Efficiency as a determinant of loyalty among users of a Community of Clinical Practice: a comparative study between the implementation and consolidation phases.

BACKGROUND: A community of clinical practice called the Online Communication Tool between Primary and Hospital Care (ECOPIH) was created to enable primary care and specialist care professionals to communicate with each other in order to resolve real clinical cases, thereby improving communication and coordination between care levels. The present work seeks to analyse whether ECOPIH makes it possible to reduce the number of referrals. To that end, the objectives are: (1) To find out the degree of loyalty among ECOPIH users, by comparing the medical professionals' profiles in the tool's implementation phase to those in its consolidation phase. (2) To evaluate the degree of fulfilment of users' expectations, by establishing the determining factors that had an influence on the physicians' intention to use ECOPIH in the implementation phase and observing whether its use had an effective, direct impact on the number of patient referrals that primary care physicians made to specialist care professionals. METHODS: Two studies were conducted. Based on a survey of all the physicians in a Primary Care area, Study 1 was a descriptive study in ECOPIH's implementation phase. Study 2 was a randomised intervention study of ECOPIH users in the tool's consolidation phase. The results from both studies were compared. Various bivariate and multivariate statistical techniques (exploratory factor analysis, cluster analysis, logistic regression analysis and ANOVA) were used in both studies, which were conducted on a sample of 111 and 178 physicians, respectively. RESULTS: We confirmed the existence of an ECOPIH user profile stable across both phases: under-50-year-old women. Regarding the second objective, there were two particular findings. First, the discriminant factors that had an influence on greater ECOPIH use were habitual Social media website and app use and Perceived usefulness for reducing costs. Second, PC professionals who were ECOPIH members made fewer referrals to SC professionals in Cardiology, Endocrinology and Gastroenterology than older PC professionals who were not ECOPIH members. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a community of clinical practice by primary care and specialist care professionals helps to reduce the number of referrals among medical professionals.

Keys to success of a community of clinical practice in primary care: a qualitative evaluation of the ECOPIH project.

BACKGROUND: The current reality of primary care (PC) makes it essential to have telemedicine systems available to facilitate communication between care levels. Communities of practice have great potential in terms of care and education, and that is why the Online Communication Tool between Primary and Hospital Care was created. This tool enables PC and non-GP specialist care (SC) professionals to raise clinical cases for consultation and to share information. The objective of this article is to explore healthcare professionals' views on communities of clinical practice (CoCPs) and the changes that need to be made in an uncontrolled real-life setting after more than two years of use. METHODS: A descriptive-interpretative qualitative study was conducted on a total of 29 healthcare professionals who were users and non-users of a CoCP using 2 focus groups, 3 triangular groups and 5 individual interviews. There were 18 women, 21 physicians and 8 nurses. Of the interviewees, 21 were PC professionals, 24 were users of a CoCP and 7 held managerial positions. RESULTS: For a system of communication between PC and SC to become a tool that is habitually used and very useful, the interviewees considered that it would have to be able to find quick, effective solutions to the queries raised, based on up-to-date information that is directly applicable to daily clinical practice. Contact should be virtual - and probably collaborative - via a platform integrated into their habitual workstations and led by PC professionals. Organisational changes should be implemented to enable users to have more time in their working day to spend on the tool, and professionals should have a proactive attitude in order to make the most if its potential. It is also important to make certain technological changes, basically aimed at improving the tool's accessibility, by integrating it into habitual clinical workstations. CONCLUSIONS: The collaborative tool that provides reliable, up-to-date information that is highly transferrable to clinical practice is valued for its effectiveness, efficiency and educational capacity. In order to make the most of its potential in terms of care and education, organisational changes and techniques are required to foster greater use.

Understanding the discriminant factors that influence the adoption and use of clinical communities of practice: the ECOPIH case.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study presented in this article is to analyse the discriminant factors that have an influence on the use of communities of practice by primary and specialist healthcare professionals (physicians and nurses) for information sharing. Obtaining evidence from an ex-ante analysis to determine what factors explain healthcare professionals' clinical community of practice use allows aspects of its use to be identified. METHODS: A theoretical model based on a modified technology acceptance model was used as the analysis tool, and a discriminant analysis was performed. An ad-hoc questionnaire was designed and sent to a study population of 357 professionals from the Badalona-Sant Adrià de Besòs Primary Care Service in Catalonia, Spain, which includes nine primary care centres and three specialist care centres. The study sample was formed by the 166 healthcare professionals who responded. RESULTS: The results revealed three main drivers for engagement in a CoP: First, for the whole sample, perceived usefulness for reducing costs associated with clinical practice was the factor with the greatest discriminant power that distinguished between users and non-users, followed by perceived usefulness for improving clinical practice quality, and lastly habitual social media website and application use. Turning to the two sub-samples of healthcare professions (physicians and nurses, respectively), we saw that the usefulness stemming from community of practice use changed. There were differences in the levels of motivation of healthcare professionals with regards to their engagement with CoP. While perceived usefulness for reducing costs associated with clinical practice was the main factor for the physicians, perceived usefulness of the Web 2.0 platform use for communication for improving clinical practice quality and perceived ease of use were the main factors for the nurses. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of communities of practice, the perception of usefulness of Web 2.0 platform use for communication is determined by organisational, technological and social factors. Specifically, the position that professionals have within the healthcare structure and particularly the closer healthcare professionals' activity is to patients and their professional experience of using social networks and ICTs are crucial to explaining the use of such platforms. Public policies promoting Web 2.0 platform use for communication should therefore go beyond the purely technological dimension and consider other professional and social determinants.

