. Combined with these factors, perceptions of the purpose of EMS and social circumstances also contributed to the creation of complex health issues that influenced frequent EMS use. These findings can advise the development of future paramedicine programs and health promotion interventions.

The Community Health Assessment Program in the Philippines (CHAP-P) diabetes health promotion program for low- to middle-income countries: study protocol for a cluster randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Type 2 diabetes is increasing globally, with the highest burden in low- to middle-income countries (LMICs) such as the Philippines. Developing effective interventions could improve detection, prevention, and treatment of diabetes. The Cardiovascular Health Awareness Program (CHAP), an evidence-based Canadian intervention, may be an appropriate model for LMICs due to its low cost, ease of implementation, and focus on health promotion and disease prevention. The primary aim of this study is to adapt the CHAP model to a Philippine context as the Community Health Assessment Program in the Philippines (CHAP-P) and evaluate the effect of CHAP-P on glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) compared to a random sample of community residents in control communities. METHODS: Six-month, 26-community (13 intervention, 13 control) parallel cluster randomized controlled trial in Zamboanga Peninsula, an Administrative Region in the southern Philippines. Criteria for community selection include: adequate political stability, connection with local champions, travel feasibility, and refrigerated space for materials. The community-based intervention, CHAP-P sessions, are volunteer-led group sessions with chronic condition assessment, blood pressure monitoring, and health education. Three participant groups will be involved: 1) Random sample of community participants aged 40 or older, 100 per community (1300 control, 1300 intervention participants total); 2) Community members aged 40 years or older who attended at least one CHAP-P session; 3) Community health workers and staff facilitating sessions. PRIMARY OUTCOME: mean difference in HbA1c at 6 months in intervention group individuals compared to control. SECONDARY OUTCOMES: modifiable risk factors, health utilization and access (individual); diabetes detection and management (cluster). Evaluation also includes community process evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis. DISCUSSION: CHAP has been shown to be effective in a Canadian setting. Individual components of CHAP-P have been piloted locally and shown to be acceptable and feasible. This study will improve understanding of how best to adapt this model to an LMIC setting, in order to maximize prevention, detection, and management of diabetes. Results may inform policy and practice in the Philippines and have the potential to be applied to other LMICs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT03481335 ), registered March 29, 2018.

Make or break: Succeeding in transition from incarceration.

Several factors impact successful reintegration after incarceration. We sought to better understand these factors such as pre-release preparedness or access to financial resources in provincial correctional facilities in Ontario, Canada with an underlying focus on the role of personal identification (PID) among people at risk of homelessness. We conducted a qualitative study with one-on-one telephone interviews. Eligibility criteria included having been released from a provincial correctional facility in the preceding 2 years, being over the age of 18, speaking English and having telephone access. Participants were recruited between February 2021 and July 2021. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Data was analyzed using a thematic analysis framework along with strategies from grounded theory research. We interviewed 12 individuals and identified six key themes including 1) Degree of Preparedness Pre-Release 2) Managing Priorities Post-Release 3) Impact of Support Post-Release 4) Obstacles with Accessing Services 5) Influence of Personal Identification 6) Emotions and Uncertainty. We found that people with mental health and addiction challenges are uniquely at risk post-release. Solutions must include comprehensive and proactive case management that bridges the pre-release and post-release periods, simplified processes for obtaining PID, better connections to health and social services, and improved pre-release planning for community support.

Direct and indirect effects of perceived social support on health-related quality of life in persons living with HIV/AIDS.

Research has established a link between perceived social support and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among persons living with HIV/AIDS. However, little is known about the ways through which social support influences HRQOL. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of perceived social support on physical and mental HRQOL in a sample of 602 adults living with HIV in Ontario, Canada. Participants completed the Medical Outcomes Study-HIV (MOS-HIV) health survey, the MOS-HIV Social Support Scale (MOS-HIV-SSS), and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression-Revised scale. Data on demographic and clinical characteristics were also collected. The direct and indirect effects of social support on the two MOS-HIV HRQOL summary measures, that is, physical health summary (PHS) and mental health summary (MHS), were estimated in multiple linear regression analyses. Perceived social support had significant direct effects on PHS (B=0.04, p<0.01) and MHS (B=0.05, p<0.01). It also had significant indirect effect on both PHS (B=0.04, p<0.01) and MHS (B=0.11, p<0.01), mediated by depressive symptoms. Interventions that enhance social support have the potential to contribute to better HRQOL either directly or indirectly by decreasing the deleterious effect of depressive symptoms on HRQOL.

