Med Klin
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Comparative Study
["Medical Emergency Services as Seen by Consumers". Health services research by CATI survey of the community].
In the Wesel district (North Rhine-Westphalia), emergency ambulances have been called out with increasing frequency and hospitals report that their emergency departments (ED) are more and more being used outside consultation hours of panel doctors. Therefore, the district health conference put this issue on its agenda. ⋯ A) The tiered medical emergency system should be used adequately; this aim could be attained by (1) information of the public about the "24-h" on-call service of panel doctors; information about the fact that the majority of medical conditions can be treated by panel doctors and that in severe cases a professional and quick referral will be done; information about the fact that self-referral to hospitals may reduce or even obstruct professional resources for the treatment of "real" emergency patients. Target groups are men, younger age groups and people with a higher level of education. (2) information of target groups (elderly people) about the emergency call number 112. (3) information of the public about the national phone number 19222 for patient transports. B) Structural measures such as (1) specific on-call services, (2) improvement of the transparency and reach-ability of panel doctors' on-call services.
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Comparative Study
[Cardiac structure and function in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and co-prevalent arterial hypertension. Influence of CPAP therapy].
30% of patients with arterial hypertension (AH) are supposed to have a co-prevalent obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Hence, the influence of CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) therapy on cardiac structure and function was investigated in medically treated patients with AH and co-prevalent OSAS. ⋯ CPAP therapy positively influences left and right cardial structure and function in addition to antihypertensive medication in patients with AH and co-prevalent OSAS.
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Comparative Study
[Quality of health care in Germany. A six-country comparison].
Sicker adults in Germany suffer many of the same issues and concerns as do sicker adults in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the USA. However, quality of care in sicker adults in Germany stands out from the other countries in a few key areas: 1. DISSATISFACTION WITH THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM: Almost one in three sicker adults in Germany feels that their health care system should be completely rebuilt. ⋯ GERMAN FEMALE RESPONDENTS REPORT MORE COMMUNICATION AND COORDINATION FAILURES THAN DO MALES: German female patients are more likely than males to report failures by their doctors to communicate with them about treatment choices, the specific goals and treatment, symptoms to watch for and when to seek further care, and possible medication side effects. Women are also more likely to report coordination problems in unnecessarily duplicative tests or information not being available at the time of their appointment. Females are less likely than males to rate their overall care as excellent or very good.