Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Sep 2021
COVID-19 End-of-life Care: Symptoms and Supportive Therapy Use in an Australian Hospital.
Descriptions of symptoms and medication use at end of life in COVID-19 are limited to small cross-sectional studies, with no Australian longitudinal data. ⋯ This study presents one of the first and largest Australian report of the end of life and symptom experience of people dying of COVID-19. This information should help clinicians to anticipate palliative care needs of these patients, for example, recognising that higher starting doses of opioids and sedatives may help reduce prevalence and severity of breathlessness and agitation near death.
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Internal medicine journal · Sep 2021
Observational StudyImpacts of multidisciplinary meeting case discussion on palliative care referral and end-of-life care in lung cancer: A retrospective observational study.
Multidisciplinary meeting (MDM) discussion and early palliative care are recommended in lung cancer management. The literature is unclear whether MDM discussion leads to early palliative care and improved end-of-life care. ⋯ Discussion at lung MDM did not increase palliative care referral, but did reduce ICU admission among metastatic patients at the end of life. Longer palliative care referral-to-death interval was associated with reduced aggressive end-of-life care. Further research is needed in these areas.
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Internal medicine journal · Sep 2021
How is mobile health technology transforming physician-nurse collaboration?
The integration of mobile health technologies in medical practice has the potential to promote in-person, high-quality care. We examine the impact of Voalte, a healthcare-specific mobile application, on bedside rounding and care coordination. ⋯ The frequency of physician-nurse overlap at the bedside was 50.3%, representing a >20% increase when compared with the 2018 baseline before Voalte's introduction. Our results show that mobile health technologies can strengthen inpatient medicine workflows and interdisciplinary collaboration when implemented successfully.