Treatments for ADHD in adults in jails, prisons and correctional settings: a scoping review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is prevalent at a higher rate in correctional settings than in the general population. Treatment of ADHD in this environment is challenging as stimulants, the most common treatment for ADHD, require cautious prescribing in the context of frequent substance use disorders (SUD) and diversion in the institutional setting. In addition, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment approaches require significant staff resources. The aim of this scoping review is to map and summarize all literature addressing treatment of ADHD specifically in correctional settings, synthesize the evidence supporting various approaches, and highlight areas for future research. Due to the limited number of primary research studies addressing this question directly, we chose a scoping review methodology that would allow us to explore what kinds of studies and literature exist and include all types of articles directly related to our question. RESULTS: Five-hundred sixty-five relevant articles were screened. Thirty-two articles were included in the final review. Eleven of the articles reported primary research. Five of these articles were based on three randomized controlled trials. Among randomized controlled trials on the effect of stimulants, inclusion criteria, outcome measures and effectiveness varied widely. Non-male and non-white populations were under-represented. Among review articles and recommendations opinion was inconsistent, with some recommending stimulants as first-line treatment and others recommending they be avoided altogether. The effect of non-stimulant medications was examined in 2 small studies. The only non-pharmacological treatment examined was dialectical behavior therapy, and only feasibility was reported. Four articles provided practice recommendations from consensus or expert opinion. Two of these recommended stimulants as first-line treatment, and two recommended stimulants as treatment of last resort. CONCLUSIONS: We found a diverse but shallow literature addressing our research question. Primary research in the corrections setting is limited and varies in inclusion criteria, outcomes studied, and effectiveness. Recommendations on treatment are inconsistent. Future research should address methods of diagnosis, the role of non-stimulants, non-pharmacological interventions, non-male and non-white people who are incarcerated (PWAI), and effects of treatment method on patients, staff and other PWAI. Better research and guidance on treating ADHD has potential to improve health of PWAI, the institutional environment, and resource utilization.

Burden of opioid toxicity death in the fentanyl-dominant era for people who experience incarceration in Ontario, Canada, 2015-2020: a whole population retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To describe mortality due to opioid toxicity among people who experienced incarceration in Ontario between 2015 and 2020, during the fentanyl-dominant era. DESIGN: In this retrospective cohort study, we linked Ontario coronial data on opioid toxicity deaths between 2015 and 2020 with correctional data for adults incarcerated in Ontario provincial correctional facilities. SETTING: Ontario, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Whole population data. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was opioid toxicity death and the exposure was any incarceration in a provincial correctional facility between 2015 and 2020. We calculated crude death rates and age-standardised mortality ratios (SMR). RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2020, 8460 people died from opioid toxicity in Ontario. Of those, 2207 (26.1%) were exposed to incarceration during the study period. Among those exposed to incarceration during the study period (n=1 29 152), 1.7% died from opioid toxicity during this period. Crude opioid toxicity death rates per 10 000 persons years were 43.6 (95% CI=41.8 to 45.5) for those exposed to incarceration and 0.95 (95% CI=0.93 to 0.97) for those not exposed. Compared with those not exposed, the SMR for people exposed to incarceration was 31.2 (95% CI=29.8 to 32.6), and differed by sex, at 28.1 (95% CI=26.7 to 29.5) for males and 77.7 (95% CI=69.6 to 85.9) for females. For those exposed to incarceration who died from opioid toxicity, 10.6% died within 14 days of release and the risk was highest between days 4 and 7 postrelease, at 288.1 per 10 000 person years (95% CI=227.8 to 348.1). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of opioid toxicity death is many times higher for people who experience incarceration compared with others in Ontario. Risk is markedly elevated in the week after release, and women who experience incarceration have a substantially higher SMR than men who experience incarceration. Initiatives to prevent deaths should consider programmes and policies in correctional facilities to address high risk on release.

Buprenorphine/naloxone access for people with opioid use disorder in correctional facilities: taking steps to support knowledge translation.

People with opioid use disorders are overrepresented in correctional facilities, and are at high risk of opioid overdose. Despite the fact that buprenorphine/naloxone is the first line treatment for people with opioid use disorder, there are often institutional, clinical, and logistical barriers to buprenorphine/naloxone initiation in correctional facilities. Guided by the knowledge-to-action framework, this knowledge translation project focused on synthesizing knowledge and developing a tool for buprenorphine/naloxone initiation that was tailored to correctional facilities, including jails. This information and tool can be used to support buprenorphine/naloxone access for people in correctional facilities, in parallel with other efforts to address barriers to treatment initiation in correctional facilities.

