Referral management centres as a means of reducing outpatients attendances: how do they work and what influences successful implementation and perceived effectiveness?

BACKGROUND: The rising volume of referrals to secondary care is a continuing concern in the NHS in England, with considerable resource implications. Referral management centres (RMCs) are one of a range of initiatives brought in to curtail this rise, but there is currently limited evidence for their effectiveness, and little is known about their mechanisms of action. This study aimed to gain a better understanding of how RMCs operate and the factors contributing to the achievement of their goals. Drawing on the principles of realist evaluation, we sought to elicit programme theories (the ideas and assumptions about how a programme works) and to identify the key issues to be considered when establishing or evaluating such schemes. METHODS: Qualitative study with a purposive sample of health professionals and managers involved in the commissioning, set-up and running of four referral management centres in England and with GPs referring through these centres. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Interview data highlighted the diverse aims and functions of RMCs, reflecting a range of underlying programme theories. These included the overarching theory that RMCs work by ensuring the best use of limited resources and three sub-theories, relating to how this could be achieved, namely, improving the quality of referrals and patient care, reducing referrals, and increasing efficiency in the referral process. The aims of the schemes, however, varied between sites and between stakeholders, and evolved significantly over time. Three themes were identified relating to the context in which RMCs were implemented and managed: the impact of practical and administrative difficulties; the importance and challenge of stakeholder buy-in; and the dependence of perceived effectiveness on the aims and priorities of the scheme. Many RMCs were described as successful by those involved, despite limited evidence of reduced referrals or cost-savings. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study have a number of implications for the development of similar schemes, with respect to the need to ensure clarity of aims and to identify indicators of success from the outset, to anticipate scheme evolution and plan for potential changes with respect to IT systems and referral processes. Also identified, is the need for further research that evaluates the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of particular models of RMC.

Complete Genome Sequences of 12 B1 Cluster Mycobacteriophages, Gareth, JangoPhett, Kailash, MichaelPhcott, PhenghisKhan, Phleuron, Phergie, PhrankReynolds, PhrodoBaggins, Phunky, Vaticameos, and Virapocalypse.

Twelve B1 cluster mycobacteriophages were isolated from soil samples collected in Philadelphia, PA, USA, using Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2 155 as a host, and were sequenced. The genome sequences range in size from 66,887 bp to 68,953 bp in length and have between 99 and 105 putative protein-coding genes.

Executive dysfunction and its association with personality and behaviour changes in the development of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome and mild to moderate learning disabilities.

BACKGROUND: Recent research suggests that preclinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) in people with Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by changes in personality/behaviour and executive dysfunction that are more prominent than deterioration in episodic memory. This study examines the relationship between executive dysfunction and the clinical and preclinical features of AD in DS. To determine the specificity of this relationship, performance on executive function (EF) measures is contrasted with performance on memory measures. METHODS: One hundred and three people with DS (mean age 49 years, range 36-72) with mild to moderate learning disabilities (LD) took part. Dementia diagnosis was based on the CAMDEX informant interview conducted with each participant's main carer. Reported changes in personality/behaviour and memory were recorded. Participants completed six EF and six memory measures (two of which also had a strong executive component) and the BPVS (as a measure of general intellectual ability). First, performance was compared between those with and without established dementia of Alzheimer's type (DAT), controlling for age and LD severity using ANCOVA. Next, the degree to which informant-reported changes predicted cognitive test performance was examined within the non-DAT group using multiple regression analyses. RESULTS: The DAT group (N=25) showed a consistent pattern of impaired performance relative to the non-DAT group (N=78), across all measures. Within the non-DAT group, number of informant-reported personality/behaviour changes was a significant predictor of performance on two EF and two 'executive memory' tests (but not on episodic memory tests). Informant-reported memory changes, however, were associated with impaired performance on a delayed recall task only. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide further evidence for a specific impairment in frontal-lobe functioning in the preclinical stages of AD in DS. Implications for the assessment, diagnosis, and management of dementia in DS are discussed.

Qualitative study of patient views on a 'telephone-first' approach in general practice in England: speaking to the GP by telephone before making face-to-face appointments.

OBJECTIVE: To understand patients' views on a 'telephone-first' approach, in which all appointment requests in general practice are followed by a telephone call from the general practitioner (GP). DESIGN: Qualitative interviews with patients and carers. SETTING: Twelve general practices in England. PARTICIPANTS: 43 patients, including 30 women, nine aged over 75 years, four parents of young children, five carers, five patients with hearing impairment and two whose first language was not English. RESULTS: Patients expressed varied views, often strongly held, ranging from enthusiasm for to hostility towards the 'telephone-first' approach. The new system suited some patients, avoiding the need to come into the surgery but was problematic for others, for example, when it was difficult for someone working in an open plan office to take a call-back. A substantial proportion of negative comments were about the operation of the scheme itself rather than the principles behind it, for example, difficulty getting through on the phone or being unable to schedule when the GP would phone back. Some practices were able to operate the scheme in a way that met their patients' needs better than others and practices varied significantly in how they had implemented the approach. CONCLUSIONS: The 'telephone-first' approach appears to work well for some patients, but others find it much less acceptable. Some of the reported problems related to how the approach had been implemented rather than the 'telephone-first' approach in principle and suggests there may be potential for some of the challenges experienced by patients to be overcome.

