Avoidable Hospital Admissions Research Articles

Physician perceptions of restrictive visitor policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study.

Little is understood of the consequences of restrictive visitor policies that were implemented in hospitals to minimize risk of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to describe physician experiences with these policies and reflections of their effects. We conducted semistructured phone interviews from September 2020 to March 2021 with physicians practising in Ontario hospitals, recruited via professional networks and snowball sampling. We audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed interviews to describe and interpret overarching themes by thematic analysis. We interviewed 21 physicians (5 intensivists, 5 internists, 11 specialists in palliative care). Four main thematic categories emerged, including provider, system, patient and caregiver effects. Provider-related factors included increased time and effort on communication with a need to establish limits; increased effort to develop rapport with caregivers; lack of caregiver input on patient care; the need to act as a caregiver surrogate; and the emotional toll of being a gatekeeper or advocate for visitors, exacerbated by lack of evidence for restrictions and inconsistent enforcement. System effects included the avoidance of hospital admission and decreased length of stay, leading to readmissions, increased deaths at home and avoidance of transfer to other facilities with similar policies. Patient-related factors included isolation and dying alone; lack of caregiver advocacy; and prioritization of visitor presence that, at times, resulted in a delay or withdrawal of aspects of care. Caregiver-related factors included inability to personally assess patient health, leading to poor understanding of patient status and challenging decision-making; perceived inadequate communication; difficulty accessing caregiver supports; and increased risk of complicated grief. Participants highlighted a disproportionate effect on older adults and people who did not speak English. Our study highlights substantial negative consequences of restrictive visitor policies, with heightened effects on older adults and people who did not speak English. Research is required to identify whether the benefits of visitor restrictions on infection control outweigh the numerous deleterious consequences to patients, families and care providers.

Pressure on Appointments in General Practice: Relieved Through Joint Consultations

Background: Obtaining appointments at a general practice was critical for reducing avoidable hospital admissions, and ultimately saving healthcare costs. In the United Kingdom (UK), problematic access of appointments at individual general practices persisted resulting from increasing health complexities in primary care, which were exacerbated by shortages of medical doctors as general practitioners (GP). The UK government pursued the employing of care-coordinators at primary care networks to allocate care to non-GP health professionals as a solution, but patient demand for GP appointments at individual practices continued to surge. Aims: This paper reports on an investigation of the ideal way to address patient demand on GP appointments at individual practices. It aimed to report on the effects of two newly implemented joint consultations, one comprising a nursing team and another, a multi-disciplinary team comprising medical doctors and nursing personnel. Methods: Three reviews were conducted in a 3500 patient-list-sized GP practice located in North-Eastern part of England. The aim was to analyse retrospective data of the telephony system to explore the effect of joint consultations on demand of GP appointments that were made through the telephony system. The number and lengths of incoming telephone calls to secure GP or nursing appointments at the practice were analysed descriptively. The periods of analysis were from January to August in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Results: Since implementation of the two joint consultations, there was a 32% reduction in telephone calls for GP appointments. There was also a shortening of the duration of these telephone calls and decreasing trends of missed calls. The increased lengths of calls towards the tail end of the 3rd review period in 2023 demonstrated increased patient awareness and cooperation for in-depth discussions about their symptoms prior to securing appointments. Conclusions: The joint consultations had significantly decreased patient demands for GP appointments via telephone. In addition, the joint consultations had not only allowed holistic care needs to be addressed, but also, they had permitted appropriate care to be delivered in a timely fashion. It is therefore important to ensure appropriate healthcare funding to support the implementation of joint consultations at individual GP practices.

Healthcare Costs and Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Multimorbid Patients After Hospitalization

We identified factors associated with healthcare costs and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of multimorbid older adults with polypharmacy. Using data from the OPERAM (OPtimising thERapy to prevent Avoidable hospital admissions in the Multimorbid older people) trial, we described the magnitude and composition of healthcare costs, and time trends of HRQoL, during 1-year after an acute-care hospitalization. We performed a cluster analysis to identify groups with different cost and HRQoL trends. Using multilevel models, we also identified factors associated with costs and HRQoL. Two months after hospitalization monthly mean costs peaked (CHF 7'124) and HRQoL was highest (0.67). They both decreased thereafter. Age, falls, and comorbidities were associated with higher 1-year costs. Being female and housebound were negatively associated with HRQoL, while moderate alcohol consumption had a positive association. Being independent in daily activities was associated with lower costs and higher HRQoL. Although only some identified potential influences on costs and HRQoL are modifiable, our observations support the importance of prevention before health deterioration in older people with multimorbid illness and associated polypharmacy.

