Application of analgesics in emergency services in Germany: a survey of the medical directors.

ABSTRAC: BACKGROUND: Treatment of acute pain is an essential element of pre-hospital care for injured and critically ill patients. Clinical studies indicate the need for improvement in the prehospital analgesia. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the current situation in out of hospital pain management in Germany regarding the substances, indications, dosage and the delegation of the use of analgesics to emergency medical service (EMS) staff. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A standardized survey of the medical directors of the emergency services (MDES) in Germany was carried out using an online questionnaire. The anonymous results were evaluated using the statistical software SPSS (Chi-squared test, Mann-Whitney-U test). RESULTS: Seventy-seven MDES responsible for 989 rescue stations and 397 EMS- physician bases in 15 federal states took part in this survey. Morphine (98.7%), Fentanyl (85.7%), Piritramide (61%), Sufentanil (18.2%) and Nalbuphine (14,3%) are provided as opioid analgesics. The non-opioid analgesics (NOA) including Ketamine/Esketamine (98,7%), Metamizole (88.3%), Paracetamol (66,2%), Ibuprofen (24,7%) and COX-2-inhibitors (7,8%) are most commonly available. The antispasmodic Butylscopolamine is available (81,8%) to most rescue stations. Fentanyl is the most commonly provided opioid analgesic for treatment of a traumatic pain (70.1%) and back pain (46.8%), Morphine for visceral colic-like (33.8%) and non-colic pain (53.2%). In cases of acute coronary syndrome is Morphine (85.7%) the leading analgesic substance. Among the non-opioid analgesics is Ketamine/Esketamine (90.9%) most frequently provided to treat traumatic pain, Metamizole for visceral colic-like (70.1%) and non-colic (68.6%) as well as back pain (41.6%). Butylscopolamine is the second most frequently provided medication after Metamizole for "visceral colic-like pain" (55.8%). EMS staff (with or without a request for presence of the EMS physician on site) are permitted to use the following: Morphine (16.9%), Piritramide (13.0%) and Nalbuphine (10.4%), and of NOAs for (Es)Ketamine (74.1%), Paracetamol (53.3%) and Metamizole (35.1%). The dosages of the most important and commonly provided analgesic substances permitted to independent treatment by the paramedics are often below the recommended range for adults (RDE). The majority of medical directors (78.4%) of the emergency services consider the independent application of analgesics by paramedics sensible. The reason for the relatively rare authorization of opioids for use by paramedics is mainly due to legal (in)certainty (53.2%). CONCLUSION: Effective analgesics are available for EMS staff in Germany, the approach to improvement lies in the area of application. For this purpose, the adaptations of the legal framework as well as the creation of a guideline for prehospital analgesia are useful.

Critical Illness at 40: Still a Thorn in the Medical Director's Side.

Critical illness insurance was introduced 40 years ago. Medical directors continue to be challenged and frustrated with the complexities that critical illness claims offer. This article provides insights into the continued issues and possible solutions.

Perspectives of internal medicine residency clinics: A national survey of US medical directors.

Background: Ambulatory training is an integral component of internal medicine residency programs, yet details regarding operational processes in resident continuity clinics remain limited. Methods: We surveyed a convenience sample of medical directors of residency practices between 2015 and 2019 (n = 222) to describe and share operational and scheduling processes in internal medicine resident continuity clinics in the US. Results: Among residency practices, support for the medical director role ranged substantially, but was most commonly reported at 11%-20% full-time-equivalent support. By the end of the survey period, the majority of programs (65.1%) reported obtaining patient-centered medical home (PCMH) certification (level 1-3). For new patient appointments, 34.9% of programs reported a 1-7 day wait and 25.8% reported an 8-14 day wait. Wait times for new appointments were generally shorter for PCMH certified practices (P = 0.029). No-show rates were most commonly 26%-50% for new patients and 11%-25% for established patients. Most programs reported that interns see 3-4 patients per ½-day and senior residents see 5-6 patients per ½-day. Most interns and residents maintain a panel size of 51-120 patients. Discussion: Creating high-performing residency clinics requires a focus on core building blocks and operational processes. Based on the survey results and consensus opinion, we provide five summary recommendations related to (1) support for the medical director leadership role, (2) patient-centered and coordinated models of care, (3) support for patient scheduling, (4) recommended visit lengths, and (5) ancillary support, such as social work.

Transplant administration-A survey of the roles and responsibilities of kidney and pancreas medical directors of US transplant centers.

