Transfusion-associated circulatory overload risk mitigation: survey on hospital policies for compliance with AABB Standard 5.9.17.

BACKGROUND: AABB Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services require accredited institutions to have a policy for handling requests for blood components on patients clinically identified as being at high risk for transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO; Standard 5.19.7, 31st edition). This survey elucidated how AABB accredited hospital transfusion services/blood banks around the world are complying with this Standard. METHODS: A link to a Web-based survey in English was e-mailed under the auspice of the AABB to each AABB accredited hospital transfusion service/blood bank (n = 851) asking for details on how their institution is complying with this Standard and for general information on any TACO risk mitigation strategies in place. RESULTS: Of the 290 responses received (34% response rate), 282 met the criteria for analysis. There were 174 of 282 (62%) respondents who indicated that their institution has a formal policy for complying with the Standard, and 108 of 282 (38%) who indicated that their institution does not have a formal policy. A diverse range of policies and practices were in place at the institutions with and without a formal policy ranging from writing advice/recommendations in the charts of patients at increased risk of TACO, promulgating policies from the transfusion service/blood bank or institution itself that would reduce the risk, or using decision support tools to provide education about reducing the risk of TACO. CONCLUSIONS: Many but not all AABB accredited institutions have policies to comply with the TACO risk mitigation Standard. However, the vast majority conduct activities that could mitigate risk for TACO.

Impact of pharmacist intervention on influenza vaccine assessment and documentation in hospitalized psychiatric patients.

PURPOSE: Results of an initiative to improve assessment and documentation of the influenza vaccination status of adult psychiatric inpatients are reported. METHODS: A prospective quality-improvement study was conducted at a large, tertiary care academic medical center with the aim of improving compliance with the Influenza Immunization (IMM-2) quality measure, which was added to the Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting (IPFQR) program in 2015 and requires assessment and documentation of influenza vaccination status in specified groups of psychiatric inpatients. The primary objective was to improve the IMM-2 IPFQR compliance rate to 100% during the 2015-16 influenza season from a rate of 55% during the 2014-15 influenza season through pharmacist interventions; secondary objectives included analysis of types of pharmacist interventions, rates of influenza vaccination status assessment and ordering, and rates of vaccine refusal by psychiatric disease state. RESULTS: With pharmacist interventions, the IMM-2 IPFQR compliance rate was increased to 99% during the 2015-16 influenza season. Of the 1,413 patients included in the study population, 45% (n = 646) were targeted for pharmacist intervention. Influenza vaccine was ordered for 61% of the study population (n = 867 patients), with an overall refusal rate of 74% (n = 642). Differences in refusal rates by psychiatric diagnosis were not significant. CONCLUSION: Pharmacist-conducted education of nurses and interventions to ensure completion of influenza vaccine assessments and documentation led to an improved IMM-2 IPFQR compliance rate at the study site.

[Implementation of a Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Adults With Schizophrenia in Colombia]. / Implementacion de la guía de práctica clínica para el manejo de adultos con esquizofrenia en Colombia.

OBJECTIVES: To present overall strategies and activities for the implementation process of the recommendations contained in the clinical practice guideline for the management of adults with schizophrenia (GPC_E) published by the Colombian Ministry of Health and Welfare (MSPS). Prioritize the proposed recommendations, identify barriers and solving strategies to implement the GPC_E, and develop a monitoring and evaluation system for the key recommendations. METHOD: The Guideline Developer Group (GDG) included professionals with primary dedication to implementation issues that accompanied the entire process. During the GDG meetings implementation topics were identified and discussed, and later complemented by literature reviews concerning the experience of mental health guidelines implementation at national and international level. Additionally, feedback from the discussions raised during the socialization meetings, and joint meetings with the MSPS and the Institute of Technology Assessment in Health (IETS) were included. The prioritization of recommendations was made in conjunction with the GDG, following the proposed steps in the methodological guide for the development of Clinical Practice Guidelines with Economic Evaluation in the General System of Social Security in Colombian Health (GMEGPC) using the tools 13 and 14. the conclusions and final adjustments were discussed with the GPC_E leaders. RESULTS: The implementation chapter includes a description of the potential barriers, solution strategies, facilitators and monitoring indicators. The identified barriers were categorized in the following 3 groups: Cultural context, health system and proposed interventions. The issues related to solving strategies and facilitating education programs include community mental health, mental health training for health workers in primary care, decentralization and integration of mental health services at the primary care level, use of technologies information and communication and telemedicine. To monitor and evaluate o the implementation process, five (5) indicators were designed one (1) structure, two (2) process and two (2)outcome indicators. CONCLUSION: The GPC_E implementation within the Colombian General health System of Social Security (SGSSSC) poses multiple challenges. Potential barriers, enabling strategies and indicators for monitoring and evaluation described in this article, can provide efficient support to ensure the success of this process in the institutions that will adopt the guideline.

