Modelos colaborativos hospitalarios de asistencia compartida e interconsultas a demanda. ¿Cuál ofrece mejores resultados en Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología? / Collaborative hospital models for shared care and on-demand interconsultations. Which offer the best results for Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma?

ANTECEDENTES Y OBJETIVO: Los enfermos quirúrgicos hospitalizados están aumentando su complejidad médica, incrementando la necesidad de apoyo por Medicina Interna. Este apoyo se realiza mediante la interconsulta, la cual presenta problemas que han inducido el desarrollo de la asistencia compartida (AC). Nuestro objetivo es comparar los resultados asistenciales alcanzados por los modelos de interconsulta y AC en Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología. MATERIAL Y MÉTODO: Estudio observacional, prospectivo, multicéntrico, de los enfermos hospitalizados de urgencia en Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología recogidos en el registro REINA-SEMI, atendidos por Medicina Interna mediante interconsulta o AC. Se registraron las características demográficas, comorbilidad, complicaciones médicas, estancia hospitalaria y mortalidad. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron 697 pacientes, 415 con AC y 282 con interconsulta. Los de AC tenían más edad (78,9 vs. 74,3; p <0,001), se operaron más (89,9 vs. 78,7%; p <0,001), tuvieron menos complicaciones médicas (50,4 vs. 62,8%; p <0,001) y su estancia hospitalaria fue menor (10 vs. 18 días; p <0,001), sin diferencias en la comorbilidad ni mortalidad. Los factores independientes asociados a estancia superior a 15 días fueron: insuficiencia cardiaca (OR: 3,4; IC 95%: 1,8-6,1; p <0,001), sexo (hombre) (OR: 1,9; IC 95%: 1,2-3,1; p = 0,004), trastorno electrolítico (OR: 2,4; IC 95%: 1,3-4,4; p = 0,003), infección respiratoria (OR: 1,9; IC 95%: 1,04-3,7; p = 0,035), demora quirúrgica (OR: 1,1; IC 95%: 1,08-1,2; p <0,001) y ser atendido mediante el modelo de interconsulta a demanda (OR: 3,5; IC 95%: 2,3-5,4; p <0,001). CONCLUSIONES: La AC ofrece mejores resultados asistenciales que las interconsultas en pacientes ingresados de urgencia en Cirugía Ortopédica y Traumatología

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Hospitalized surgical patients are increasing in medical complexity, thereby increasing the need for support by internal medicine departments. This support is provided through interconsultations, which present problems that have resulted in the development of shared care (SC). Our objective was to compare the healthcare results achieved by the SC and interconsultation models in Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted an observational, prospective, multicentre study of patients hospitalized for emergency Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma recorded in the REINA-SEMI registry, treated by internal medicine departments through interconsultation or SC. We recorded the demographic characteristics, comorbidity, medical complications, hospital stay and mortality. RESULTS: The study included 697 patients, 415 with SC and 282 with interconsultations. The SC patients were older (78.9 vs. 74.3; P<.001) underwent more operations (89.9 vs. 78.7%; P<.001), had fewer medical complications (50.4 vs. 62.8%; P<.001) and had shorter hospital stays (10 vs. 18 days; P<.001), with no differences in comorbidity or mortality. The following independent factors were associated with stays longer than 15 days: heart failure (OR 3.4; 95% CI 1.8-6.1; P<.001), the male sex (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.2-3.1; P=.004), electrolyte disorder (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.3-4.4; P=.003), respiratory infection (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.04-3.7; P=.035), surgical delay (OR 1.1; 95% CI 1.08-1.2; P<.001) and treatment using the interconsultation on demand model (OR 3.5; 95% CI 2.3-5.4; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: SC offers better healthcare results than interconsultations for patients hospitalized for emergency Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma

Why Travel for Complex Cancer Surgery? Americans React to 'Brand-Sharing' Between Specialty Cancer Hospitals and Their Affiliates.

INTRODUCTION: Leading cancer hospitals have increasingly shared their 'brand' with smaller hospitals through affiliations. Because each brand evokes a distinct reputation for the care provided, 'brand-sharing' has the potential to impact the public's ability to differentiate the safety and quality within hospital networks. The general public was surveyed to determine the perceived similarities and differences in the safety and quality of complex cancer surgery performed at top cancer hospitals and their smaller affiliate hospitals. METHODS: A national, web-based KnowledgePanel (GfK) survey of American adults was conducted. Respondents were asked about their beliefs regarding the quality and safety of complex cancer surgery at a large, top-ranked cancer hospital and a smaller, local hospital, both in the presence and absence of an affiliation between the hospitals. RESULTS: A total of 1010 surveys were completed (58.1% response rate). Overall, 85% of respondents felt 'motivated' to travel an hour for complex surgery at a larger hospital specializing in cancer, over a smaller local hospital. However, if the smaller hospital was affiliated with a top-ranked cancer hospital, 31% of the motivated respondents changed their preference to the smaller hospital. When asked to compare leading cancer hospitals and their smaller affiliates, 47% of respondents felt that surgical safety, 66% felt guideline compliance, and 53% felt cure rates would be the same at both hospitals. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half of surveyed Americans did not distinguish the quality and safety of surgical care at top-ranked cancer hospitals from their smaller affiliates, potentially decreasing their motivation to travel to top centers for complex surgical care.

Understanding specialist sharing: A mixed-method exploration in an increasingly price-competitive hospital market.