The current American Society of Transplantation (AST) accredited transplant fellowship programs in the United States provide no structured formal training in leadership and administration which is essential for successfully running a transplant program. We conducted a survey of medical directors of active adult kidney and kidney-pancreas transplant programs in the United States about their demographics, training pathways, and roles and responsibilities. The survey was emailed to 183 medical directors, and 123 (67.2%) completed the survey. A majority of respondents were older than 50 years (61%), males (80%), and holding that position for more than 10 years (47%). Only 51% of current medical directors had taken that position after completing a one-year transplant fellowship, and 58% took on the role with no prior administrative or leadership experience. The medical directors reported spending a median 50%-75% of time in clinical responsibilities, 25%-50% of time in administration, and 0%-25% time in research. The survey also captured various administrative roles of medical directors vis-à-vis other transplant leaders. The study, designed to be the starting point of an improvement initiative of the AST, provided important insight into the demographics, training pathways, roles and responsibilities, job satisfaction, education needs, and training gaps of current medical directors.

Oncology Care Model Headed for Shades of Gray.

Regardless of your politics, the motivation behind a program designed to curtail cancer costs is clear. Cancer epidemiology (the old are disproportionately affected), coupled with 21st century demography (longer life expectancy, aging boomers), means cancer costs are going up.

Managing Cost of Niche Diseases Depends Innovative Approaches.

And health plans can't be caught flat-footed. They need to keep pace with the introduction of new treatments and be ready with strategies that address patient needs and manage costs. Using objective clinical data to guide dosing and working to redirect care to a patient's home is a place to start.

Review: Medical directors - Is there a need for reform?

Medical leadership remains integral to the health system amidst a growing burden of ill health and disease, rising patient expectations and medical and technological advancements. The study objectives were to (a) provide a perspective through a rapid review of medical director roles and responsibilities in public and private hospital settings across several Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Non-Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and (b) provide recommendations on how health system performance could be strengthened. A rapid review of Medical Director job descriptions in public and private hospitals was carried out. Medical Directors are influential leaders in organisational decision-making and quality improvement; however, their role has shifted from clinical oversight to several managerial and leadership roles. We report some variation in their role and responsibilities, in the 'intensity of job requirements' and 'complexity of managing resources' dimensions. The changing expectations of medical directors and the variation in their roles and responsibiliteis may contribute to inefficiencies and misalignment within health systems. There may be a need to pursue reform to assure alignment with health system objectives, albeit reform may require different approaches to meet the needs of different health systems. Further research is needed to explore how reform of medical directors' roles and responsibilities can be quantified to demonstrate improvement within health systems.

Caregiver Challenges Seen From the Perspective of Certified Home Hospice Medical Directors.

Background: Hospice medical directors (HMDs) play an important role as part of the interdisciplinary hospice team. Family caregivers (CGs) play a critical role in caring for patients receiving home hospice care. Understanding the challenges HMDs face when working with CGs is important when addressing potential gaps in care and providing quality end of life (EoL) care for the patient/CG dyad. Objectives: To understand issues HMDs encounter when working with and caring for CGs and to determine how they manage these issues in the home hospice setting. Design: Twelve semistructured phone interviews with certified HMDs were conducted. Data were analyzed using standard qualitative methods. Subjects: Participants included certified HMDs obtained from a public website. Results: Participants' responses regarding the major issues HMDs faced when working with CGs were categorized into 6 themes: (1) assessing CG competency, (2) CG financial burden, (3) physical burden of caregiving, (4) managing CG expectations, (5) CGs denial of patient's terminal condition, and (6) CGs unwilling or unable to engage with providers about their needs or the patient's needs. Conclusions: HMDs confirmed the important role CGs play in providing care to home hospice patients. Challenges faced by HMDs vary from assessing CG competency in providing care to the patient, dealing with the physical and financial toll that CGs face, and addressing CGs' expectations of hospice care. Future studies are needed to explore solutions to these issues to better support CGs in the home setting.

Cultivating Psychological Resilience of Israeli Medical Directors of COVID-19 Divisions: The Dynamic Spheres of Salutogenics.

Purpose: There are a few qualitative studies on the psychological resilience of COVID-19 medical directors upon outbreaks of pandemics. Psychological resilience is essential to providing quality care through the pandemic. Materials and Methods: We conducted narrative interviews with 14 out of 21 medical directors of COVID-19 divisions in Israeli public hospitals upon the outbreak of the pandemic and through its first wave. We adopted the Salutogenic paradigm to identify personal and organizational resources that both deterred and promoted resilience of front-line medical directors. Thematic analysis was performed based on the Sense of coherence construct, an anchor of Salutogenics. Results: Low comprehensibility was compensated by ethical boundaries and managerial experience. A few organizational and personal resources promoted manageability. The hospital management both deterred and promoted resilience. In contrast to Salutogenics theory, meaningfulness was driven by the occupational calling rather than by comprehensibility and manageability. Gaps in personal resources inhibited resilience. Conclusions: Our study adds to the scant qualitative research performed upon the outbreak of the pandemic and extends the Salutogenic paradigm suggesting that the three axes of sense of coherence are multi-layered, intertwined, and evolving. We introduce the dynamic spheres model that we adopted from Physics to illustrate the findings. We propose interventions to build resilience in front-line medical directors.