Complete Genome Sequences of 44 Arthrobacter Phages.

We report here the complete genome sequences of 44 phages infecting Arthrobacter sp. strain ATCC 21022. These phages have double-stranded DNA genomes with sizes ranging from 15,680 to 70,707 bp and G+C contents from 45.1% to 68.5%. All three tail types (belonging to the families Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, and Podoviridae) are represented.

Tales of diversity: Genomic and morphological characteristics of forty-six Arthrobacter phages.

The vast bacteriophage population harbors an immense reservoir of genetic information. Almost 2000 phage genomes have been sequenced from phages infecting hosts in the phylum Actinobacteria, and analysis of these genomes reveals substantial diversity, pervasive mosaicism, and novel mechanisms for phage replication and lysogeny. Here, we describe the isolation and genomic characterization of 46 phages from environmental samples at various geographic locations in the U.S. infecting a single Arthrobacter sp. strain. These phages include representatives of all three virion morphologies, and Jasmine is the first sequenced podovirus of an actinobacterial host. The phages also span considerable sequence diversity, and can be grouped into 10 clusters according to their nucleotide diversity, and two singletons each with no close relatives. However, the clusters/singletons appear to be genomically well separated from each other, and relatively few genes are shared between clusters. Genome size varies from among the smallest of siphoviral phages (15,319 bp) to over 70 kbp, and G+C contents range from 45-68%, compared to 63.4% for the host genome. Although temperate phages are common among other actinobacterial hosts, these Arthrobacter phages are primarily lytic, and only the singleton Galaxy is likely temperate.

Role of catalase in the smooth muscle relaxant actions of sodium azide and cyanamide.

The aim of this study was to determine the role of catalase in the smooth muscle relaxant actions of sodium azide and cyanamide. The effects of 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole suggested a role for this enzyme in the relaxant actions of sodium azide on rat aorta and bovine retractor penis muscle and cyanamide on rat aorta. Moreover, results obtained using a difference spectrophotometric assay based upon the oxidation of haemoglobin were consistent with the catalase-dependent oxidation of sodium azide to nitric oxide (NO) and of cyanamide to nitroxyl anion. Surprisingly, however, no free nitric oxide or nitroxyl was detected in solution using a sensitive electrode. This anomaly might be explained if the stable complexes of catalase with nitric oxide or nitroxyl do not release their respective ligand except to sites of high affinity, such as the haemoglobin employed in the difference spectrophotometric assay, or indeed, the soluble guanylate cyclase within the smooth muscle.

Personality and behaviour changes mark the early stages of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down's syndrome: findings from a prospective population-based study.

BACKGROUND: Research based on retrospective reports by carers suggests that the presentation of dementia in people with Down's syndrome may differ from that typical of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the general population, with the earliest changes tending to be in personality or behaviour rather than in memory. This is the first long-term prospective study to test the hypothesis that such changes, which are more typical of dementia of frontal type (DFT) in the general population, mark the preclinical stage of AD in DS. METHODS: A previously identified population sample of older people with DS, first assessed in 1994 and followed-up 18 months later, were reassessed after a further 5 years. This study focuses on the 55 individuals who took part in the second follow-up. Dementia diagnosis was made using the modified CAMDEX informant interview and neuropsychological assessment was undertaken using the CAMCOG. Progression in clinical presentation was examined and degree of cognitive decline over time (on the CAMCOG and derived measures of executive function (EF) and memory) was compared across groups based on diagnosis and age: AD, DFT, personality/behaviour changes insufficient for a diagnosis of DFT (PBC), no diagnosis <50 years and no diagnosis 50 + years. RESULTS: Progression was observed from early changes in personality and behaviour to an increase in characteristics associated with frontal lobe dysfunction and/or a deterioration in memory, prior to the development of full AD. Individuals who met criteria for DFT were significantly more likely to progress to a diagnosis of AD over the following 5 years than those who did not and those with PBC were significantly more likely to progress to a more severe diagnosis (DFT or AD) than those without. In the 5 years prior to diagnosis, participants with PBC and DFT had shown a degree of global cognitive decline intermediate between those with no dementia and those with AD. Both these groups had shown a significant decline in EF but not in memory, while the AD group had shown significant decline on both measures, with a significantly greater degree of decline in memory. Older participants without informant reported changes showed a more generalised pattern of decline. CONCLUSIONS: These findings confirm that the early presentation of AD in DS is characterized by prominent personality and behaviour changes, associated with executive dysfunction, providing support for the notion that the functions of the frontal lobes may be compromised early in the course of the disease in this population. This has important implications for the diagnosis, treatment and management of dementia in people with DS.