Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de santé de la Méditerranée orientale = al-Majallah al-ṣiḥḥīyah li-sharq al-mutawassiṭ
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East. Mediterr. Health J. · Nov 2009
ReviewCriteria for a good referral system for psychiatric patients: the view from Saudi Arabia.
The development and implementation of quality referral systems reflects sound national health planning. This review appraised the data on referral systems, in particular psychiatric referrals, with special reference to Saudi Arabia. ⋯ The rate and process of referring patients through referral letters varies globally across practice settings and is initiated by an array of factors linked with health consumers, health providers and delivery systems. Referral systems, including consultation-liaison services, are an essential component of any health care organization for offering a complete range of good quality, specialized health services.
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East. Mediterr. Health J. · Nov 2009
Comparative StudyComparison of the effectiveness of 2 treatment regimens in patients with isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis.
We compared the effectiveness of 2 treatment regimens for isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in 42 patients attending a TB referral centre in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The patients were divided into 2 treatment groups: 26 received the 6-month standard HRZE treatment and 16 received a modified treatment of RZE for 6 months. ⋯ With the standard method of treatment, 21 (80.8%) patients were cured, 4 (15.4%) resulted in treatment failure, and 1 (3.8%) died. In the modified treatment group, 16 (100%) patients were cured, These differences were not statistically significantly different (P = 0.194).
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East. Mediterr. Health J. · Sep 2009
Enhancing nurses' knowledge and awareness about risk management: system design.
Risk management is a process that identifies, analyses and treats potential hazards in a hospital. This study in Egypt aimed to enhance nurses' knowledge and awareness about risk management. ⋯ A nursing risk management system was designed and a jury group of 30 nursing leaders and 30 physicians validated the system. Implementation of the system through training sessions to raise awareness led to statistically significant improvements in nurses' knowledge, which persisted at follow-up.
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East. Mediterr. Health J. · Jul 2009
Relationship of pharmacist interaction with patient knowledge of dispensed drugs and patient satisfaction.
A prospective survey of pharmacists' tasks and patients' knowledge and satisfaction was conducted in 35 randomly selected community pharmacies in Tabriz, Islamic Republic of Iran. The total pharmacist interaction received a mean score of 3.05 out of 5. Providing written directions for use attained the highest score of 0.98 out of 1. ⋯ There was a close correlation between patients' knowledge of dispensed drugs and pharmacist interaction (r = 0.95). Mean total prescription filling time was 7.6 min, but only 1.4 min was spent on pharmacist-patient counselling. The interaction between pharmacist and patient increases patients' knowledge about dispensed medicines and their satisfaction with the pharmacist's activities.