Implementing a Statewide Prehospital Sepsis Protocol: Perspectives of Emergency Medical Services Medical Directors.

Background Sepsis is a medical emergency that requires prompt recognition and treatment. Multiple Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies across the United States have implemented sepsis protocols. In 2016, Maryland instituted its own state-wide EMS sepsis protocol which includes fluid resuscitation, vasopressor administration, and requires alerting the hospital of an incoming sepsis patient. Objective The purpose of this study was to quantify the perspectives of EMS medical directors in Maryland regarding prehospital sepsis care and to identify challenges encountered during the implementation of the statewide sepsis protocol. Methods A 17-question survey was sent to all 24 jurisdictional medical directors in the state of Maryland. Results A total of 14 (58%) medical directors responded, representing four of the five EMS regions in the state. More than half (57%) stated sepsis alerting was a priority in their jurisdiction; however, in a listing of eight initiatives, sepsis was the least prioritized. Most (64%) respondents believed their clinicians had adequate training on sepsis. A majority (79%) of medical directors surveyed felt that core measures of sepsis management would be beneficial. The potentially most helpful core measures were the volume of IV fluid administration (92%), true positive sepsis alerts (83%), and cases of failure to activate a sepsis alert (75%). Engagement of field personnel was rated as the biggest challenge for the implementation of a sepsis protocol in general, and lack of a thermometer on EMS units (50%) was the largest hurdle specifically in the 2016 statewide sepsis protocol. Surveyed medical directors (86%) believe the most difficult obstacle to overcome for EMS clinicians in the treatment of sepsis are nonspecific signs and symptoms. Conclusions Prehospital sepsis care was viewed to be important amongst the medical directors surveyed. However, significant challenges to implementation of a sepsis protocol and delivery of prehospital sepsis care are perceived by jurisdictional medical directors. Additional investment and dedication to sepsis care will advance prehospital sepsis treatment in Maryland.

A Call for Leadership and Management Competency Development for Directors of Medical Services-Evidence from the Chinese Public Hospital System.

Background: A competent medical leadership and management workforce is key to the effectiveness and efficiency of health service provision and to leading and managing the health system reform agenda in China. However, the traditional recruitment and promotion approach of relying on clinical performance and seniority provides limited incentive for competency development and improvement. Methods: A three-component survey including the use of a validated management competency assessment tool was conducted with Directors of Medical Services (n = 143) and Deputy Directors of Medical Services (n = 152) from three categories of hospital in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Results: The survey identified the inadequacy of formal and informal management training received by hospital medical leaders before commencing their management positions and confirms that the low self-perceived competency level across two medical management level and three hospitals was beyond acceptable. The study also indicates that the informal and formal education provided to Chinese medical leaders have not been effective in developing the required management competencies. Conclusions: The study suggests two system level approaches (health and higher education systems) and one organization level approach to formulate overall medical leadership and management workforce development strategies to encourages continuous management competency development and self-improvement among clinical leaders in China.

[Trendsetting Ideas of the Children's Hospital "Kinderklinik Glanzing" Since 1915]. / Richtungsweisende Ideen der "Kinderklinik Glanzing" seit 1915: Quo vadis Kinderheilkunde.