Inequalities in determinants of health among Aboriginal and Caucasian persons living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario: results from the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places Study.

OBJECTIVES: Aboriginal Canadians (i.e., First Nations, Inuit and Métis) are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, and experience greater social and economic marginalization and poorer housing conditions. This study sought to understand the differences in the determinants of health and housing-related characteristics between samples of Aboriginal and Caucasian adults living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario. METHODS: We analyzed baseline demographic, socio-economic, health, and housing-related data from 521 individuals (79 Aboriginal and 442 Caucasian) living with HIV/AIDS and enrolled in the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places study. We compared the characteristics of Aboriginal and Caucasian participants to identify determinants of health and housing-related characteristics independently associated with Aboriginal ethnicity. RESULTS: Compared to Caucausian participants living with HIV, Aboriginal participants were more likely to be younger, female or transgender women, less educated, unemployed, and homeless or unstably housed. They were also more likely to have low incomes and to have experienced housing-related discrimination. In a multivariate model, gender, income, and experiences of homelessness were independently associated with Aboriginal ethnicity. CONCLUSION: Aboriginal individuals living with HIV/AIDS in our sample are coping with significantly worse social and economic conditions and are more likely to experience challenging housing situations than a comparison group of Caucasian individuals living with HIV/AIDS. To develop effective care, treatment and support strategies for Aboriginal peoples with HIV, it is critical to address and improve their socio-economic and housing conditions.

A Web-Based Social Network Tool (GENIE) for Supporting Self-management Among High Users of the Health Care System: Feasibility and Usability Study.

BACKGROUND: Primary care providers are well positioned to foster self-management through linking patients to community-based health and social services (HSSs). This study evaluated a web-based tool-GENIE (Generating Engagement in Network Involvement)-to support the self-management of adults. GENIE empowers patients to leverage their personal social networks and increase their access to HSSs. GENIE maps patients' personal social networks, elicits preferences, and filters local HSSs from a community service directory based on patient's interests. Trained volunteers (an extension of the primary care team) conducted home visits and conducted surveys related to life and health goals in the context of the Health TAPESTRY (Teams Advancing Patient Experience: Strengthening Quality) program, in which the GENIE tool was implemented. GENIE reports were uploaded to an electronic medical record for care planning by the team. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore patients', volunteers', and clinicians' perceptions of the feasibility, usability, and perceived outcomes of GENIE-a tool for community-dwelling adults who are high users of the health care system. METHODS: This study involved 2 primary care clinician focus groups and 1 clinician interview (n=15), 1 volunteer focus group (n=3), patient telephone interviews (n=8), field observations that captured goal-action sequences to complete GENIE, and GENIE utilization statistics. The patients were enrolled in a primary care program-Health TAPESTRY-and Ontario's Health Links Program, which coordinates care for the highest users of the health care system. NVivo 11 (QSR International) was used to support qualitative data analyses related to feasibility and perceived outcomes, and descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data. RESULTS: Most participants reported positive overall perceptions of GENIE. However, feasibility testing showed that participants had a partial understanding of the tool; volunteer facilitation was critical to support the implementation of GENIE; clinicians perceived their navigation ability as superior to that of GENIE supported by volunteers; and tool completion took 39 minutes, which made the home visit too long for some. Usability challenges included difficulties completing some sections of the tool related to medical terminology and unclear instructions, limitations in the quality and quantity of HSSs results, and minor technological challenges. Almost all patients identified a community program or activity of interest. Half of the patients (4/8, 50%) followed up on HSSs and added new members to their network, whereas 1 participant lost a member. Clinicians' strengthened their understanding of patients' personal social networks and needs, and patients felt less social isolation. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated the potential of GENIE, when supported by volunteers, to expand patients' social networks and link them to relevant HSSs. Volunteers require training to implement GENIE for self-management support, which may help overcome the time limitations faced by primary care clinicians. Refining the filtering capability of GENIE to address adults' needs may improve primary care providers' confidence in using such tools.

"Under My Umbrella": the housing experiences of HIV positive parents who live with and care for their children in Ontario.

