BACKGROUND: In comparison to the general population, prison inmates are at a higher risk for drug abuse and psychiatric, as well as infectious, diseases. Although intramural health care has to be equivalent to extramural services, prison inmates have less access to primary and secondary care. Furthermore, not every prison is constantly staffed with a physician. Since transportation to the nearest extramural medical facility is often resource-intensive, video consultations may offer cost-effective health care for prison inmates.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to quantify the need for referrals to secondary care services and hospital admissions when video consultations with family physicians and psychiatrists are offered in prison.
METHODS: In 5 German prisons, a mixed methods evaluation study was conducted to assess feasibility, acceptance, and reasons for conducting video consultations with family physicians and psychiatrists. This analysis uses quantitative data from these consultations (June 2018 to February 2019) in addition to data from a sixth prison added in January 2019 focusing on referral and admission rates, as well as reasons for encounters.
RESULTS: At the initiation of the project, 2499 prisoners were detained in the 6 prisons. A total of 435 video consultations were conducted by 12 physicians (3 female and 7 male family physicians, and 2 male psychiatrists during the study period). The majority were scheduled consultations (341/435, 78%). In 68% (n=294) of all encounters, the patient was asked to consult a physician again if symptoms persisted or got worse. In 26% (n=115), a follow-up appointment with either the video consultant or prison physician was scheduled. A referral to other specialties, most often psychiatry, was necessary in 4% (n=17) of the cases. Only in 2% (n=8) of the consultations, a hospital admission was needed. Usually, hospital admissions were the result of unscheduled consultations, and the videoconferencing system was the method of communication in 88% (n=7) of these cases, while 12% (n=1) were carried out over the phone. Reasons for admissions were severe abdominal pain, hypotension, unstable angina or suspected myocardial infarction, or a suspected schizophrenic episode.
CONCLUSIONS: Most scheduled and unscheduled consultations did not require subsequent patient transport to external health care providers. Using telemedicine services allowed a prompt patient-physician encounter with the possibility to refer patients to other specialties or to admit them to a hospital if necessary.

UNASSIGNED: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we evaluated the short-term impact of COVID-19 on antibiotic use in primary care in England, focusing on both its quantity (overuse) and quality (misuse).
UNASSIGNED: A population-based segmented interrupted analysis was applied on monthly dispensed antibiotics prescriptions using prescription cost analysis (March/2019-March/2023). Quantity was assessed using number of items dispensed per 1000 inhabitants (NTI) and defined daily doses per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID), while quality was evaluated using WHO\'s Access Watch Reserve (AWaRe) classification, the proportion of \'4C\' antibiotics, and percentage of broad- to narrow-spectrum antibiotics.
UNASSIGNED: Findings indicate 8.6 (17.2%) and 0.4 (2.6%) increase in the NTI and DID, respectively, with a statistically significant uptick in trend noted after the second lockdown (β5) for \'total antibiotics\' for NTI only (β5 = 1.6; 95%CI:0.17, 3.1). Quality assessment showed an increase in \'Access\' antibiotics from 77% in March/2019 to 86% in March/2023; however, COVID-19 had no significant impact on WHO AWaRe classes.
UNASSIGNED: COVID-19\'s impact on antibiotic use quality and quantity appeared to be minimal, though an increase in utilization post-second lockdown coincided with healthcare system recovery. This suggests a nuanced impact of the pandemic, highlighting the importance of continued antimicrobial stewardship.

暂无摘要。

UNASSIGNED: Patients with heart failure (HF) are a medically complex population with frequent hospitalizations. Downstream health care utilization following primary care delivered by telemedicine compared to in-person is unknown.
UNASSIGNED: The purpose of this study was to understand differences in return in-person visits, emergency department (ED) encounters, and hospitalizations following a telemedicine vs an in-person primary care visit for patients with HF seen for a HF-related complaint.
UNASSIGNED: This was an observational study of all primary care visits for HF from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, in an integrated health care delivery system. We compared 7-day in-person follow-up visits, ED visits, and hospitalizations (all-cause and HF-specific) by index visit type.
UNASSIGNED: We included 3,902 primary care visits with a primary diagnosis of HF. Most visits utilized telephone or video visits (58.4% total; 44.9% telephone, 13.5% video). After adjustment, telephone visits were associated with more in-person follow-up visits (6.14% vs 4.20%; adjusted OR: 1.08-2.21; P < 0.05) but fewer ED visits (6.12% vs 8.07%; adjusted OR: 0.55-0.97; P < 0.05) compared to in-person visits. Most hospitalized patients (74%) had an admitting diagnosis of HF. There was no difference between 7-day all-cause hospitalization following telephone or video visits compared to in-person visits.
UNASSIGNED: Most patients used telemedicine to address HF-specific primary care concerns. Telephone visits were associated with slightly higher short-term in-person primary care follow-up but lower ED utilization. Overall, downstream ED visits and hospitalizations were low. Telephone and video visits appear to offer safe alternatives to in-person care for HF-related primary care and are a promising health care delivery strategy.

