Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic: Surge Capacity Planning for Nonemergent Surgery.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has confronted the U.S. health care system with unprecedented challenges amidst a tenuous economic environment. As inpatient hospitals across the country prepare for an overwhelming influx of highly contagious COVID-19 cases, many nonemergent procedures have been cancelled or indefinitely postponed without guidance regarding eventual safe accommodation of these procedures in the future. Given the potentially prolonged impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care use, it is imperative for plastic surgeons to collaborate with other medical and surgical specialties to develop surge capacity protocols that allow continuation of safe, high-quality, nonemergent procedures. The purpose of this article is to provide necessary and timely public health information relevant to plastic surgery and also share a conceptual framework to guide surge capacity protocols for nonemergent surgery.

A Longitudinal Analysis of Wait Times for Bariatric Surgery in a Publicly Funded, Regionalized Bariatric Care System.

BACKGROUND: Bariatric surgery is proven to be the most effective strategy for management of obesity and its related comorbidities. However, in Canada, patients awaiting bariatric surgery can be subjected to prolonged wait times, thereby subjecting them to increased morbidity and mortality, as well as decreased psychosocial well-being. OBJECTIVE: To assess the factors associated with prolonged wait times for bariatric surgery within a publicly funded, provincial bariatric network. METHODS: This was a retrospective population-based study of all patients aged > 18 years who were referred for bariatric surgery from April 2009 to May 2015 using linked administrative databases to capture patient demographic data, socioeconomic variables, healthcare utilization, and institutional factors. The main outcome of interest was a wait time greater than 18 months. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: A total of 18,854 patients underwent bariatric surgery from April 2009 to December 2016, of which 2407 patients experienced wait times of > 18 months. On average, yearly wait times have increased for patients receiving surgery with wait times of 10.98 months (SD 5.48) in 2010 and 13.09 (SD 6.69) in 2016 (p < 0.001). Increasing age (OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.05-1.19, p = 0.0004), BMI (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.11, p < 0.001), and male gender (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.28-1.70, p < 0.001) were significantly associated with increased bariatric surgery wait times. Additionally, smoking status (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.09-1.97, p = 0.0118) and obesity-related comorbidities particularly diabetes (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.14-1.44, p < 0.001) and heart failure (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.43-2.07, p < 0.001) were correlated with prolonged wait times for surgery. Socioeconomic variables including disability (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.38-1.92, p < 0.001) and immigration status (OR 1.35, 95% 1.11-1.64, p = 0.003) were correlated with increased odds of longer wait times, as were regions with regionalized assessment and treatment centres (RATC) when referenced against centers of excellence (COEs) in number of days added with 20.45 (95% CI 13.20-27.70, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Wait times for bariatric surgery in a publicly funded, regionalized bariatric program are influenced by certain patient characteristics, socioeconomic variables, and institutional factors. This warrants further intervention and study to help improve these inequities when encountering potentially vulnerable populations awaiting bariatric surgery.

A ação coletiva e a cooperação no Sistema Único de Saúde / Collective action and cooperation in the Unified Health System

Resumo Embora o princípio de regionalização dos serviços de saúde conste em documentos oficiais e norteie a organização atual do Sistema Único de Saúde, esse processo depende em certa medida da ação coletiva e da cooperação entre os entes federados. Consideram-se a ação coletiva e a cooperação como elementos de políticas federativas e como comportamento social. Nesta perspectiva, buscou-se analisar como a ação coletiva e a cooperação são abordadas nos documentos oficiais de regulamentação e organização das políticas de saúde que tratam da regionalização. Trata-se de uma análise documental de 16 normas oficiais, publicadas entre 1988 e 2018, e discussão do tema, apoiado sobretudo nos referenciais de coletividade e institucionalidade política. Para a análise dos documentos oficiais, utilizou-se a técnica de análise do conteúdo. Os resultados apontam que a ação coletiva e a cooperação são abordadas em documentos oficiais, especialmente pelos vocábulos "solidariedade" e "cogestão", e que as políticas de regionalização possuem caráter altamente normativo. Sua implementação dependerá de mecanismos de coordenação, coerção e recompensa, além de aspectos relacionados à gestão dos serviços, como equilíbrio entre os interesses coletivos e individuais, e a construção de identidades sociais entre gestores com vistas à cogestão.