Emergency medical services: the next linking asset for public health approaches to palliative care?

Emergency medical services (EMS) are a unique workforce providing 24/7 emergency care across high-income countries (HICs) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Although traditionally perceived as first responders to traumatic and medical emergencies, EMS scope of practice has evolved to respond to the changing needs of communities, including a growing demand for community-based palliative care. Public health provides a useful framework to conceptualise palliative and end-of-life care in community-based settings. However, countries lack public policy frameworks recognising the role EMS can play in initiating palliative approaches in the community, facilitating goals of care at end of life and transporting patients to preferred care settings. This article aims to explore the potential role of EMS in a public health palliative care approach in a critical discussion essay format by (1) discussing the utility of EMS within a public health palliative care approach, (2) identifying the current barriers preventing public health approaches to EMS palliative care provision and (3) outlining a way forward through priorities for future research, policy, education and practice. EMS facilitate equitable access, early provision, expert care and efficacious integration of community-based palliative care. However, numerous structural, cultural and practice barriers exist, appearing ubiquitous across both HICs and LMICs. A Public Health Palliative Care approach to EMS Framework highlights the opportunity for EMS to work as a linking asset to build capacity and capability to support palliative care in place; connect patients to health and community supports; integrate alternative pathways by engaging multidisciplinary teams of care; and reduce avoidable hospital admissions by facilitating home-based deaths. This article articulates a public health approach to EMS palliative and end-of-life care provision and offers a preliminary framework to illustrate the components of a potential implementation and policy strategy.

Cost–benefit analysis of the CoCare intervention to improve medical care in long-term care nursing homes: an analysis based on claims data

BackgroundProviding adequate medical care to nursing home residents is challenging. Transfers to emergency departments are frequent, although often avoidable. We conducted the complex CoCare intervention with the aim to optimize nursing staff–physician collaboration to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and ambulance transportations, thereby reducing costs.MethodsThis prospective, non-randomized study, based on German insurance data, includes residents in nursing homes. Health care cost from a payer perspective and cost–savings of such a complex intervention were investigated. The utilisation of services after implementation of the intervention was compared with services in previous quarters as well as services in the control group. To compensate for remaining differences in resident characteristics between intervention and control group, a propensity score was determined and adjusted for in the regression analyses.ResultsThe study population included 1240 residents in the intervention and 7552 in the control group. Total costs of medical services utilisation were reduced by €468.56 (p < 0.001) per resident and quarter in the intervention group. Hospital stays were reduced by 0.08 (p = 0.001) and patient transports by 0.19 (p = 0.049). This led to 1.66 (p < 0.001) avoided hospital days or €621.37 (p < 0.001) in costs–savings of inpatient services. More services were billed by general practitioners in the intervention group, which led to additional costs of €97.89 (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe benefits of our intervention clearly exceed its costs. In the intervention group, avoided hospital admissions led to additional outpatient billing. This indicates that such a multifactorial intervention program can be cost-saving and improve medical care in long-term care homes.

Stroke and emergency department re-presentation after outpatient TIA management: An interrupted time series study