In 2009, China initiated a new round of health reform to establish a well-functioning health system. The 2009 health reform did make some significant achievements in improving affordability and accessibility. In particular, social health insurance has been expanded significantly and various social health insurance plans have covered over 95% of total population in China by 2011. The Chinese government also has significantly increased fiscal input for health financing. However, affordability remains a serious concern as the social health insurers, as purchasers, were not very effective in containing the growth of health expenditure. Accessibility to primary care and public health is another concern. In this context, health governance reforms are necessary to address affordability and accessibility issues. Health governance set rules for key actors of the health system (including service providers, health insurers and government departments) by taking into account the strategies and incentives of these actors in their interactions. In recent years, a series of reforms in health governance have been initiated. Some progresses have been achieved. For the next stage of health reform, issues including how to further reform the governance structure of medical institutions and how to improve resource allocation in the health system are critical.

Changes in chronic noncancer pain treatment have led to decreases in prescribing of opioids and increases in the availability of medical cannabis, despite its federal prohibition. Patients may face barriers to establishing new care with a physician based on use of these treatments. We compared physician willingness to accept patients based on prescription opioid, cannabis, or other pain treatment use. This study of 36 states and Washington, DC, with active medical cannabis programs surveyed physicians who treat patients with chronic noncancer pain between July 13 and August 4, 2023. Of 1000 physician respondents (34.5% female, 63.2% White, 78.1% primary care), 852 reported accepting new patients with chronic pain. Among those accepting new patients with chronic pain, more physicians reported that they would not accept new patients taking prescription opioids (20.0%) or cannabis (12.7%) than those taking nonopioid prescription analgesics (0.1%). In contrast, 68.1% reported willingness to accept new patients using prescribed opioids on a daily basis. For cannabis, physicians were more likely to accept new patients accessing cannabis through medical programs (81.6%) than from other sources (60.2%). Access to care for persons with chronic noncancer pain appears to be the most restricted among those taking prescription opioids, although patients taking cannabis may also encounter reduced access.

BACKGROUND: The unprecedented increase in telehealth use due to COVID-19 has changed general practitioners\' (GP) and patients\' engagement in healthcare. There is limited specific advice for effective communication when using telehealth. Examining telehealth use in practice in conjunction with perspectives on telehealth as they relate to communication allows opportunities to produce evidence-based guidance for optimal use of telehealth, while also offering practitioners the opportunity to reflect on elements of their communicative practice common to both styles of consultation. The objective of this research was to develop evidence-based resources to support effective, person-centred communication when GPs and patients use telehealth. This included examination of interactional practices of recorded telehealth consultations, exploration of GP and patient perspectives relating to telehealth, and identifying priorities for guidance informed by these analyses as well as participant co-design.
METHODS: This study involved recording telehealth consultations (n = 42), conducting patient surveys (n = 153), and interviewing patients (n = 9) and GPs (n = 15). These were examined using interaction analytic methods, quantitative analysis, and thematic analyses, to create a robust, integrated picture of telehealth practice and perspectives. The process of research translation involved a co-design approach, engaging with providers, patients, and policy makers to facilitate development of evidence-based principles that focus on supporting effective communication when using telehealth.
RESULTS: Three key themes relating to communication in telehealth were identified across the different analyses. These were relationship building, conversational flow, and safety netting. The draft best practice principles drawn from these themes were modified based on co-design feedback into five Best Practice Principles for Communication between GPs and Patients using Telehealth.
CONCLUSIONS: Effective communication is supported through relationship building and attention to conversational flow in telehealth consultations, which in turn allows for safety netting to occur. In telehealth, GPs and patients recognise that not being co-present changes the consultation and use both intuitive and strategic interactional adjustments to support their exchange. The mixed-method examination of experiences through both a detailed analysis of telehealth consultations in practice and comparative exploration of GP and patient perspectives enabled the identification of principles that can support effective communication when using telehealth. Co-design helped ensure these principles are ready for implementation into practice.