Abstract Although the principle of regionalization of health services is contained in official documents and guides the current organization of the Unified Health System, this process depends to a certain extent on collective action and cooperation between federated entities. Collective action and cooperation are considered elements of federal policies and social behavior. In this perspective, we sought to analyze how collective action and cooperation are addressed in the official documents of regulation and organization of health policies that deal with regionalization. It is a documentary analysis of 16 official norms, published between 1988 and 2018, and discussion of the theme, supported mainly by the collective and political institutional frameworks. For the analysis of official documents, the technique of content analysis was used. The results show that collective action and cooperation are addressed in official documents, especially by the words "solidarity" and "co-management", and that regionalization policies have a highly normative character. Its implementation will depend on coordination, coercion, and reward mechanisms, as well as aspects related to the management of services, such as balance between collective and individual interests, and the construction of social identities between managers with a view to co-management.

Regionalização em saúde em Minas Gerais: uma análise da percepção dos representantes de Comissões Intergestores Regionais / Health Regionalization in Minas Gerais: An Analysis of the Perception of Representatives of Regional Inter-managerial Commissions

Resumo Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar a percepção de representantes de Comissões Intergestores Regionais (CIRs) sobre o processo de regionalização em saúde no Estado de Minas Gerais. Foram realizadas entrevistas com representantes de dez regiões de saúde do estado. Os dados, analisados por meio do software IRAMUTEQ, geraram um dendograma com dois eixos temáticos. O primeiro eixo, denominado "O papel das CIRs e dos principais atores no processo de governança regional", subdividiu-se nas classes 4, 3 e 2, que abordaram, respectivamente, o protagonismo dos apoiadores do Conselho de Secretarias Municipais de Saúde (COSEMS) nas CIRs; a CIR como espaço de pactuação das ações regionais; atores envolvidos na governança da região de saúde. O segundo, denominado "Organização da assistência nas redes de atenção", subdividiu-se nas classes 5, 1 e 6, que descreveram, respectivamente, vazios assistenciais nas regiões de saúde; fragilidades e potencialidades do processo de regionalização; dificuldades de provisão de serviços de média e alta complexidade. A regionalização em saúde em Minas Gerais, apesar de estratégias bem-sucedidas, apresenta grandes desafios. O financiamento insuficiente do SUS, em um cenário de disputas políticas, e fragmentação de recursos prejudica a provisão da atenção nas regiões de saúde. Trata-se, portanto, de um processo em construção.

Abstract This study aims to analyze the perception of representatives of Regional Inter-managerial Commissions on the process of health regionalization in the State of Minas Gerais. Interviews were conducted with representatives of 10 state health regions. The data, analyzed through IRAMUTEQ software, generated a dendogram with two thematic axes. The first axis, called "The role of CIR and key actors in the regional governance process", was subdivided into classes 4, 3 and 2, which addressed, respectively, the role of the Council of Municipal Health Secretaries supporters in the Commissions; the Commissions as a space for agreement on regional actions; the actors involved in the governance of the health region. The second, called "Organization of assistance in the care networks" was subdivided into classes 5, 1 and 6, which described, respectively, care gaps in the health regions; weaknesses and potentialities of the regionalization process; difficulties in providing medium and high complexity services. Health regionalization in Minas Gerais, despite successful strategies, brings great challenges. Insufficient financing of the SUS in a scenario of political disputes and resource fragmentation undermines the provision of care in health regions. It is a process still under construction.

The impact of patient preferences and costs on the appropriateness of spinal manipulation and mobilization for chronic low back pain and chronic neck pain.

BACKGROUND: Although the delivery of appropriate healthcare is an important goal, the definition of what constitutes appropriate care is not always agreed upon. The RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method is one of the most well-known and used approaches to define care appropriateness from the clinical perspective-i.e., that the expected effectiveness of a treatment exceeds its expected risks. However, patient preferences (the patient perspective) and costs (the healthcare system perspective) are also important determinants of appropriateness and should be considered. METHODS: We examined the impact of including information on patient preferences and cost on expert panel ratings of clinical appropriateness for spinal mobilization and manipulation for chronic low back pain and chronic neck pain. RESULTS: The majority of panelists thought patient preferences were important to consider in determining appropriateness and that their inclusion could change ratings, and half thought the same about cost. However, few actually changed their appropriateness ratings based on the information presented on patient preferences regarding the use of these therapies and their costs. This could be because the panel received information on average patient preferences for spinal mobilization and manipulation whereas some panelists commented that appropriateness should be determined based on the preferences of individual patients. Also, because these therapies are not expensive, their ratings may not be cost sensitive. The panelists also generally agreed that preferences and costs would only impact their ratings if the therapies were considered clinically appropriate. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that the information presented on patient preferences and costs for spinal mobilization and manipulation had little impact on the rated appropriateness of these therapies for chronic low back pain and chronic neck pain. Although it was generally agreed that patient preferences and costs were important to the appropriateness of M/M for CLBP and CNP, it seems that what would be most important were the preferences of the individual patient, not patients in general, and large cost differentials.