Since its foundation in 1915, the Children's Hospital Glanzing has had many innovative medical directors, whose careers and scientific activities are described here in chronological order. Leopold Moll established substantial socio-pediatric initiatives such as "Kriegspatenschaften" ("war sponsorship organizations") and vacations for poor children, as well as counseling centers for mothers in Vienna. August Reuss founded baby care wards and pediatrics departments. He established his own training for pediatricians. Alfred Rosenkranz established in 1974 the first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Austria.In 1992, Andreas Lischka successfully introduced quality management (QM) to the Children's Hospital Glanzing, one of the first hospitals in Europe, involving all hospital staff. The Children's Hospital Glanzing was the second European center to participate in the Vermont Oxford Neonatal Network (VONN) for the quality assurance of neonatal care. In 2000 in Wilhelminen Hospital, the first "baby hatch" was established for the anonymous abandonment of newborns without legal prosecution in order to give these unwanted babies a chance of survival (in addition to the possibility of an anonymous birth).Since 1999, music therapy has been offered at the neonatal intensive care unit in cooperation with the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna (mdw).Publications on the toxicity of the plasticizer diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) in polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-containing medical products constituted the opportunity to establish a PVC-free neonatal intensive care unit. Promotion of breast-feeding especially for premature born babies has always been a particular concern of the Children's Hospital Glanzing. Pollution with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins, and furan in breast milk cannot be avoided; only a legal ban would lead to a reduction in these pollutants.To reduce the fear of hospitals in children, in 1994 the Children's Hospital Glanzing established a yearly summer children's festival before the end of the school term, with more than 2,500 parents and children attending in 2007. Great importance was attached to the comprehensive education of prospective pediatricians in all areas of our specialty, which could be taught by rotation in our own department with many focal points.The current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic indicates the great importance not only of intensive care beds but also the training of sufficient medical and supporting staff.

Variability in pelvic packing practices for hemodynamically unstable pelvic fractures at US level 1 trauma centers.

BACKGROUND: Mortality from hemodynamically unstable pelvic fractures remains high. Guidelines offer varying care approaches including the use of pelvic packing (PP), which was recently adopted for potential control of bleeding for this condition. However, the implementation of PP is uncertain as the debate on the optimal resuscitation strategy, angioembolization or PP continues. The study was designed to assess current practices among level 1 trauma centers in the US in regard to PP treatment for hemodynamically unstable pelvic fractures. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was created to assess when to apply PP, application approach, and the respondent's anecdotal perception on safety and effectiveness. Trauma Medical Directors at 158 US level 1 trauma centers were sent biweekly email invitations for 3 months. Participants were allowed to skip questions for any reason. The study hypothesis was that PP practices vary by US census bureau region, annual trauma admissions, and length of time in years since each trauma center received their respective level 1 trauma center designation. RESULTS: Twenty-five percent (40/158) of trauma medical directors participated and 75% (118/158) of the trauma medical directors did not participate. Of those who took the survey, 36/40 (90%) completed the survey and 4/40 (10%) partially completed the survey. Only 36 trauma medical directors responded on their perception of safety and effectiveness; 72% (26/36) of participants perceived PP as safe, whereas only a third (12/36) of participants perceived PP as effective. There were 25 trauma medical directors who provided the sequence of treatment modalities utilized at their level 1 trauma center, 76% (19/25) of participants reported that PP is utilized as the third or fourth priority. None of the participating level 1 trauma centers reported a preference towards utilization of PP as the first priority treatment. Half of the participants reported a preference towards applying PP only as a last resort to control hemorrhage. Northeastern and Western level 1 trauma centers were significantly more likely than Midwestern and Southern level 1 trauma centers to have reported application of PP to all hemodynamically unstable patients (p = 0.05). Midwestern, Southern, and Western level 1 trauma centers were significantly more likely to have perceived PP as safe than Northeastern level 1 trauma centers (p = 0.04). All low-volume and 38% high-volume level 1 trauma centers perceived PP to increase infection risks, (p = 0.03). We observed no association between the length of time each trauma center was designated a level 1 trauma center, and all participant responses. CONCLUSION: Controversy and varying anecdotal perception regarding safety and effectiveness of PP prevails among trauma medical directors at level 1 trauma centers in the US.

A Latino Patient-Centered, Evidence-Based Approach to Diabetes Prevention.

INTRODUCTION: Cultural tailoring of evidence-based diabetes prevention program (DPP) interventions is needed to effectively address obesity and its related chronic diseases among Latinos in primary care. This article describes the patient-centered process used to adapt the DPP and reports cultural adaptations. METHODS: We used a 2-stage formative research process to culturally adapt an evidence-based DPP intervention in the context of primary care. The first stage involved 5 focus groups of Latino patients and interviews with 5 stakeholders (3 with primary care physicians and 2 with medical directors) to inform a first round of adaptations. The second stage included pretesting the stage I-adapted intervention with a Latino patient advisory board to complete a second round of adaptations. RESULTS: Key stakeholders involved in this 2-stage adaptation process included 34 Latino patients who participated in 5 focus groups and 5 physicians and medical directors who participated in key informant interviews during stage I and 11 patients who attended the 16 advisory board meetings and their family members who attended 1 of the meetings during stage II. Using this patient-centered stakeholder-engaged approach, we found the original intervention was largely congruent with the cultural values of the study population. To further strengthen the cultural relevance of the intervention, salient cultural values emphasized by patients and stakeholders underscored the importance of family and community support for behavior change. Accordingly, key adaptations were made to (1) invite family members to the orientation session and at 2 other key timepoints to facilitate family support, (2) provide participants support from the coach and each other via smartphone applications, and (3) provide healthy, easy, low-cost culturally appropriate meals at each group session. CONCLUSIONS: The 2-stage approach actively engaging patients, family members, providers, and health care system leaders reinforced the cultural congruence of the existing intervention while further strengthening it with adaptations promoting Latino family and community support.