BACKGROUND: General practitioners (GPs) have a central role to play on reduction of polypharmacy and deprescribing. This study aimed to assess beliefs and attitudes towards deprescribing in patients, aged 65 years or older in primary care, and to identify factors associated with deprescribing and their willingness to stop medication.
METHODS: A questionnaire study was performed between 23 May and 29 July 2022 on patients aged 65 years or older attending a GP\'s surgery in a French area. We used the French version of the revised Patients\' Attitudes Towards Deprescribing self-report questionnaire (rPATD), which measures four subscales (\"Burden\", \"Appropriateness\", \"Concerns about stopping\" and, \"Involvement\"), patients\' willingness to stop one of their regular medicines, and patients\' satisfaction with their current medicines.
RESULTS: The study enrolled 200 patients. Median age was 76 years old (IQR 71-81), 55% were women, and 42.5% took 5 or more medications per day. Although most patients (92.5%) were satisfied with their current medicines, 35% were reluctant to stop medications they had been taking for a long time, and 89.5% were willing to stop medication if asked to by their GP. Patients aged less than 75 years old reported more concerns about stopping. Women and patients with higher educational attainment showed significantly higher involvement in medication management.
CONCLUSIONS: The majority of older adults were willing to stop one or more of their regular medicines if asked to do so by their GP. GPs should address deprescribing into their current practice.

BACKGROUND: The available data on anticoagulation therapy in real-world primary care settings for atrial fibrillation (AF) patients at high risk of stroke is limited.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate anticoagulation therapy and elucidate the factors associated with the selection between direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) and warfarin.
METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study that included patients ≥ 18 years old at a large primary care outpatient group, a network of twenty clinics in the northeast United States between January 4, 2021 - January 4, 2023.
METHODS: Oral anticoagulation therapy in AF patients with high risk of stroke (CHA2DS2-VASc score of ≥ 2 in men or ≥ 3 in women).
RESULTS: Among the 3,118 adult patients with AF and high risk of stroke (median age 77.90, IQR 71.66-84.50 years; male 57.6%), we found that older age (aOR 1.40, p = 0.003), greater BMI (25-29.9: aOR 1.32, p = 0.048; ≥ 30 aOR 1.42, p = 0.010), and taking more than five medications (aOR 2.28, p < 0.001) were more likely to be on an oral anticoagulant. Among those taking an OAC, having Medicare as the sole coverage (aOR 0.53, p = 0.032), male gender (aOR 0.69, p = 0.011), worse renal function (aOR 0.80, p = 0.021), and higher CHA2DS2-VASc score (aOR 0.88, p = 0.024) are more likely to be on warfarin than a DOAC. Patients taking more than five medications daily (6-10 medications: aOR 1.92, p = 0.013; ≥ 16: aOR = 2.10, p = 0.006) were more likely to be on an anticoagulant and may receive a DOAC over warfarin.
CONCLUSIONS: AF with high stroke risk adult patients are more likely to be on an oral anticoagulant if they are older, having BMI ≥ 25, or taking more than five medications. Medicare as the sole coverage, male gender, worse renal function, and higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores are factors associated with greater warfarin usage, while patients taking over five daily medications are more likely to be prescribed DOACs.

BACKGROUND: Research activity usually improves outcomes by being translated into practice. However, there is developing evidence that research activity itself may improve the overall performance of health care organisations. However, evidence that these relationships represent a causal impact of research activity is less clear. Additionally, the bulk of the existing evidence relates to hospital settings, and it is not known if those relationships would also be found in general practice, where most patient contacts occur.
OBJECTIVE: We sought to (a) test whether there were significant relationships between research activity in general practice and organisational performance (b) test whether those relationships were plausibly causal.
METHODS: We analysed national data between 2008 and 2019 using cross sectional and longitudinal analyses, on general practices in England.
METHODS: We used cross-sectional, panel and instrumental variable analyses to explore relationships between research activity (including measures from the NIHR Clinical Research Network and the Royal College of General Practitioners) and practice performance (including clinical quality of care, patient reported experience of care, prescribing quality and hospital admissions) Results: In cross-sectional analyses, research activity was positively associated with several measures of practice performance, including clinical quality of care, patient reported experience of care, and reduced hospital admissions. The associations were generally modest in magnitude. However, longitudinal analyses did not support a reliable causal relationship.
CONCLUSIONS: Similar to findings from hospital settings, research activity in general practice is associated with practice performance. There is less evidence that research is causing those improvements, although this may reflect the limited level of research activity in most practices. We identified no negative impacts, suggesting that research activity is a potential marker of quality and something that high quality practices can deliver alongside their core responsibilities.