ObjectivesTo assess the effects of a non-admitted management pathway following emergency department (ED) presentation with suspected TIA on: 90-day stroke and ED re-presentations, overnight admission, length of stay (LOS) and costs. MethodsWe implemented a management pathway across an Australian regional health service (4 hospitals; 2 rural, 10,000 km2) including ED protocols followed by urgent outpatient review or telemedicine consultation to one rural hospital. Interrupted time series analysis was conducted on linked hospital administrative datasets for all ED TIA diagnoses 5 years before and 2 years after intervention (2015). We assessed whether pathway introduction was associated with immediate change (level) or subsequent rate of change (slope) in outcomes. ResultsThere were 2031 presentations: 1,467 before, 564 after implementation. Against background declining trends, overnight admissions decreased by 12.4% (95%CI 5.0, 19.7) and total LOS decreased 6 hours (95%CI 1.5, 10.4). Hospital costs reduced by AUD683 per patient with implementation. Outpatient review occurred for 36% at median 5 days (IQR 3, 9), including 19/87 (22%) telemedicine reviews. Pathway adherence was incomplete: 29% had no specialist review. Recurrent stroke increased by 1.3/100 presentations (95%CI 0.6, 2.1) with implementation, then returned to baseline of 0.9/100. ED re-presentations rose at a significant rate after implementation (extra 1.69/100 patients re-presenting/quarter; 95%CI 0.8, 2.6) reaching 32/100. ConclusionsAn ED TIA management pathway designed to avoid hospital admission resulted in decreased hospital use and costs; but an initial increase in recurrent stroke and sustained rise in ED re-presentation, possibly related to delayed and incomplete follow-up.

Economic evaluation of applying the Canadian Syncope Risk Score in an Australian emergency department.

To evaluate the Canadian Syncope Risk Score (CSRS) in syncope patients presenting to the ED from an economic perspective, using very-low and low-risk patients (CSRS -3 to 0) as a threshold for avoiding hospital admissions. A decision-analytic model, specifically a decision-tree, was developed to evaluate application of the CSRS. A hypothetical cohort of 1000 patients was modelled based on characteristics and outcome of patients enrolled in a clinical validation study performed alongside this evaluation. Several analytic based approaches were used to handle model outputs and uncertainties. For a cohort of 1000 patients, applying the CSRS was associated with 169 less inpatient admissions from the ED, when compared to usual care. There was also a cost-saving of $8255 per admitted patient, when the CSRS was applied, compared to usual care. Adopting the CSRS was the optimal approach in all scenario analyses and was robust to changes in model parameters. More than three-quarters (78.6%) of all model simulations showed that applying the CSRS is a cost-saving approach to managing syncope. There was high confidence in all results, with the approach using the CSRS reducing the costs and number of syncope-related hospital admissions. Compared to usual care, applying the CSRS appeared as a cost-effective strategy. This new evidence will help decision-makers choose cost-effective approaches for the management of patients presenting to the ED with syncope, as they search for efficient ways to maximise health gain from a finite budget.

Utilization of palliative care resource remains low, consuming potentially avoidable hospital admissions in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer: a community-based retrospective review

PurposeEarly referral of patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to outpatient palliative care has been shown to increase survival and reduce unnecessary healthcare resource utilization. We aimed to determine outpatient palliative care referral rate and subsequent resource utilization in patients with stage IV NSCLC in a multistate, community-based hospital network and identify rates and reasons for admissions within a local healthcare system of Washington State.MethodsA retrospective chart review of a multistate hospital network and a local healthcare system. Patients were identified using ICD billing codes. In the multistate network, 2844 patients diagnosed with stage IV NSCLC between January 1, 2013, and March 1, 2018, were reviewed. In the state healthcare system, 283 patients between August 2014 and June 2017 were reviewed.ResultsReferral for outpatient palliative care was low: 8% (217/2844) in the multistate network and 11% (32/283) in the local healthcare system. Early outpatient palliative care (6%, 10/156) was associated with a lower proportion of patients admitted into the intensive care unit in the last 30 days of life compared to no outpatient palliative care (15%, 399/2627; p = 0.003). Outpatient palliative care referral was associated with improved overall survival in Kaplan Meier survival analysis. Within the local system, 51% (104/204) of admissions could have been managed in outpatient setting, and of the patients admitted in the last 30 days of life, 59% (87/147) experienced in-hospital deaths.ConclusionWe identified underutilization of outpatient palliative care services within stage IV NSCLC patients. Many patients with NSCLC experience hospitalization the last month of life and in-hospital death.

