Prevention of Suicidal Behavior with Telemedicine in Patients with a Recent Suicide Attempt: Is a 6-month Intervention Long Enough?

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the results of a 6-month telephone follow-up program for the prevention of suicidality in adult patients discharged from three general hospitals after a suicide attempt. Results are compared with traditional programs lasting 12 months or more. METHODS: This is a prospective, multicenter, study with the control group. Patients in the intervention group received five protocolized telephone calls which were added to their usual treatment. Those in the control group only received usual treatment. Each patient was followed up for 12 months. RESULTS: A total of 123 patients were included in the intervention group and 463 in the control group. 57.7% received at least three calls. Patients in the intervention group took longer to perform a reattempt (p = .05). The percentage of those who did a reattempt (p = .67) and the number of reattempts per patient (p = .66) did not differ between groups. Those in the intervention group showed higher percentages of adherence to the outpatient follow-up (p < .001). CONCLUSION: The intervention was well accepted and showed improved percentages of adherence to outpatient follow-up; however, the results in the prevention of suicidality were worse than those obtained by programs lasting 12 months or more. It is advisable to maintain the telephone follow-up for a minimum of 12 months.

Relación del nivel de estudios con la supervivencia en el primer año tras un ictus isquémico / Relationship between level of education and one-year survival after ischaemic stroke

Introducción. La relación del nivel socioeconómico con las tasas de incidencia y de mortalidad por ictus está bien establecida. La evidencia de la relación con la supervivencia de los pacientes tras el ictus es menos concluyente. El nivel educativo es una medida de nivel socioeconómico muy utilizada en estudios con personas de edad avanzada. Objetivo. Estudiar la relación de la supervivencia en el primer año tras el ictus con el nivel de estudios. Pacientes y métodos. Se analizaron los datos de 544 pacientes con ictus isquémico agudo ingresados en los hospitales públicos de Bizkaia (España), seleccionados consecutivamente. Se obtuvieron datos por entrevista a pacientes o acompañantes y de historia clínica. Se estudiaron variables sobre situación funcional previa, gravedad del ictus, factores de riesgo cardiovascular y de atención al ictus. Se hizo un seguimiento de 12 meses para registrar, en su caso, la fecha de fallecimiento. Se realizó un análisis univariado y multivariado para identificar la relación del nivel de estudios con la supervivencia. Resultados. Tras 12 meses, sobrevivían 203 mujeres (86%) y 273 hombres (88,6%). En ambos sexos, las personas con menos estudios tuvieron peor situación funcional previa, mayor gravedad y fallecieron en mayor proporción. En el análisis multivariado, el nivel de estudios se mantuvo asociado con la supervivencia en el modelo ajustado para los hombres. Conclusiones. La diversidad de nivel educativo marca diferencias en la supervivencia de los pacientes con ictus isquémico en nuestro entorno. El impacto de este factor fue mayor en los hombres que en las mujeres

Aim. To assess the relationship between one-year survival after stroke and level of education. Patients and methods. We analysed data on 544 consecutively recruited patients admitted for acute ischaemic stroke in one the public hospitals of Bizkaia (Spain). Data were obtained through interviews with patients or accompanying persons and from medical records. We studied variables concerning previous functional status, stroke severity, cardiovascular risk factors and stroke care provided. Patients were followed up for 12 months and the dates of any deaths were recorded. Univariate and multivariate analyses were carried out to assess the relationship between level of education and survival. Results. A total of 203 (86%) women and 273 (88.6%) men were alive at 12 months. In both sexes, individuals with a lower level of education had poorer previous functional status, more severe strokes and higher mortality rates. In the multivariate analysis, the association between level of education and survival remained significant in the adjusted model in men. Conclusions. In our setting, there are differences in the survival of patients with ischaemic stroke as a function of level of education. The impact of this factor was greater in men than women

Variability in the prescription of drugs with uncertain effectiveness. The case of SYSADOA in the Basque Country.