Improving integrated care: modelling the performance of an online community of practice.

INTRODUCTION: THIS ARTICLE AIMS TO CONFIRM THE FOLLOWING CORE HYPOTHESIS: a Community of Practice's use of a Web 2.0 platform for communication between primary and hospital care leads to improved primary care and fewer hospital referrals. This core hypothesis will be corroborated by testing a further five partial hypotheses that complete the main hypothesis being estimated. METHODS: An ad-hoc questionnaire was designed and sent to a sample group of 357 professionals from the Badalona-Sant Adrià de Besòs Primary Care Service in Catalonia, Spain, which includes nine primary care centres and three specialist care centres. The study sample was formed by 159 respondents. The partial least squares methodology was used to estimate the model of the causal relationship and the proposed hypotheses. RESULTS: It was found that when healthcare staff used social networks and information and communication technologies professionally, and the more contact hours they have with patients, the more a Web 2.0 platform was likely to be used for communication between primary and hospital care professionals. Such use led to improved primary care and fewer hospital referrals according to the opinions of health professionals on its use. CONCLUSIONS: The research suggests that the efficiency of medical practice is explained by the intensity of Web 2.0 platform use for communication between primary and specialist care professionals. Public policies promoting the use of information and communication technologies in communities of practice should go beyond the technological dimension and consider other professional, organisational and social determinants.

Impact of the implementation of an online network support tool among clinicians of primary health care and specialists: ECOPIH Project.

BACKGROUND: There has been created an online communication tool with the objective to improve the communication among different levels of care, between Primary Care clinicians and Specialists. This tool is web 2.0 based technology (ECOPIH project). It allows to review clinical cases and to share knowledge. Our study will evaluate its impact in terms of reduction on the number of referrals to three specialties two years after the use of this tool. METHODS/DESIGN: Open, multicenter, controlled, non random intervention study over 24 months. Study population includes 131 Primary Care Physicians assigned to nine health centers. The study will compare the clinicians that use the ECOPIH with the ones that do not use the tool. Also, professionals that start to use the tool during the period time of the study will be included.The number of annual referrals during the first and second year will be analyzed and retrospectively compared with the previous year to the implementation of the tool. Moreover, it will be assessed the level of satisfaction of the professionals with the tool and to what extend the tool responds to their needs. DISCUSSION: The implementation of ECOPIH in the field of Primary Health Care can decrease the number of referrals from primary care to specialist care.It is expected that the reduction will be more noticeable in the group of professionals that use more intensively the tool. Furthermore, we believe that it can be also observed with the professionals that read the contributions of the others.We anticipate high degree of customer satisfaction as it is a very helpful resource never used before in our environment.

¿Toman los pacientes deprimidos el tratamiento prescrito? Estudio descriptivo sobre el cumplimiento del tratamiento antidepresivo / Do depressed patients comply with treatments prescribed? A cross-sectional study of adherence to the antidepressant treatment

Introducción. El cumplimiento del tratamiento antidepresivo es un aspecto importante en la evolución de los trastornos depresivos. El mal cumplimiento se ha asociado a una peor evolución, a un mayor número de recaídas y mayor coste económico. El objetivo de este estudio es describir el cumplimiento del tratamiento antidepresivo en una muestra de pacientes de atención primaria (AP) con diagnóstico de depresión durante el año 2007. Método. Se realizó un muestreo aleatorio de pacientes con diagnóstico de depresión y tratamiento con antidepresivos atendidos en dos equipos de (AP) y se revisaron las historias clínicas. En ellas consta el número de recetas prescritas y el número de recetas recogidas en la farmacia. Se calculó la diferencia entre recetas prescritas y recogidas. Una diferencia de + 2 se consideró un buen cumplimiento. Se mostraron los resultados en porcentajes y se realizaron comparaciones Ji cuadrado, t-student y ANOVA cuando procedía. Resultados. La muestra estaba compuesta de 212 pacientes. La edad media era de 63,2 años (DE =15,27). El 66,5% estaba en tratamiento con un antidepresivo y el 24,1% con dos. El porcentaje de pacientes no cumplidores era del 33,96% [IC 95% (27,35-40,57)]. Los pacientes cumplidores presentaban un menor porcentaje de tratamiento con otros fármacos crónicos. En los cumplidores el porcentaje de mujeres era superior que en el de no cumplidores (p = 0,015). No había diferencias en el cumplimiento en los pacientes atendidos en el centro de salud mental. Conclusiones. Un tercio de los pacientes en tratamiento farmacológico antidepresivo no eran cumplidores puesto que no lo retiraban de forma adecuada de las farmacias. Es necesario desarrollar estrategias de mejora de la adherencia terapéutica de los pacientes (AU)