Abstract 15713: A Novel Chest Pain Pathway Triaging Low-Risk Emergency Department Patients via Ambulatory Care Reduces Hospital Admissions Without Increased 30-Day Readmissions or All-Cause Mortality

Introduction: Chest pain is a common presentation to the Emergency Department (ED). Current international guidelines emphasise the importance of triage pathways involving patient-centric algorithms. In 2019, a front-door ED pathway (Figure 1) was created to direct low-risk chest pain towards ambulatory care. We aimed to characterise clinical outcomes with this pathway in a real-world UK ED cohort presenting with cardiac chest pain. Methods: The chest pain pathway stratified patients as low-, intermediate- and high-risk at presentation. Patients presenting to the ED at our institution in London, UK, were consecutively included in two groups: a pre-pathway group prior to implementation of the chest pain pathway and a post-pathway group following implementation. Baseline demographics were compared using Pearson’s χ 2 test for categorical variables and unpaired t-tests for continuous variables. Primary endpoints were 30-day readmissions, and all-cause mortality. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to assess the impact of the pathway on the primary outcomes, adjusting for age, sex, risk category and HEART score. Results: Baseline demographics were similar between pre-pathway and post-pathway groups, except for presence of a smoking history ( p = 0.04). Smoking was therefore adjusted for in multivariable analyses. Approximately 10% (13/136) of post-pathway patients avoided hospital admission and were triaged towards ambulatory care. There was no significant difference in 30-day readmissions: 18/139 post-pathway vs 12/167 pre-pathway (OR 1.79, 95% CI 0.79 - 4.22, p = 0.17); or all-cause mortality: 2/167 pre-pathway vs 5/139 post-pathway (OR 2.96, 95% CI 0.49 - 25.68, p = 0.26). Conclusions: This novel chest pain pathway demonstrated a 10% reduction in hospital admissions without concurrent increases in 30-day readmissions or all-cause mortality. This is likely to reduce burdens on hospital resources and patient flow whilst maintaining safety.

Implementation of a multidisciplinary Enhanced Care Response Service to reduce avoidable hospital admissions among residents of care homes.

The International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC) is an online, open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original articles in the field of integrated care on a continuous basis.IJIC has an Impact Factor of 2.913 (2021 JCR, received in June 2022)The IJIC 20th Anniversary Issue was published in 2021.

Development and internal validation of a new life expectancy estimator for multimorbid older adults

Abstract Background Multimorbidity is highly prevalent among older adults and associated with a shorter life expectancy. Many guidelines recommend tailoring preventive care of multimorbid people according to life expectancy. Indeed, patients with a relatively short life expectancy might not have the time to benefit from a preventive care intervention. Our objective was therefore to develop and internally validate a life expectancy estimator for older multimorbid adults. Methods We analysed data of the OPERAM (OPtimising thERapy to prevent Avoidable hospital admissions in Multimorbid older people) cohort study in Bern, Switzerland. 822 hospitalized participants aged 70 years old or more, with multimorbidity (3 or more chronic medical conditions), and polypharmacy (use of 5 drugs or more for &amp;gt;30 days) were included. Our main outcome was time to all-cause mortality assessed during 3 years of follow-up. Candidate predictors included demographic variables (age, sex), clinical characteristics (Charlson-Comorbidity-Index, number of drugs, body mass index, weight loss), smoking, functional status variables (Barthel-Index, falls, nursing home residence), and hospitalization. We internally validated and optimism corrected the model using bootstrapping techniques. We transformed the 3-year mortality prognostic index into a life expectancy estimator using the Gompertz survival function. Results At baseline, the participants (58% men) had a median age of 79 years (min: 70; max: 99). They took daily a median of 10 chronic medications (min: 5; max 38). During 3 years of follow-up, 292 participants (36%) died. The analysis is ongoing and results will be presented at the congress. Conclusions A life expectancy estimator eventually helps personalising care to prevent under- and overuse of preventive care in the growing older population. Key messages

“It’s pretty much flying blind in the home care setting”: A qualitative study on the influence of home care specific circumstances on sedation in specialist palliative home care