PD-L1 expression on routine samples of non-small cell lung cancer: results and critical issues from a 1-year experience of a centralised laboratory.

AIMS: Our laboratory is a centralised centre receiving routine non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) samples for programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) immunohistochemical (IHC) evaluation. Since literature data are not concordant here we review our clinical records to assess the rate of PD-L1 positive and negative NSCLC cases in real-world practice. METHODS: PD-L1 expression was evaluated by a validated 22C3 IHC laboratory developed test on 211 prospectively collected routine NSCLC samples, received from 10 outside institutions. PD-L1 expression was assessed by the tumour proportion score (TPS) and reported by using a three cut-point system: TPS<1, TPS 1%-49% and TPS≥50%. RESULTS: Overall, 193 out of 211 samples (91.5%) meet the criteria for adequacy (more than 100 viable neoplastic cells). In 62.7% (121/193) of samples TPS was <1%; 17.6% of samples (34/193) expressed PD-L1 with a TPS of 1%-49% and 19.7% (38/193) with a TPS of >50%. There was no significant difference in PD-L1 expression rates between different histotypes and site of sampling. Instead, a statistically significant difference was associated to the type of samples: in fact, cytological samples were more frequently negative for PD-L1 expression (TPS<1%) and less often displayed PD-L1 expression at high levels (TPS>50%) than surgical resections and biopsies. CONCLUSIONS: We present a referral laboratory experience on IHC PD-L1 expression of prospectively collected routine NSCLC samples. Data from the real-world practice can better clarify the percentage of PD-L1 positive and negative cases, to establish benchmarks for good practice standards.

Unintended consequences of changes to lung allocation policy.

Organ allocation for transplantation aims to balance the principles of justice and medical utility to optimally utilize a scarce resource. To address practical considerations, the United States is divided into 58 donor service areas (DSA), each constituting the first unit of allocation. In November 2017, in response to a lawsuit in New York, an emergency action change to lung allocation policy replaced the DSA level of allocation for donor lungs with a 250 nautical mile circle around the donor hospital. Similar policy changes are being implemented for other organs including heart and liver. Findings from a recent US Department of Health and Human Services report, supplemented with data from our institution, suggest that the emergency policy has not resulted in a change in the type of patients undergoing lung transplantation (LT) or early postoperative outcomes. However, there has been a significant decline in local LT, where donor and recipient are in the same DSA. With procurement teams having to travel greater distances, organ ischemic time has increased and median organ cost has more than doubled. We propose potential solutions for consideration at this critical juncture in the field of transplantation. Policymakers should choose equitable and sustainable access for this lifesaving discipline.

How many geriatricians should, at minimum, be staffing health regions in Australia?

In any particular region, determining an adequate, quantifiable geriatrician full-time equivalent required to run geriatric medicine services comprehensively - that is spanning both inpatient and outpatient settings - remains an imperfect science. Whilst workforce planning may be addressed through 'demand versus supply' simulations, 'specialist-to-patient ratios' (SPRs) may be a useful additional workforce metric. There has never been a yardstick SPR, which 'defines' a satisfactory level of geriatrician manpower in any particular Australian hospital catchment. Here, a new methodology is proposed (tailored specifically to Australian geriatrics), illustrating how we may begin to transparently deduce such a national benchmark SPR. Allowing for some empiricism, the method presently favours an SPR approximating '0.4 full-time equivalent of geriatrician time per 10 000 head of population' in regions with 'average' population age distribution; this level of manpower may afford specialist assessment of targeted patients (widely capturing geriatric cases from acute to community settings). Further discussion on workforce planning methodologies is warranted.

Improving Regional Stroke Systems of Care.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Acute ischemic stroke (AIS) care is rapidly evolving. This review discusses current diagnostic, therapeutic, and process models that can expedite stroke treatment to achieve best outcomes. RECENT FINDINGS: Use of stent retrievers after selection via advanced imaging is safe and effective, and is an important option for AIS patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO). Significant time delays occur before and during patient transfers, and upon comprehensive stroke center (CSC) arrival, and have deleterious effects on functional outcome. Removing obstacles, enhancing inter-facility communication, and creating acute stroke management processes and protocols are paramount strategies to enhance network efficiency. Inter-departmental CSC collaboration can significantly reduce door-to-treatment times. Streamlined stroke systems of care may result in higher treatment rates and better functional outcomes for AIS patients, simultaneously conserving healthcare dollars. Stroke systems of care should be structured regionally to minimize time to treatment. A proactive approach must be employed; a management plan incorporating stroke team prenotification and parallel processes between departments can save valuable time, maximize brain salvage, and reduce disability from stroke.