Positive Spaces, Healthy Places (PSHP) is the first longitudinal community-based research (CBR) initiative in Canada to examine housing stability and its relationship to health related quality of life (HRQOL) for people living with of HIV/AIDS (PHAs). As part of our mixed method data collection strategy in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 PHAs across Ontario to provide a deeper understanding of the impact that housing instability has on their mental and physical health. Emerging from the qualitative interviews were the unique issues and concerns that were reported by parents who live with and care for their children. These parents face dire housing, economic and social challenges that are associated with significant risks for poor health outcomes. Poor housing conditions, unsafe neighborhoods, barriers to supports for themselves and their children, HIV related stigma, discrimination, racism, and poverty have been identified by these families as being among their most pressing concerns. This results in increased stress and anxiety that has a negative impact on the mental health of HIV positive parents. In order to more effectively support HIV positive parents and their children, health and social service practices and policies must respond to the unique challenges that face these families.

What do people living with HIV/AIDS expect from their physicians? Professional expertise and the doctor-patient relationship.

This qualitative study identifies the types of professional expertise that physicians are seen to possess in clinical encounters from the perspective of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Respondents looked to their physicians for expert knowledge in 3 key areas: medical/clinical; legal/statutory; and ethical/moral. Physicians were seen to be authorities in each of these areas and their judgments, though not always agreed with, were taken seriously and influenced the health care decisions made by PLWHA. The authority that comes with professional expertise in each of the areas identified was experienced both positively and negatively by PLWHA. Understanding the expectations of patients in the medical encounter can assist physicians in providing optimal care in the management of HIV/AIDS.

Embedding "Smart" Disease Coding Within Routine Electronic Medical Record Workflow: Prospective Single-Arm Trial.

BACKGROUND: Electronic medical record (EMR) chronic disease measurement can help direct primary care prevention and treatment strategies and plan health services resource management. Incomplete data and poor consistency of coded disease values within EMR problem lists are widespread issues that limit primary and secondary uses of these data. These issues were shared by the McMaster University Sentinel and Information Collaboration (MUSIC), a primary care practice-based research network (PBRN) located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. OBJECTIVE: We sought to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of new EMR interface tools aimed at improving the quantity and the consistency of disease codes recorded within the disease registry across the MUSIC PBRN. METHODS: We used a single-arm prospective trial design with preintervention and postintervention data analysis to assess the effect of the intervention on disease recording volume and quality. The MUSIC network holds data on over 75,080 patients, 37,212 currently rostered. There were 4 MUSIC network clinician champions involved in gap analysis of the disease coding process and in the iterative design of new interface tools. We leveraged terminology standards and factored EMR workflow and usability into a new interface solution that aimed to optimize code selection volume and quality while minimizing physician time burden. The intervention was integrated as part of usual clinical workflow during routine billing activities. RESULTS: After implementation of the new interface (June 25, 2017), we assessed the disease registry codes at 3 and 6 months (intervention period) to compare their volume and quality to preintervention levels (baseline period). A total of 17,496 International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision (ICD9) code values were recorded in the disease registry during the 11.5-year (2006 to mid-2017) baseline period. A large gain in disease recording occurred in the intervention period (8516/17,496, 48.67% over baseline), resulting in a total of 26,774 codes. The coding rate increased by a factor of 11.2, averaging 1419 codes per month over the baseline average rate of 127 codes per month. The proportion of preferred ICD9 codes increased by 17.03% in the intervention period (11,007/17,496, 62.91% vs 7417/9278, 79.94%; χ21=819.4; P<.001). A total of 45.03% (4178/9278) of disease codes were entered by way of the new screen prompt tools, with significant increases between quarters (Jul-Sep: 2507/6140, 40.83% vs Oct-Dec: 1671/3148, 53.08%; χ21=126.2; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of clinician co-designed, workflow-embedded disease coding tools is a very effective solution to the issues of poor disease coding and quality in EMRs. The substantial effectiveness in a routine care environment demonstrates usability, and the intervention detail described here should be generalizable to any setting. Significant improvements in problem list coding within primary care EMRs can be realized with minimal disruption to routine clinical workflow.

Patient trade-offs between continuity and access in primary care interprofessional teaching clinics in Canada: a cross-sectional survey using discrete choice experiment.