Background: Existing data on sedation at the end of life indicate challenges in the home care setting, leading to deviations from guidelines or non-provision of sedation. Aim: As part of the “SedPall” study, we aimed to explore circumstances in specialist palliative home care, which influence the practice of sedation. Design: Semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 59) and two focus groups (n = 4, n = 5). Recruitment took place via contact persons. We thematically analyzed the transcripts with the Framework Approach, using MAXQDA 2018.2. Setting/participants: Physicians, nurses, and other members of the multiprofessional team from 10 palliative care units and seven home care teams. Results: Participants reported home care specific circumstances that can be categorized into three interrelated topics. (1) Lack of 24/7 on-site availability, (2) active involvement of the family, (3) challenges regarding teamwork and multidisciplinarity. Participants drew different conclusions from the reported circumstances regarding the feasibility of different types of sedation at home: While some reported to generally use all types of sedation, others stated that some types of sedation are not feasible in home care, for example deep sedation until death. Most participants questioned the applicability of existing sedation guidelines in the home care setting. Conclusion: Our data indicate that sedation practices might currently follow the healthcare professional’s attitude or service policy rather than the patient’s need. To avoid hospital admission in manageable cases and ensure that home care specific best practice standards are met, existing guideline recommendations have to be adapted and supplemented by additional supporting measures specific for the home care setting.

RUPTURED ACHILLES TENDON, A COMMON INJURY IN ATHLETES

Introduction: The Achilles tendon also named calcaneal tendon, can be subjected to tensile loads up to 10 times the body weight. It is located on the posterior aspect of the lower leg and is the thickest tendon. This tendon accounts for 20% of all large tendon injuries. There is discussion on which is the best treatment, among which the percutaneous repair of the Achilles tendon has risk of injuring the sural nerve. When a sharp, explosive and sudden force is exerted on the Achilles tendon, rupture or tears can occur.most of these ruptures occur during sports; however, sometimes it happens in non-athletes or sedentary people. Objective: To detail the current information related to Achilles tendon rupture and its treatment, as well as the different approach techniques. Methodology: A total of 29 articles were analyzed in this review, including review and original articles, as well as clinical cases, of which 19 bibliographies were used because the other 10 articles were not relevant for this study. The sources of information were PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane; the terms used to search for information in Spanish and English were: achilles tendon, Achilles tendon rupture, Achilles tendon treatment. Results: Achilles tendon rupture is more frequent in adults between the third and fifth decade of life. When it happens acutely they usually present sudden pain in the back of the leg accompanied by a snapping. This pathology can be falsely diagnosed as an ankle sprain in 20% to 25%. All patients require physical and orthopedic therapy and initial treatment consists of rest, elevation, pain control and functional orthopedic appliances. The advantages of non-surgical treatment are the avoidance of hospital admissions, wound complications and the risk of anesthesia. However, its main disadvantage lies in the increased risk of re-rupture, ranging up to 40%. Return to sporting life can be initiated 9 months after surgery as long as the patient is able to dorsiflex. Surgical treatment has a new rupture rate of 0.5% while non-surgical treatment has a rupture rate of approximately 40%. Conclusions: The Achilles tendon is formed by the fusion of the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles in its distal part. The contraction of these two muscles generates a force that causes plantar flexion of the foot. The Achilles tendon is innervated essentially by the sural nerve. Signs of the affected person may include swelling, bruising and/or a noticeable alteration in the tendon. Thompsons test can be used to better assess the picture. In athletics, basketball, diving, tennis, cycling, volleyball, gymnastics and others it is common to see tendon ruptures. If the patient presents with trauma to the lower leg, it is advisable to take X-rays in order to rule out fractures. The diagnosis can be confirmed with MRI or ultrasound. Surgical approach techniques for Achilles tendon repair include open, semi-open or limited open and percutaneous repair, although regardless of the technique of choice, restoration of tendon length must be ensured. Patients with significant medical comorbidities or those with relatively sedentary lifestyles are usually recommended to opt for non-surgical therapy. Surgical treatment mitigates the risk of re-rupture compared to conservative treatment; however, complication rates are much higher, and almost all athletes can return to physical activity without any limitations.