Background: The majority of clinical practice guidelines do not recommend the use of SYSADOA (Symptomatic Slow Action Drugs for Osteoarthritis) for the treatment of osteoarthritis because of the lack of evidence or uncertainty around their efficacy. Nevertheless, the Spanish Public Health Service continues funding these drugs. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe the prescription status of SYSADOA in the primary care units of the Basque Country during 2011; to determine if variability exists among them; and to examine if the variability could be explained by the health care region each PC unit belongs to. Methods: Prescription data for SYSADOA during 2011 was obtained from the Basque Ministry for Health. In the Basque Country, primary care is divided into seven regions, each region consisting of several primary care units, which were used as the unit of analysis. Defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 inhabitant-days (DHD) were calculated. Data were standardized by sex and age using the total population of the Basque Country as the reference population. Small area statistics were calculated (extremal quotient, coefficient of variation and systematic component of variation). The influence of the region to which primary care units belonged was also analysed. R software (version R-2.15.0) was used for the analysis. Results: SYSADOA prescription during 2011 accounted for an expense of 4.5 million euros for the Basque Health Service. The crude rate of consumption of SYSADOA was 7.81 DDD per 1,000 inhabitant-days. The obtained external quotient was 13.67. The prescription of SYSADOA of the primary care units located in the 95th percentile was six times higher than the ones located in the 5th percentile. The region to which units belonged accounted for 57% of the observed variability. Discussion: The uncertainty around these drugs could be reflected in the existing variability of their prescription level. The analysis of the variability in the prescription of drugs with no demonstrated efficacy could help in allocating resources into other services or health technologies supported by evidence, thereby contributing to the improvement of health outcomes.

Is organizational progress in the EFQM model related to employee satisfaction?

BACKGROUND: To determine whether there is greater employee satisfaction in organisations that have made more progress in implementation of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model. METHODS: A series of cross-sectional studies (one for each assessment cycle) comparing staff satisfaction survey results between groups of healthcare organisations by degree of implementation of the EFQM model (assessed in terms of external recognition of management quality in each organisation). SETTING: 30 healthcare organisations including hospitals, primary care and mental health providers in Osakidetza, the Basque public health service. PARTICIPANTS: Employees of 30 Osakidetza organisations. INTERVENTION: Progress in implementation of EFQM model. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Scores in 9 dimensions of employee satisfaction from questionnaires administered in healthcare organisations in 4 assessment cycles between 2001 and 2010. RESULTS: Comparing satisfaction results in organisations granted Gold or Silver Q Awards and those without this type of external recognition, we found statistically significant differences in the dimensions of training and internal communication. Then, comparing recipients of Gold Q Awards with those with no Q Certification, differences in leadership style and in policy and strategy also emerged as significant. CONCLUSIONS: Progress of healthcare organisations in the implementation of the EFQM Excellence Model is associated with increases in their employee satisfaction in dimensions that can be managed at the level of each organisation, while dimensions in which no statistically significant differences were found represent common organisational elements with little scope for self-management.

Estratificación de la población en el País Vasco: resultados en el primer año de implantación / Stratification of the population in the Basque Country: results in the first year of implementation

Los modelos predictivos permiten estratificar a la población en función de los cuidados sanitarios que requerirán el año siguiente. Ofrecen a las organizaciones sanitarias la oportunidad de actuar proactivamente, diseñando intervenciones específicas, adecuadas al nivel de necesidad de los distintos grupos de personas. La Estrategia de Cronicidad de Euskadi plantea el empleo de estos modelos, integrándolos con otras políticas y áreas de cambio. En 2010 se realizó por primera vez la categorización prospectiva de toda la población adscrita a Osakidetza, por medio del sistema Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups Predictive Model (ACG-PM). Para ello se empleó, de forma secundaria, información ya registrada, procedente de las historias clínicas informatizadas de atención primaria y de altas de hospital. Este trabajo plantea las ventajas de la utilización combinada de diferentes fuentes de información y describe la aplicación de la estratificación poblacional en 3 programas, dirigidos a enfermos crónicos con diferente carga de comorbilidad(AU)

Predictive models allow populations to be stratified according to their health requirements for the following year. They offer health care organizations the opportunity to act proactively, designing specific interventions adapted to the level of need of different groups of people. The “Strategy for tackling the challenge of chronic illness in the Basque Country” proposes the use of such models, integrating them with other policies. The prospective categorization of all the population assigned to Osakidetza was performed for the first time in 2010 using the Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups predictive model (ACG-PM). For this purpose, already recorded information extracted from electronic health records of primary care and hospital discharge reports was used. This article discusses the advantages of the combined use of various sources of information, and describes the application of the stratification in three programs, targeted at chronic patients who suffer different burdens of comorbidity(AU)

[Stratification of the population in the Basque Country: results in the first year of implementation]. / Estratificación de la población en el País Vasco: resultados en el primer año de implantación.

Predictive models allow populations to be stratified according to their health requirements for the following year. They offer health care organizations the opportunity to act proactively, designing specific interventions adapted to the level of need of different groups of people. The "Strategy for tackling the challenge of chronic illness in the Basque Country" proposes the use of such models, integrating them with other policies. The prospective categorization of all the population assigned to Osakidetza was performed for the first time in 2010 using the Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups predictive model (ACG-PM). For this purpose, already recorded information extracted from electronic health records of primary care and hospital discharge reports was used. This article discusses the advantages of the combined use of various sources of information, and describes the application of the stratification in three programs, targeted at chronic patients who suffer different burdens of comorbidity.