Bmc Health Serv Res
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Mar 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialImpact of telemonitoring home care patients with heart failure or chronic lung disease from primary care on healthcare resource use (the TELBIL study randomised controlled trial).
There is growing evidence that home telemonitoring can be advantageous in societies with increasing prevalence of chronic diseases.The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of a primary care-based telemonitoring intervention on the number and length of hospital admissions. ⋯ This study shows that telemonitoring of in-home patients with HF and/or CLD notably increases the percentage of patients with no hospital admissions and indicates a trend to reduce total and cause-specific hospitalisations and hospital stay. Home telemonitoring can constitute a beneficial alternative mode of healthcare provision for medically unstable elderly patients.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialText-messaging versus telephone reminders to reduce missed appointments in an academic primary care clinic: a randomized controlled trial.
Telephone or text-message reminders have been shown to significantly reduce the rate of missed appointments in different medical settings. Since text-messaging is less resource-demanding, we tested the hypothesis that text-message reminders would be as effective as telephone reminders in an academic primary care clinic. ⋯ Text-message reminders are equivalent to telephone reminders in reducing the proportion of missed appointments in an academic primary care clinic and are more cost-effective. Both types of reminders are well accepted by patients.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyA multicentre, double-blind, randomised, controlled, parallel-group study of the effectiveness of a pharmacist-acquired medication history in an emergency department.
Admission to an emergency department (ED) is a key vulnerable moment when patients are at increased risk of medication discrepancies and medication histories are an effective way of ensuring that fewer errors are made. This study measured whether a pharmacist-acquired medication history in an ED focusing on a patient's current home medication regimen, and available to be used by a doctor when consulting in the ED, would reduce the number of patients having at least 1 medication discrepancy related to home medication. ⋯ A pharmacist-acquired medication history in an ED focusing on a patient's current home medication regimen available to be used by a doctor at the time of consulting in the ED reduced the number of patients having at least 1 home medication-related discrepancy.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialIntervention to prevent further falls in older people who call an ambulance as a result of a fall: a protocol for the iPREFER randomised controlled trial.
An increasing number of falls result in an emergency call and the subsequent dispatch of paramedics. In the absence of physical injury, abnormal physiological parameters or change in usual functional status, it could be argued that routine conveyance by ambulance to the Emergency Department (ED) is not the most effective or efficient use of resources. Further, it is likely that non-conveyed older fallers have the potential to benefit from timely access to fall risk assessment and intervention. The aim of this randomised controlled trial is to evaluate the effect of a timely and tailored falls assessment and management intervention on the number of subsequent falls and fall-related injuries for non-conveyed older fallers. ⋯ As there is currently little evidence regarding the effectiveness or feasibility of alternate models of care following ambulance non-conveyance of older fallers, there is a need to explore assessment and intervention programs to help reduce subsequent falls, related injuries and subsequent use of health care services. By linking existing services rather than setting up new services, this pragmatic trial aims to utilise the health care system in an efficient and timely manner.
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Bmc Health Serv Res · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyShared decision making for patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized trial in primary care.
Patient-centered diabetes care requires shared decision making (SDM). Decision aids promote SDM, but their efficacy in nonacademic and rural primary care clinics is unclear. ⋯ DAs improved decisional outcomes without significant effect on clinical outcomes. DAs designed for point-of-care use with type 2 diabetes patients promoted shared decision making in nonacademic and rural primary care practices.