[Transparency and replicability of nursing intervention studies in long-term care: A selective literature review]. / Transparenz und Replizierbarkeit pflegerischer Interventionsstudien im Setting der stationären Langzeitpflege: Eine selektive Literaturübersicht.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The development and evaluation of interventions in long-term care is time-consuming and expensive due to their complexity. To ensure reproducibility and successful implementation, these interventions must be described and published in a comprehensible and qualitative manner. The aim of this study is to analyze intervention studies from the inpatient long-term care setting with regard to their completeness, reporting quality, transparency and thus reproducibility. METHOD: The completeness and the reporting quality of the interventions described in the publications were examined in the context of a selective literature review by means of intervention studies from the long-term care setting (n=22). To this end, the Template for Intervention Description and Replication (TIDieR) checklist and the Criteria for Reporting the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions in Healthcare 2 (CReDECI2-DE) list were used. Transparency criteria included study registration and access to study protocols. RESULTS: The TIDieR checklist examination revealed that only three studies contained all the information necessary; the CReDECI2 test provided a complete description for only one study. Frequent shortcomings were observed concerning the information on modifications and titrations for the study participants and the location. Protocols were available for eight studies, 14 studies were registered. CONCLUSIONS: In terms of science, this means that the reproducibility of scientific findings is limited, which is why they cannot provide secure knowledge. As a result, the practical benefit to be derived from published studies that are accessible to decision-makers is limited as well. As far as publishers are concerned they should pay more attention to the completeness, registration and availability of materials.

Physician associates in England's hospitals: a survey of medical directors exploring current usage and factors affecting recruitment.

In the UK secondary care setting, the case for physician associates is based on the cover and stability they might offer to medical teams. We assessed the extent of their adoption and deployment - that is, their current usage and the factors supporting or inhibiting their inclusion in medical teams - using an electronic, self-report survey of medical directors of acute and mental health NHS trusts in England. Physician associates - employed in small numbers, in a range of specialties, in 20 of the responding trusts - were reported to have been employed to fill gaps in medical staffing and support medical specialty trainees. Inhibiting factors were commonly a shortage of physician associates to recruit and lack of authority to prescribe, as well as a lack of evidence and colleague resistance. Our data suggest there is an appetite for employment of physician associates while practical and attitudinal barriers are yet to be fully overcome.

El «estanco terapéutico» de la hidroterapia y los límites de la autoridad en el Cuerpo de médicosdirectores de baños, 1866-1869 / The «therapeutic watertight» of hydrotherapy and the limits of authority in the Corps of medical directors of baths, 1866-1869

Desde la creación del cuerpo de médicos-directores de baños a comienzos del siglo XIX, dicho colectivo profesional vivió numerosos conflictos internos y externos en los que se puso en cuestión su autoridad científica y moral como expertos en la gestión de la hidrote-rapia. Aunque los médicos-directores estaban dotados de un papel importante en la gestión de baños y aguas públicas a raíz de las regulaciones existentes, otros actores también pugnaron por ese poder. Este artículo analiza los conflictos que existieron entre médicos-directores de baños y los médicos libres, que defendían tener el mismo acceso al monopolio clínico que los primeros. Tomando como punto de partida un debate que tuvo lugar entre 1866 y 1868, el artículo analiza los diferentes mecanismos legales y discursivos que existían para generar y criticar la autoridad de cada grupo. En una época en la que se estaban determinando los límites de las profesiones científicas y las políticas liberales y de intervención del Estado, el caso de los médicos-directores de baños nos permite analizar los procesos de negociación y legitimación de estatus dentro de una ocupación aún no estabilizada como profesión (AU)

The Roles and Functions of Medical Directors in Nursing Homes.

The medical director is an important member of the healthcare team in a nursing home, and is responsible for overall coordination of care and for implementation of policies related to care of the residents in a nursing home. The residents in nursing homes are frail, medically complex, and have multiple disabilities. The medical director has an important leadership role in assisting nursing home administration in providing quality care that is consistent with current standards of care. This article provides an overview of roles and functions of the medical director, and suggests ways the medical director can be instrumental in achieving excellent care in today's nursing facilities.