OBJECTIVE: Timely access to care and continuity with a specific provider are important determinants of patient satisfaction when booking appointments in primary care settings. Advanced access booking systems restrict the majority of providers' appointment spots for same-day appointments and keep the number of prebooked appointments to a minimum. In the teaching clinic environment, continuity with the same provider can be a challenge. This study examines trade-offs that patients may consider during appointment bookings for six different clinical scenarios across a number of key access and continuity attributes using a discrete choice experiment (DCE) method. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Two urban family medicine teaching clinics in Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sample of 430 patients of family medicine clinics aged 18 and older. INTERVENTION: Discrete choice conjoint experiment survey. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient preferences on six attributes: appointment booking method, appointment wait time, time spent in the waiting room, appointment time convenience, familiarity with healthcare provider and position of healthcare provider. Data were analysed by hierarchical Bayes analysis to determine estimates of part-worth utilities for each respondent. RESULTS: Patients rated appointment wait time as the most highly valued attribute, followed by position of provider, then familiarity with the provider. Patients showed a significant preference (p<0.02) for their own physician for booking of routine annual check-ups and other logical preferences across attributes overall and by clinical scenario. CONCLUSIONS: Patients preferred timely access to their primary care team over other attributes in the majority of health state scenarios tested, especially urgent issues, however they were willing to wait for a check-up. These results support the notion that advanced access booking systems which leave the majority of appointment spots for same day access and still leave a few for continuity (check-up) bookings, align well with trends in patient preferences.

Design Process and Utilization of a Novel Clinical Decision Support System for Neuropathic Pain in Primary Care: Mixed Methods Observational Study.

BACKGROUND: Computerized clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) have emerged as an approach to improve compliance of clinicians with clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). Research utilizing CDSS has primarily been conducted in clinical contexts with clear diagnostic criteria such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. In contrast, research on CDSS for pain management and more specifically neuropathic pain has been limited. A CDSS for neuropathic pain has the potential to enhance patient care as the challenge of diagnosing and treating neuropathic pain often leads to tension in clinician-patient relationships. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to design and evaluate a CDSS aimed at improving the adherence of interprofessional primary care clinicians to CPG for managing neuropathic pain. METHODS: Recommendations from the Canadian CPGs informed the decision pathways. The development of the CDSS format and function involved participation of multiple stakeholders and end users in needs assessment and usability testing. Clinicians, including family medicine physicians, residents, and nurse practitioners, in three academic teaching clinics were trained in the use of the CDSS. Evaluation over one year included the measurement of utilization of the CDSS; change in reported awareness, agreement, and adoption of CPG recommendations; and change in the observed adherence to CPG recommendations. RESULTS: The usability testing of the CDSS was highly successful in the prototype environment. Deployment in the clinical setting was partially complete by the time of the study, with some limitations in the planned functionality. The study population had a high level of awareness, agreement, and adoption of guideline recommendations before implementation of CDSS. Nevertheless, there was a small and statistically significant improvement in the mean awareness and adoption scores over the year of observation (P=.01 for mean awareness scores at 6 and 12 months compared with baseline, for mean adoption scores at 6 months compared with baseline, and for mean adoption scores at 12 months). Documenting significant findings related to diagnosis of neuropathic pain increased significantly. Clinicians accessed CPG information more frequently than they utilized data entry functions. Nurse practitioners and first year family medicine trainees had higher utilization than physicians. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a small increase in the adherence to CPG recommendations for managing neuropathic pain. Clinicians utilized the CDSS more as a source of knowledge and as a training tool than as an ongoing dynamic decision support.

Prenatal HIV testing: women's experiences of informed consent in Toronto, Ontario.

OBJECTIVE: All Canadian jurisdictions have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing programs requiring that clinicians discuss HIV testing with all pregnant women and seek their consent to be tested. Our goal was to evaluate how the informed consent process was being carried out in Ontario. METHODS: Between November 2002 and February 2004, women in postpartum wards in three Toronto teaching hospitals were invited to participate in the study. A structured questionnaire was administered on the ward, medical records were reviewed, and data from the Central Public Health Laboratory were examined to verify whether or not the women had been tested. RESULTS: Of 446 women invited, 299 (67%) participated. All except one participant had at least one prenatal visit, and 92% had more than five visits. Seventy-four percent of participants recalled a clinician talking to them about testing, and 70% of these felt that they were given the option to refuse the test. Twenty-one women overall (7%) believed that they were not tested during pregnancy or were not certain whether they had been tested or not, but actually had been tested. Women who felt that their care provider did not have an opinion about whether they should undergo testing were more likely to decline. Eighty-six percent were completely satisfied with the testing experience. CONCLUSION: Informed consent for prenatal HIV testing is generally being obtained in a manner consistent with provincial guidelines. Our findings raise concern, however, that a significant number of women are not offered testing or in some cases are tested without their consent. Increases in testing rates could be achieved by offering the test to all women and emphasizing that carrying out testing is a recommended part of medical care.