Introduction. Compliance with antidepressant treatment is a very relevant factor in the outcome of depressive disorders. Poor compliance has been associated with worse outcome, increased rate of relapses and greater cost. This study has aimed to describe adherence to antidepressant treatment in a sample of primary care patients with a diagnosis of depression in 2007. Methods. Randomized sampling was made of patients with depression and antidepressant treatment attended in two primary care teams. Their medical records were reviewed to obtain the total number of prescriptions given to patients and the total number of prescriptions dispensed in the pharmacies. The difference between prescriptions written and collected was calculated. A difference of ± 2 was considered as good compliance. Results are shown as percentages. Comparisons were made with the chi-square, Student’s T and ANOVA tests, where appropriate. Results. The simple was made up of 212 patients. Mean age was 63.2 years (SD 15.27). In the sample, 66.5% were treated with only one antidepressant and 24.1% with two. The percentage of non-compliance was 33.96% (95% CI: 25.35–40.57). Treatment-adherent patients have a lower percentage of long-term treatment with other drugs. The percentage of treatment-adherent women was higher than non-adherent (p=0.015). No differences were found in compliance among patients treated in the mental health center. Conclusions. One third of patients on antidepressant drug treatment were non-compliers because the drugs were not picked up properly from the pharmacies. We need to develop strategies to improve the therapeutic adherence of patients (AU)

[Do depressed patients comply with treatments prescribed?: a cross-sectional study of adherence to the antidepressant treatment]. / ¿Toman los pacientes deprimidosel tratamiento prescrito? Estudiodescriptivo sobre el cumplimientodel tratamiento antidepresivo.

INTRODUCTION. Compliance with antidepressant treatment is a very relevant factor in the outcome of depressive disorders. Poor compliance has been associated with worse outcome, increased rate of relapses and greater cost. This study has aimed to describe adherence to antidepressant treatment in a sample of primary care patients with a diagnosis of depression in 2007. METHODS. Randomized sampling was made of patients with depression and antidepressant treatment attended in two primary care teams. Their medical records were reviewed to obtain the total number of prescriptions given to patients and the total number of prescriptions dispensed in the pharmacies. The difference between prescriptions written and collected was calculated. A difference of ± 2 was considered as good compliance. Results are shown as percentages. Comparisons were made with the chi-square, Student's T and ANOVA tests, where appropriate. RESULTS. The simple was made up of 212 patients. Mean age was 63.2 years (SD 15.27). In the sample, 66.5% were treated with only one antidepressant and 24.1% with two. The percentage of non-compliance was 33.96% (95% CI: 25.35­40.57). Treatment-adherent patients have a lower percentage of long-term treatment with other drugs. The percentage of treatment-adherent women was higher than non-adherent (p=0.015). No differences were found in compliance among patients treated in the mental health center. CONCLUSIONS. One third of patients on antidepressant drug treatment were non-compliers because the drugs were not picked up properly from the pharmacies. We need to develop strategies to improve the therapeutic adherence of patients.

Test Raval Sud para medir habilidades de soporte vital básico y desfibrilación en médicos y enfermeras de atención primaria / Test to measure basic life support and defribillation skills in primary care doctors and nurses

