BMJ open
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From April 2015, NHS England (NHSE) started to devolve responsibility for commissioning primary care services to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). The aim of this paper is to explore how CCGs are managing potential conflicts of interest associated with groups of GPs commissioning themselves or their practices to provide services. ⋯ Devolving responsibility for primary care co-commissioning to CCGs created a structural conflict of interest. The NHSE statutory guidance should be refined and clarified so that CCGs can properly manage conflicts of interest. Non-clinician members of committees involved in commissioning primary care require training in order to make decisions requiring clinical input in the absence of GPs.
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According to official statistics in Taiwan, the main body region of injury causing bicyclist deaths is the head, and bicyclists are 2.6 times more likely to be fatally injured than motorcyclists. There is currently a national helmet law for motorcyclists but not for bicyclists. ⋯ Our finding underscores the importance of helmet use in reducing hospitalisation due to head injuries among bicyclists while current helmet use is relatively low.
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Multicenter Study
Association of psychological distress, quality of life and costs with carpal tunnel syndrome severity: a cross-sectional analysis of the PALMS cohort.
The Prediciting factors for response to treatment in carpal tunnel syndrome (PALMS) study is designed to identify prognostic factors for outcome from corticosteroid injection and surgical decompression for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and predictors of cost over 2 years. The aim of this paper is to explore the cross-sectional association of baseline patient-reported and clinical severity with anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life and costs of CTS in patients referred to secondary care. ⋯ Patient-reported symptom severity in CTS is significantly and positively associated with anxiety, depression, health-related quality of life, and NHS and societal costs even when adjusting for age, gender, body mass index, comorbidities, smoking, drinking and occupational status. In contrast, there is little or no evidence of any relationship with objectively derived CTS severity. Future research is needed to understand the impact of approaches and treatments that address psychosocial stressors as well as biomedical factors on relief of symptoms from carpal tunnel syndrome.
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Review Meta Analysis
Do digital innovations for HIV and sexually transmitted infections work? Results from a systematic review (1996-2017).
Digital innovations with internet/mobile phones offer a potential cost-saving solution for overburdened health systems with high service delivery costs to improve efficiency of HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infections) control initiatives. However, their overall evidence has not yet been appraised. We evaluated the feasibility and impact of all digital innovations for all HIV/STIs. ⋯ Digital innovations were acceptable, feasible and generated impact. A trend towards the use of internet-based and combined (internet and mobile) innovations was noted. Large scale-up studies of high quality, with new integrated impact metrics, and cost-effectiveness are needed. Findings will appeal to all stakeholders in the HIV/STI global initiatives space.
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To identify postoperative patient-related risk factors for chronic pain after total knee replacement (TKR). ⋯ This systematic review found insufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions about the association between any postoperative patient-related factors and chronic pain after TKR. Further high-quality research is required to provide a robust evidence base on postoperative risk factors, and inform the development and evaluation of targeted interventions to optimise patients' outcomes after TKR.