[General Strategies for Implementation of Clinical Practice Guidelines]. / Estrategias generales para la implementación de las Guías de Práctica Clínica.

The need to use clinical practice guidelines (CPG) arises from the health conditions and problems that public health institutions in the country face. CPG are informative documents that help improve the quality of care processes and patient safety; having among its objectives, to reduce the variability of medical practice. The Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social designed a strategic plan for the dissemination, implementation, monitoring and control of CPG to establish an applicable model in the medical units in the three levels of care at the Instituto. This paper summarizes some of the strategies of the plan that were made with the knowledge and experience of clinicians and managers, with which they intend to promote the adoption of the key recommendations of the guidelines, to promote a sense of belonging for health personnel, and to encourage changes in organizational culture.

La necesidad de utilizar las guías de práctica clínica (GPC) surge de las condiciones y problemáticas de salud a las que se enfrentan las instituciones públicas de salud del país. Las GPC constituyen documentos informativos que contribuyen a mejorar la calidad de los procesos de atención y la seguridad del paciente; teniendo entre sus objetivos, reducir la variabilidad de la práctica médica. El Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social diseñó un plan estratégico para la difusión, implementación, monitorización y control de GPC, a fin de instituir un modelo aplicable en las unidades médicas en los tres niveles de atención del Instituto. En este documento se resumen algunas de las estrategias del plan que fueron elaboradas con el conocimiento y experiencia de clínicos y gestores, con las que, se pretende impulsar la adopción de las recomendaciones clave de las guías y promover el sentido de pertenencia del personal de la salud, así como favorecer cambios en la cultura organizacional.

EMRlog method for computer security for electronic medical records with logic and data mining.

The proper functioning of a hospital computer system is an arduous work for managers and staff. However, inconsistent policies are frequent and can produce enormous problems, such as stolen information, frequent failures, and loss of the entire or part of the hospital data. This paper presents a new method named EMRlog for computer security systems in hospitals. EMRlog is focused on two kinds of security policies: directive and implemented policies. Security policies are applied to computer systems that handle huge amounts of information such as databases, applications, and medical records. Firstly, a syntactic verification step is applied by using predicate logic. Then data mining techniques are used to detect which security policies have really been implemented by the computer systems staff. Subsequently, consistency is verified in both kinds of policies; in addition these subsets are contrasted and validated. This is performed by an automatic theorem prover. Thus, many kinds of vulnerabilities can be removed for achieving a safer computer system.

Do federal and state audits increase compliance with a grant program to improve municipal infrastructure (AUDIT study): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Poor governance and accountability compromise young democracies' efforts to provide public services critical for human development, including water, sanitation, health, and education. Evidence shows that accountability agencies like superior audit institutions can reduce corruption and waste in federal grant programs financing service infrastructure. However, little is know about their effect on compliance with grant reporting and resource allocation requirements, or about the causal mechanisms. This study protocol for an exploratory randomized controlled trial tests the hypothesis that federal and state audits increase compliance with a federal grant program to improve municipal service infrastructure serving marginalized households. METHODS/DESIGN: The AUDIT study is a block randomized, controlled, three-arm parallel group exploratory trial. A convenience sample of 5 municipalities in each of 17 states in Mexico (n=85) were block randomized to be audited by federal auditors (n=17), by state auditors (n=17), and a control condition outside the annual program of audits (n=51) in a 1:1:3 ratio. Replicable and verifiable randomization was performed using publicly available lottery numbers. Audited municipalities were included in the national program of audits and received standard audits on their use of federal public service infrastructure grants. Municipalities receiving moderate levels of grant transfers were recruited, as these were outside the auditing sampling frame--and hence audit program--or had negligible probabilities of ever being audited. The primary outcome measures capture compliance with the grant program and markers for the causal mechanisms, including deterrence and information effects. Secondary outcome measure include differences in audit reports across federal and state auditors, and measures like career concerns, political promotions, and political clientelism capturing synergistic effects with municipal accountability systems. The survey firm and research assistants assessing outcomes were blind to treatment status. DISCUSSION: This study will improve our understanding of local accountability systems for public service delivery in the 17 states under study, and may have downstream policy implications. The study design also demonstrates the use of verifiable and replicable randomization, and of sequentially partitioned hypotheses to reduce the Type I error rate in multiple hypothesis tests. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Controlled-trials.com Identifier ISRCTN22381841: Date registered 02/11/2012.