INTRODUCTION: Medical specialists seem to increasingly work in- and be affiliated to- multiple organizations. We define this phenomenon as specialist sharing. This form of inter-organizational cooperation has received scant scholarly attention. We investigate the extent of- and motives behind- specialist sharing, in the price-competitive hospital market of the Netherlands. METHODS: A mixed-method was adopted. Social network analysis was used to quantitatively examine the extent of the phenomenon. The affiliations of more than 15,000 medical specialists to any Dutch hospital were transformed into 27 inter-hospital networks, one for each medical specialty, in 2013 and in 2015. Between February 2014 and February 2016, 24 semi-structured interviews with 20 specialists from 13 medical specialties and four hospital executives were conducted to provide in-depth qualitative insights regarding the personal and organizational motives behind the phenomenon. RESULTS: Roughly, 20% of all medical specialists are affiliated to multiple hospitals. The phenomenon occurs in all medical specialties and all Dutch hospitals share medical specialists. Rates of specialist sharing have increased significantly between 2013 and 2015 in 14 of the 27 specialties. Personal motives predominantly include learning, efficiency, and financial benefits. Increased workload and discontinuity of care are perceived as potential drawbacks. Hospitals possess the final authority to decide whether and which specialists are shared. Adhering to volume norms and strategic considerations are seen as their main drivers to share specialists. DISCUSSION: We conclude that specialist sharing should be interpreted as a form of inter-organizational cooperation between healthcare organizations, facilitating knowledge flow between them. Although quality improvement is an important perceived factor underpinning specialist sharing, evidence of enhanced quality of care is anecdotal. Additionally, the widespread occurrence of the phenomenon and the underlying strategic considerations could pose an antitrust infringement.

Telemedicine:'If you aren't doing anything now, you're way behind'.

Any health care provider that's not taking advantange of the many advances in audiovisual tools to connect with patients is woefully behind the curve, experts warn. Here's what some hospitals are up to in both rural communities and urban areas.

Pharmacist-led group medical appointments for the management of type 2 diabetes with comorbid depression in older adults.

BACKGROUND: Depression is associated with poor glycemic control, increased number of microvascular and macrovascular complications, functional impairment, mortality, and 4.5 times higher total health care costs in patients with diabetes. Shared medical appointments (SMAs) may be an effective method to attain national guideline recommendations for glycemic control in diabetes for patients with depression through peer support, counseling, problem solving, and improved access to care. OBJECTIVE: To test the efficacy as assessed by attainment of a hemoglobin A(1c) (A1C) <7% of pharmacist-led group SMA visits, Veterans Affairs Multidisciplinary Education in Diabetes and Intervention for Cardiac Risk Reduction in Depression (VA-MEDIC-D), in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial of VA-MEDIC-D added to standard care versus standard care alone in depressed patients with diabetes with A1C >6.5%. VA-MEDIC-D consisted of 4 once-weekly, 2-hour sessions followed by 5 monthly 90-minute group sessions. Each SMA session consisted of multidisciplinary education and pharmacist-led behavioral and pharmacologic interventions for diabetes, lipids, smoking, and blood pressure. No pharmacologic interventions for depression were provided. The change in the proportion of participants who achieved an A1C <7% at 6 months was compared. RESULTS: Compared to standard care (n = 44), a lower proportion of patients in VA-MEDIC-D (n = 44) had systolic blood pressure (SBP) <130 mm Hg at baseline, but were similar in other cardiovascular risk factors and psychiatric comorbidity. The change in the proportion of participants achieving an A1C <7% was greater in the VA-MEDIC-D arm than in the standard care arm (29.6% vs 11.9%), with odds ratio 3.6 (95% CI 1.1 to 12.3). VA-MEDIC-D participants also achieved significant reductions in SBP, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol from baseline, whereas significant reductions were attained only in non-HDL cholesterol with standard care. There was no significant change in depressive symptoms for either arm. CONCLUSIONS: Pharmacist-led group SMA visits are efficacious in attainment of glycemic control in patients with diabetes and depression without change in depression symptoms.

Caracteristicas epidemiologicas dos comunicantes de hanseniase que desenvolveram a doença, notificados no C.S.I. de Fernandopolis (1933 a 1997) / Characteristic epidemiologists of the comunicantes of hanseníase that they had developed the illness, Notifying in the CSI de Fernandópolis

Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, realizado a partir de um levantamento de dados efetuado nas Fichas de Investigaçao Epidemiologica de Hanseniase, dos casos notificados no Centro de Saude I de Fernandopolis, no periodo de 1993 a 1997, que informaram conviver ou ter convivido com doente de hanseniase; constituindo-se de uma populaçao de 57 doentes, o que corresponde a 42,2 por cento dos 135 doentes de hanseniase, residentes em Fernandopolis, e notificados nesta unidade de saude nesse periodo. O objetivo foi caracterizar o perfil epidemiologico dessa populaçao de estudo. Os dados revelaram que a maioria é do sexo masculino, adultos jovens e adultos, de formas clinicas polarizadas, residentes na zona urbana, com baixo grau de escolaridade, desenvolvendo ocupaçoes variadas, caracterizadas pelo baixo grau de especializaçao ou por atividades domesticas. A maioria dessa populaçao de estudo foi detectada por meio do exame de contatos, de forma tardia; o grau de parentesco com o caso indice predominante foi o de filhos; detectou-se tambem que, com essa populaçao de estudo conviviam outras 169 pessoas, e que a maioria da populaçao desse estudo nao tinha cicatriz vacinal BCG-id e nao apresentavam incapacidades fisicas no momento do diagnostico. A analise dos dados epidemiologicos evidenciou problemas operacionais relativos ao desenvolvimento das açoes do Programa de Controle de Hanseniase, no que se refere ao controle dos comunicantes, o que podera comprometer as metas do Plano Nacional de Eliminaçao da Hanseniase como Problema de Saude Publica....

Shared resources: joint hospital sponsorship of continuing education.

Two competitive hospitals have successfully shared resources to present an annual interdisciplinary pharmacology symposium for the past 10 years. Hospitals can contain costs and create synergy by collaboration and shared resources.