11 Implementation of a Hospice Transition Protocol in an Emergency Department to Facilitate End-of-Life Care

11 Implementation of a Hospice Transition Protocol in an Emergency Department to Facilitate End-of-Life Care

Towards new definitions of avoidable hospital admissions

Acidosis is an important complication of AKI and CKD. Renal intercalated cells (ICs) express the proton pumping vacuolar H⁺-ATPase (V-ATPase) and are extensively involved in acid-base homeostasis. H⁺ secretion in type A intercalated cells (A-ICs) is regulated by apical vesicle recycling and stimulated by cAMP. In other cell types, cAMP is increased by extracellular agonists, including adenosine, through purinergic receptors. Adenosine is a Food and Drug Administration–approved drug, but very little is known about the effect of adenosine on IC function. Therefore, we investigated the role of adenosine in the regulation of V-ATPase in ICs. Intravenous treatment of mice with adenosine or agonists of ADORA2A and ADORA2B purinergic P1 receptors induced V-ATPase apical membrane accumulation in medullary A-ICs but not in cortical A-ICs or other IC subtypes. Both receptors are located in A-IC apical membranes, and adenosine injection increased urine adenosine concentration and decreased urine pH. Cell fractionation showed that adenosine or an ADORA2A or ADORA2B agonist induced V-ATPase translocation from vesicles to the plasma membrane and increased protein kinase A (PKA)–dependent protein phosphorylation in purified medullary ICs that were isolated from mice. Either ADORA2A or ADORA2B antagonists or the PKA inhibitor mPKI blocked these effects. Finally, a fluorescence pH assay showed that adenosine activates V-ATPase in isolated medullary ICs. Our study shows that medullary A-ICs respond to luminal adenosine through ADORA2A and ADORA2B receptors in a cAMP/PKA pathway–dependent mechanism to induce V-ATPase–dependent H⁺ secretion.

Looking forward: COVID-19 and greenhouse gas emissions

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically changed the global economy, thus decreasing carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 7%, raising hopes that a legacy of the pandemic would be a permanent shift in the trajectory of emissions. METHODS: Greenhouse gas emissions over the course of the pandemic will be reviewed, along with the implications of greenhouse gas emissions along various recovery pathways. RESULTS: During the first year of the pandemic, surface, especially road, transport was affected the most, primary the result of restrictions aimed at reducing infection rates. These changes altered exposures to PM2.5 (increase) and ozone (decrease), potentially reducing premature mortality and avoiding hospital admissions. Scenarios of possible recovery pathways include focusing on returning to the &amp;#x22;old” economy, decoupling GDP growth from CO2 emissions, and focusing on achieving a more sustainable and inclusive climate-resilient pathway. Incorporating health co-benefits into estimates of the cost of mitigation policies and technologies could help motivate individuals to countries to shift to climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable pathways. CONCLUSIONS: Achieving the Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming at less than 2C above pre-industrial temperatures requires rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, more rapid than occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Quantifying health co-benefits of mitigation can be a key element in achieving a more sustainable and resilient future. KEYWORDS: climate change; greenhouse gas emissions

Quantifying the multiple environmental, health, and economic benefits from the electrification of the Delhi public transport bus fleet, estimating a district-wise near roadway avoided PM2.5 exposure

This study investigates the co-benefits from the utilization of the battery-electric bus (BEB) fleet in the Delhi public transportation system as a part of the Delhi electric vehicles policy 2020. To this aim, an integrated quantitative assessment framework is developed to estimate the expected environmental, health, and economic co-benefits from replacing the currently existing public bus fleet with the new BEBs in Delhi. First, the model estimates the avoided emissions from deploying the BEB fleet, using a detailed battery energy simulation model, considering the impact of the battery capacity loss on the annual operational time (hours of service) of the BEB. The annual operational time of the BEB is greatly affected by its battery degradation, which results in time lost due to charging the battery. This indicates that the annual passenger-kilometer (PKM) delivered by the BEB is less than the regular bus, under the same traveling condition. Second, considering fine particles (PM2.5) as the most health-harming pollutant, the model calculates the near roadway avoided PM2.5 exposure in the selected traffic zones of 11 major districts of Delhi, using a Gaussian dispersion model. Third, the near roadway avoided PM2.5 exposure is further used in a health impact assessment model, which considers concentration-response functions for several diseases to evaluate the public health benefits from introducing the BEB fleet in Delhi. The research findings indicate that, the utilization of the new BEB fleet leads to a 74.67% reduction in the total pollutant emissions from the existing bus fleet in Delhi. The results of the integrated co-benefits assessment reveal a significant reduction in PM2.5 emissions (44 t/y), leading to avoidance of mortality (1370 cases) and respiratory diseases related hospital admissions (2808 cases), respectively, and an annual savings of about USD 383 million from the avoided mortality and morbidity cases in Delhi.

