Journal of evaluation in clinical practice
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Doctor shopping, double doctoring, and overlapping prescriptions are often used as synonyms for multiple physician appointments in the same disease episode. Such behaviours translate into poor patient satisfaction and patient-doctor communication as well as abuse or misuse of drugs, increasing health care costs and resulting in negative health consequences. This systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify factors that drive doctor-shopping behaviour in children's caregivers. ⋯ The knowledge about doctor shopping by children's caregivers is limited, despite that this is a frequent behaviour. There is a need for further research covering a broader range of diseases. The causes and consequences of doctor shopping should be sought as well to investigate its relation to health care regulations and possibility to reduce unnecessary medical resource utilization.
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The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 has overpowered the most advanced health systems worldwide with thousands of daily deaths. The current study conducted a situation analysis on the pandemic preparedness of Bangladesh and provided recommendations on the transition to the new reality and gradual restoration of normalcy. ⋯ Implementation of response protocols addressing the needs of the community and the stakeholders from the central level is urgently needed. The development of mechanisms for dynamic decision-making based on regular feedback and long-term planning for a smooth transition between the new reality and normalcy should also be urgently addressed in Bangladesh.
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To evaluate measurement invariance of the Individualized Care Scale (ICS) across patients and nurses, and assess the degree of congruence in nurses' and patients' perceptions on patient-centredness and the impact of an intervention there on. ⋯ There is a significant gap between the perceptions of nurses and patients regarding the support and provision of individual care: nurses consider provided care as more individualized than patients do. To orient nurses' perspectives more towards their patients' perspective, multicomponent interventions are needed. Researchers and hospital managers may use the ICS to evaluate interventions that have the ability to close the gap in nurses' and patients' perceptions of patient-centredness. Embedding experts by experience in the professionals' team has the potential to foster patient-centredness but needs to focus on patients and nurses equally.
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There was no evidence concerning the prophylaxis with hydroxychloroquine, and only low-grade evidence regarding the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 patients. We performed a survey among Romanian physicians in order to see how many of them would administer prophylactically hydroxychloroquine to themselves or to people close to them, and if they would participate to a randomized controlled trial. ⋯ Despite the lack of evidence, many physicians considered the evidence as existing, and were ready to take or to give hydroxychloroquine prophylactically to family. They considered an RCT necessary, but they were not willing to participate.
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A group of organizations and individuals in the Netherlands collaborated to attempt to improve access to health care and health education for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) patients in the country. The outcome was the start of a specialized outpatient clinic named PoliDOSH. An independent research group was set up to evaluate the effect of this specialized clinic. Even though the initiative did not succeed and was closed after 2 years, an extensive analysis of the start-up and functioning of the whole process was made. ⋯ There is a great need for facilities to collect and disseminate information to and about DHH patients. The information should be aimed at providing psycho-education for the DHH persons themselves and health care professionals, concerning the specific needs and problems of this patient group. If a similar facility is set up in the future, thorough market research prior to start up is needed to enable the facility to connect with the needs of patients. The start-up period should allow sufficient time for the project to become known and for patients to become familiar with it and trust it.