Regional Implementation of a Pediatric Cardiology Syncope Algorithm Using Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plans (SCAMPS) Methodology.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric syncope is common. Cardiac causes are rarely found. We describe and assess a pragmatic approach to these patients first seen by a pediatric cardiologist in the New England region, using Standardized Clinical Assessment and Management Plans (SCAMPs). METHODS AND RESULTS: Ambulatory patients aged 7 to 21 years initially seen for syncope at participating New England Congenital Cardiology Association practices over a 2.5-year period were evaluated using a SCAMP. Findings were iteratively analyzed and the care pathway was revised. The vast majority (85%) of the 1254 patients had typical syncope. A minority had exercise-related or more problematic symptoms. Guideline-defined testing identified one patient with cardiac syncope. Syncope Severity Scores correlated well between physician and patient perceived symptoms. Orthostatic vital signs were of limited use. Largely incidental findings were seen in 10% of ECGs and 11% of echocardiograms. The 10% returning for follow-up, by design, reported more significant symptoms, but did not have newly recognized cardiac disease. Iterative analysis helped refine the approach. CONCLUSIONS: SCAMP methodology confirmed that the vast majority of children referred to the outpatient pediatric cardiology setting had typical low-severity neurally mediated syncope that could be effectively evaluated in a single visit using minimal resources. A simple scoring system can help triage patients into treatment categories. Prespecified criteria permitted the effective diagnosis of the single patient with a clear cardiac etiology. Patients with higher syncope scores still have a very low risk of cardiac disease, but may warrant attention.

[Development of a consented set of criteria to evaluate post-rehabilitation support services]. / Entwicklung eines konsentierten Kriterien-Sets zur Bewertung von Reha-Nachsorgeangeboten.

OBJECTIVE: Existing rehabilitation aftercare offers in Germany are heterogeneous, and there is a lack of transparency in terms of indications and methods as well as of (nationwide) availability and financial coverage. Also, there is no systematic and transparent synopsis. To close this gap a systematic review was conducted and a web-based database created for post-rehabilitation support. To allow a consistent assessment of the included aftercare offers, a quality profile of universally valid criteria was developed. This paper aims to outline the scientific approach. METHODOLOGY: The procedure adapts the RAND/UCLA method, with the participation of the advisory board of the ReNa project. Preparations for the set included systematic searches in order to find possible criteria to assess the quality of aftercare offers. These criteria first were collected without any pre-selection involved. Every item of the adjusted collection was evaluated by every single member of the advisory board considering the topics "relevance", "feasibility" and "suitability for public coverage". Interpersonal analysis was conducted by relating the median and classification into consensus and dissent. All items that were considered to be "relevant" and "feasible" in the three stages of consensus building and deemed "suitable for public coverage" were transferred into the final set of criteria (ReNa set). RESULTS: A total of 82 publications were selected out of the 656 findings taken into account, which delivered 3,603 criteria of possible initial relevance. After a further removal of 2,598 redundant criteria, the panel needed to assess a set of 1,005 items. Finally we performed a quality assessment of aftercare offers using a set of 35 descriptive criteria merged into 8 conceptual clusters. CONCLUSION: The consented ReNa set of 35 items delivers a first generally valid tool to describe quality of structures, standards and processes of aftercare offers. So finally, the project developed into a complete collection of profiles characterizing each post-rehabilitation support service included in the database.

National and regional asthma programmes in Europe.

This review presents seven national asthma programmes to support the European Asthma Research and Innovation Partnership in developing strategies to reduce asthma mortality and morbidity across Europe. From published data it appears that in order to influence asthma care, national/regional asthma programmes are more effective than conventional treatment guidelines. An asthma programme should start with the universal commitments of stakeholders at all levels and the programme has to be endorsed by political and governmental bodies. When the national problems have been identified, the goals of the programme have to be clearly defined with measures to evaluate progress. An action plan has to be developed, including defined re-allocation of patients and existing resources, if necessary, between primary care and specialised healthcare units or hospital centres. Patients should be involved in guided self-management education and structured follow-up in relation to disease severity. The three evaluated programmes show that, thanks to rigorous efforts, it is possible to improve patients' quality of life and reduce hospitalisation, asthma mortality, sick leave and disability pensions. The direct and indirect costs, both for the individual patient and for society, can be significantly reduced. The results can form the basis for development of further programme activities in Europe.

Italian community psychiatry in practice: description and comparison of three regional systems.