Readmissions after hospital discharge with acute exacerbation of COPD: are we missing something?

Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is an important part of the disease's morbidity, mortality, and progression, and is associated with increasing utilization of health care resources. The concept of integrated care based on a chronic care model is relatively new to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but has proved successful in improving clinical outcomes and probably in decreasing health care utilization in other chronic conditions. A comprehensive approach is needed to target a change in behavioral patterns in patients, increase physician's awareness and adherence to evidence-based recommendations, and address system related issues. This article discusses the evidence for various facets of nonpharmacological management of AECOPD and proposes a model of care that might be the missing link for reducing hospital readmissions for AECOPD. This model may decrease the morbidity, slow disease progression, and curb the increasing health care resource utilization without compromising patient care.

Elaboração da versão em português do Psychotherapy Process Q-Set / Development of a Portuguese version of the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set

INTRODUÇÃO: No Brasil, a pesquisa em psicoterapia encontra-se em desenvolvimento inicial; ainda não há estudos sistemáticos do processo terapêutico, e poucas são as medidas disponíveis para os pesquisadores interessados nesse campo. OBJETIVO: Elaborar a versão em português do Psychotherapy Process Q-Set. MÉTODO: A elaboração da versão em português do Psychotherapy Process Q-Set envolveu quatro etapas: tradução, retrotradução, avaliação da equivalência semântica e discussão, entre os autores, dos resultados. Para a aplicação do instrumento, cinco avaliadores foram treinados. Durante o treinamento, registros no diário de campo eram feitos para identificar dificuldades na execução da tarefa e subsidiar dados complementares. Após, o Psychotherapy Process Q-Set foi aplicado em sete sessões de uma psicoterapia psicodinâmica breve para examinar a concordância entre os juízes. RESULTADOS: A versão em português do Psychotherapy Process Q-Set apresentou boa equivalência semântica com a original. A avaliação da fidedignidade interavaliadores teve resultado satisfatório. Ressalta-se que a aplicação do Psychotherapy Process Q-Set requer estudo, tempo e reflexão. A discussão com os avaliadores apontou a necessidade de uma revisão do manual de aplicação no que diz respeito às vinhetas ilustrativas. Isto deverá ser realizado, futuramente, para minimizar as discrepâncias observadas no entendimento de alguns conceitos e para melhor adequá-las à realidade brasileira. CONCLUSÃO: O estudo disponibiliza a versão em português do Psychotherapy Process Q-Set, um instrumento versátil, que pode ser utilizado em diferentes contextos para descrever, quantitativamente e em termos clinicamente significativos, o processo terapêutico das diferentes psicoterapias.

INTRODUCTION: In Brazil, psychotherapy research is in its early development; there are no systematic studies of the therapeutic process, and there are few available measurement instruments for researchers interested in this field. OBJECTIVE: To develop a Portuguese version of the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set. METHOD: The development of a Portuguese version of the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set involved four stages: translation, back translation, evaluation of semantic equivalence and discussion of the results by the authors. Five raters were trained to apply the instrument. During the training, a field diary was used to record difficulties identified in task execution and to subsidize complementary data. Thereafter, the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set was applied to seven sessions of a short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy to examine agreement between referees. RESULTS: The Portuguese version of the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set presented good semantic equivalence with the original. The assessment of interrater reliability had a satisfactory result. It is worth stressing that applying the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set requires study, time and reflection. The discussion with raters pointed to the need of reviewing the application manual concerning the clinical examples. This will be performed in the near future to minimize the discrepancies observed in the understanding of some concepts and to better adjust them to the Brazilian reality. CONCLUSION: This study provides a Portuguese version of the Psychotherapy Process Q-Set, a versatile instrument that can be used in different contexts to quantitatively describe the therapeutic process of different psychotherapies in clinically significant terms.

Accordo celebrado entre a Sociedade Paulista de Leprologia, representada por seu presidente, e o director do Centro Internacional de Leprologia, para publicação da Revista Brasileira de Leprologia

1 - A "Revista de Leprologia de São Paulo" passará a denominar-se "Revista Brasileira de Leprologia", segunda série da "Revista de Leprologia de São Paulo",.....