ObjetivoElaborar y validar un instrumento para medir aptitudes en soporte vital básico (SVB) y desfibrilación semiautomática (DSA) adaptado a los profesionales sanitarios de equipos de atención primaria. Proponer una versión actualizada y demostrar autosuficiencia del equipo para utilizarlo en evaluación formativa.DiseñoValidación de instrumentos de medida. Estudio de fiabilidad con medidas repetidas tras intervención formativa.EmplazamientoCentro de atención primaria Drassanes. Área Básica de Salud Raval Sud.ParticipantesTreinta y siete rescatadores voluntarios (total entre médicos y enfermeras), cámara profesional, médico controlador, maniquí informatizado, 6 evaluadores.IntervencionesMetodología de elaboración de test. Modelo Cardiff versión 3.1 (que se encuentra en internet). Ejecución: 2 series filmadas (una profesional y otra doméstica), de 26 a 25 simulaciones “tipo estación”, separadas por un mes. Taller formativo entre series. Evaluación retrospectiva de grabaciones DVD (6 evaluadores). Segunda serie nuevamente puntuada a las 3 semanas con ciego de versión filmada y orden aleatorizado.Mediciones principalesVariables: actuaciones categorizadas de peor a mejor ejecución. Análisis psicométrico: validez (contenido/aparente). Fiabilidad test-retest, intraobservador y sensibilidad al cambio.ResultadosRespecto al test de Cardiff (46 ítems), este test de 83 ítems contiene 38 (46%) nuevos, 34 (41%) modificados y 11 (13%) similares. La fiabilidad entre evaluadores fue excelente/buena en 51 de 62 ítems analizados; fiabilidad intraevaluador y entre filmaciones excelente/buena en todos los ítems, menos en uno; la prueba dobló la puntuación tras intervención formativa. Se propone una versión del test según las recomendaciones actuales en SVB y DSA(AU)

ConclusionesAl no disponer de instrumentos útiles para los médicos y enfermeras de atención primaria se ha elaborado uno con suficientes garantías psicométricas y se ha probado autosuficiencia evaluativa. Se propone aplicabilidad inmediata de la versión actualizada con fines de evaluación formativa(AU)

ObjectiveTo prepare and validate a tool to measure Basic Life Support (BLS) and semi-automatic defibrillator (SAD) skills adapted for use by health professionals in Primary Care Teams (PCT). To propose an updated version and demonstrate self-sufficiency of the team to use it in a training evaluation.DesignValidation of measurement tools. Study of reliability with repeated measurements after a training course.SettingDrassanes Primary Care Centre. Raval Sud Basic Health Area. Barcelona. Spain.ParticipantsA total of 37 voluntary resuscitators (all doctors/nurses), professional camera, medical controller, computerised mannequin, 6 evaluators.InterventionsTest preparation methodology. Cardiff Model 3.1. Implementation: 2 filmed series (professional+domestic), of 26-25 “station type” simulations, separated by 1 month. A training workshop between series. Retrospective evaluation of DVD recordings (5 evaluators). 2nd series scored again at 3 weeks with a blind and random order filmed version.Main measurementsVariables: performances classified from worse to best execution. Psychometric analysis: Validity (content/apparent). Test-retest reliability, between-observer and sensitivity to change.ResultsCompared to the Cardiff test (46 items) our 83 item test contained 38(46%) new, 34(41%) modified and 11(13%) similar. Between-evaluator reliability, excellent/good in 51/62 items analysed; Within-evaluator and between-filming reliability, excellent/good in all except 1 item; the test score doubled after the training course. A version of the test according to BLS-SAD recommendations is proposed.ConclusionsOn there not being useful tools available for Primary Care doctors and nurses, one has been prepared with adequate psychometric guarantees and proven self-sufficient evaluation. We propose the immediate application of the updated version for training evaluation purposes(AU)

[Test to measure basic life support and defibrillation skills in primary care doctors and nurses]. / Test Raval Sud para medir habilidades de soporte vital básico y desfibrilación en médicos y enfermeras de atención primaria.

OBJECTIVE: To prepare and validate a tool to measure Basic Life Support (BLS) and semi-automatic defibrillator (SAD) skills adapted for use by health professionals in Primary Care Teams (PCT). To propose an updated version and demonstrate self-sufficiency of the team to use it in a training evaluation. DESIGN: Validation of measurement tools. Study of reliability with repeated measurements after a training course. SETTING: Drassanes Primary Care Centre. Raval Sud Basic Health Area. Barcelona. Spain. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 37 voluntary resuscitators (all doctors/nurses), professional camera, medical controller, computerised mannequin, 6 evaluators. INTERVENTIONS: Test preparation methodology. Cardiff Model 3.1. IMPLEMENTATION: 2 filmed series (professional+domestic), of 26-25 "station type" simulations, separated by 1 month. A training workshop between series. Retrospective evaluation of DVD recordings (5 evaluators). 2nd series scored again at 3 weeks with a blind and random order filmed version. VARIABLES: performances classified from worse to best execution. Psychometric analysis: Validity (content/apparent). Test-retest reliability, between-observer and sensitivity to change. RESULTS: Compared to the Cardiff test (46 items) our 83 item test contained 38(46%) new, 34(41%) modified and 11(13%) similar. Between-evaluator reliability, excellent/good in 51/62 items analysed; Within-evaluator and between-filming reliability, excellent/good in all except 1 item; the test score doubled after the training course. A version of the test according to BLS-SAD recommendations is proposed. CONCLUSIONS: On there not being useful tools available for Primary Care doctors and nurses, one has been prepared with adequate psychometric guarantees and proven self-sufficient evaluation. We propose the immediate application of the updated version for training evaluation purposes.