The psychiatric reform in 1978 assigned the regions the task of implementing community mental health (MH) services; 30 years on in Italy, there are as many MH systems as there are Italian regions and all completely differentiated. Three Italian regions (Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Campania) in different geographic areas are here chosen as representing three different models of community care implementation as well as certain similarities and differences at a regional level. For each region, the article focuses on MH policy, financing, the network of community health facilities, service provision, MH staff, and the information system.

Primary care psychiatry in Italy.

In Italy, the importance of integrating primary care and mental health has only recently been grasped. Several reasons may explain this delay: a) until 2005, primary care physicians worked individually instead of in group practices, without any functional network or structured contacts with colleagues; b) community mental health centers with multiprofessional teams were well structured and widespread in several regions but focused on people with severe and persistent mental disorders; and c) specific national government health policies were lacking. Only two regions have implemented explicit policies on this issue. The "G. Leggieri" program started by the Emilia-Romagna region health government in 1999 aims to coordinate unsolicited bottom-up cooperation initiatives developing since the 1980s. In Liguria, a regional work group was established in 2010 to boost the strategic role of collaborative programs between primary care and mental health services. This article describes the most innovative experiences relating to primary care psychiatry in Italy.

[The co-construction of change in community health service provision in Senegal]. / La co-construction des changements dans l'offre de sante communautaire au Senegal.

An experience of collaboration between researchers and the Ministry of Health of Senegal has encouraged the social uses of results from research on the health of communities. This article presents the contributions of partnership-based research to tackling health inequalities. Following a diagnostic shared with all the actors (practitioners and users) that allowed us to identify the reasons behind the under-utilization of well-equipped and renovated health establishments, three innovations were implemented: district surgery, complementary health insurance and flat-rate fees. In the four central regions of Senegal where this experiment was launched, the research that was carried out allowed for a better comprehension of the processes and challenges in 'co-constructing' knowledge between practitioners and researchers, in the context of relatively low access to healthcare. This article highlights the importance of this co-construction in encouraging concerted efforts to make relevant changes for improved, more equitable and more accessible local health services for communities.

Assessing needs and assets for building a regional network infrastructure to reduce cancer related health disparities.

Significant cancer health disparities exist in the United States and Puerto Rico. While numerous initiatives have been implemented to reduce cancer disparities, regional coordination of these efforts between institutions is often limited. To address cancer health disparities nation-wide, a series of regional transdisciplinary networks through the Geographic Management Program (GMaP) and the Minority Biospecimen/Biobanking Geographic Management Program (BMaP) were established in six regions across the country. This paper describes the development of the Region 3 GMaP/BMaP network composed of over 100 investigators from nine institutions in five Southeastern states and Puerto Rico to develop a state-of-the-art network for cancer health disparities research and training. We describe a series of partnership activities that led to the formation of the infrastructure for this network, recount the participatory processes utilized to develop and implement a needs and assets assessment and implementation plan, and describe our approach to data collection. Completion, by all nine institutions, of the needs and assets assessment resulted in several beneficial outcomes for Region 3 GMaP/BMaP. This network entails ongoing commitment from the institutions and institutional leaders, continuous participatory and engagement activities, and effective coordination and communication centered on team science goals.

Regional systems of care demonstration project: Mission: Lifeline STEMI Systems Accelerator: design and methodology.

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) systems of care have been associated with significant improvement in use and timeliness of reperfusion. Consequently, national guidelines recommend that each community should develop a regional STEMI care system. However, significant barriers continue to impede widespread establishment of regional STEMI care systems in the United States. We designed the Regional Systems of Care Demonstration Project: Mission: Lifeline STEMI Systems Accelerator, a national educational outcome research study in collaboration with the American Heart Association, to comprehensively accelerate the implementation of STEMI care systems in 17 major metropolitan regions encompassing >1,500 emergency medical service agencies and 450 hospitals across the United States. The goals of the program are to identify regional gaps, barriers, and inefficiencies in STEMI care and to devise strategies to implement proven recommendations to enhance the quality and consistency of care. The study interventions, facilitated by national faculty with expertise in regional STEMI system organization in partnership with American Heart Association representatives, draw upon specific resources with proven past effectiveness in augmenting regional organization. These include bringing together leading regional health care providers and institutions to establish common commitment to STEMI care improvement, developing consensus-based standardized protocols in accordance with national professional guidelines to address local needs, and collecting and regularly reviewing regional data to identify areas for improvement. Interventions focus on each component of the reperfusion process: the emergency medical service, the emergency department, the catheterization laboratory, and inter-hospital transfer. The impact of regionalization of STEMI care on clinical outcomes will be evaluated.