Establishing the worth of deprescribing inappropriate medications: are we there yet?

Establishing the worth of deprescribing inappropriate medications: are we there yet?

483 Surgical Virtual Clinic: A Safe and Effective Alternative to Acute Surgical Clinics for Semi-Urgent, Ambulatory Patients

Abstract Introduction Many ‘Hot Clinics’ deal with ambulatory patients only requiring semi-urgent investigation and treatment, potentially avoiding hospital admission. These clinics often use the same staff and resources being utilised for acute surgical admission and treatment. We present data showing that “Virtual Clinics” (VC) are safe alternatives to this system, improving patient service and relieving a significant burden on the acute surgical units. Method 78 patients who came through the established VC between 23/12/2020 and 19/01/2021 (4 weeks), were assessed for delays in scan date, call-backs, diagnosis, referral patterns, readmission rates and eventual outcomes for those who needed surgical interventions. Results 83% of patients had their scans within the set-out time of 72 hours. 89.7% of scans were reported on the same day. Only 18% of the patients had a surgical diagnosis. 51% had no diagnosis at all and were discharged safely from the clinic. 16.7% were still symptomatic at the time of the VC with 3.8% of these having a surgical pathology. 22% were referred to other specialities. 2 patients were referred to MDT. In total, 6 patients were re-admitted to the hospital (7.6%). 4 patients were listed for surgery following the VC. Conclusions The VC proves to be a safe and effective system for semi-urgent, ambulatory patients. Re-admission rates are low, justifying the discharge of these patients from the acute surgical assessment unit to a virtual follow up environment.

A Novel Hospital-to-Home System for Children With Medical Complexities: Usability Testing Study.

BackgroundChildren with medical complexity (CMC) are a group of young people who have severe complex chronic conditions, substantial family-identified service needs, functional limitations, and high health care resource use. Technology-enabled hospital-to-home interventions designed to deliver comprehensive care in the home setting are needed to ease CMC family stress, provide proactive and comprehensive care to this fragile population, and avoid hospital admissions, where possible.ObjectiveIn this usability testing study, we aimed to assess areas of strength and opportunity within the DigiComp Kids system, a hospital-to-home intervention for CMC and their families and care providers.MethodsHospital-based clinicians, family members of medically complex children, and home-based clinicians participated in DigiComp Kids usability testing. Participants were recorded and tasked to think aloud while completing usability testing tasks. Participants were scored on the metrics of effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction, and the total usability score was calculated using the Single Usability Metric. Participants also provided insights into user experiences during the postusability testing interviews.ResultsA total of 15 participants (5 hospital-based clinicians, 6 family members, and 4 home-based clinicians) participated in DigiComp Kids usability testing. The participants were able to complete all assigned tasks independently. Error-free rates for tasks ranged from 58% to 100%; the average satisfaction rating across groups was ≥80%, as measured by the Single Ease Question. Task times of participants were variable compared with the task times of an expert DigiComp Kids user. Single Usability Metric scores ranged from 80.5% to 89.5%. In qualitative interviews, participants stressed the need to find the right fit between user needs and the effort required to use the system. Interviews also revealed that the value of the DigiComp Kids system was in its ability to create a digital bridge between hospital and home, enabling participants to foster and maintain connections across boundaries.ConclusionsUsability testing revealed strong scores across the groups. Insights gained include the importance of tailoring the implementation of the system to match individual user needs, streamlining key system features, and consideration of the meaning attached to system use by participants to allow for insight into system adoption and sustainment.