Bmc Fam Pract
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The widely used patient enablement instrument (PEI) is sometimes contrasted against measures of patient satisfaction as being a more objective measure of consultation quality, in that it is less likely to be positively influenced by fulfilling pre-existing expectations for specific consultation outcomes (such as prescriptions or referrals). However the relationship between expectation and enablement is underexplored, as is the relationship between 'expectation' understood as a patient preference for outcome, and patient prediction of outcome. The aims of the study are to 1) assess the feasibility of measuring the relationship between expectation fulfilment and patient enablement, and 2) measure the difference (if any) between expectation understood as preference, and expectation understood as prediction. ⋯ The relationship between expectation fulfilment and enablement remains uncertain, whether expectation is measured as stated preferences for specific outcomes, or the predictions made regarding receiving such outcomes. However the lack of agreement between these two senses of 'patient expectation' suggests that explicitly demarcating these concepts during study design is strongly advisable.
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The need to understand barriers to the implementation of health care innovations in daily practice has been widely documented, but perceived facilitators and barriers in diabetes care by Dutch health care professionals remain unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate these factors among health care professionals (HCPs) using a qualitative research design. ⋯ Organizational changes in diabetes care, as a result of the increased attention given to management continuity of care, have led to an increased need for multidisciplinary collaboration within and between health care sectors (e.g. public health, primary care and secondary care). To date, daily routines for shared care are still sub-optimal and improvements in facilities, such as registration systems, should be implemented to further optimize communication and exchange of information.
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A growing proportion of people are living with long term conditions. The majority have more than one. Dealing with multi-morbidity is a complex problem for health systems: for those designing and implementing healthcare as well as for those providing the evidence informing practice. Yet the concept of multi-morbidity (the presence of >2 diseases) is a product of the design of health care systems which define health care need on the basis of disease status. So does the solution lie in an alternative model of healthcare? ⋯ Answers to the complex problem of multi-morbidity won't come from doing more of the same. We need to change systems of care, and so the systems for generating evidence to support that care. This paper contributes to that work through outlining a process for generating practice-based evidence of generalist solutions to the complex problem of person-centred care for people with multi-morbidity.
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Family health history (FHH) is the single strongest predictor of disease risk and yet is significantly underutilized in primary care. We developed a patient facing FHH collection tool, MeTree, that uses risk stratification to generate clinical decision support for breast cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, hereditary cancer syndromes, and thrombosis. Here we present data on the experience of patients and providers after integration of MeTree into 2 primary care practices. ⋯ Our study shows that MeTree has broad acceptance and support from both patients and providers and can be implemented without disruption to workflow.
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Chronic disease risk on a population level can be quantified through health surveys, either continuous or periodic. To date, information gathered from primary care interactions, using sentinel sites, has not been investigated as a potentially valuable surveillance system in Australia. ⋯ This pilot study has demonstrated that the scope of data collected by patient visits to their General Practitioners, facilitated through the Medicare-funded primary health care system in Australia, offers a feasible opportunity for monitoring of chronic disease prevalence and its associated risk factors. The inclusion of a larger number of sentinel sites that are generalizable to the population being served would provide an accurate and region-specific system for the purposes of population health planning at the primary care level in order to improve the overall health of the community.