Major Health System Research Articles

The use of buprenorphine to-go packs in the emergency department

ObjectiveBuprenorphine is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Patients in the emergency department (ED) can be initiated or continued on buprenorphine as a bridge to follow-up in the outpatient setting, but gaps in care may arise. The objective was to evaluate the impact of buprenorphine to-go packs as a continuing treatment option for patients presenting to the ED with OUD across a health system. MethodsAdult patients discharged with a buprenorphine to-go pack from one of ten EDs within a major health system were included. The primary outcomes assessed within 30 days of ED discharge were: (1) return to a health system ED, and (2) fill history of buprenorphine in the state prescription drug monitoring program database. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in Microsoft Excel (Redmond, WA). ResultsA total of 124 patients received buprenorphine to-go packs. The sample was primarily male (79; 63.7%), white (89; 71.8%), on Medicaid (79; 63.7%), and had a mean age of 40.9 years. A total of 43 patients (34.7%) were initiated on buprenorphine for the first time, while 81 (65.3%) had received buprenorphine (prescription or to-go) previously. At 30 days post-visit, 76 (61.3%) had filled buprenorphine prescriptions, and 40 (32.3%) returned to an ED within the health system for opioid withdrawal (17; 42.5%), non-OUD-related reasons (22; 55%), or overdose (1; 2.5%). ConclusionThe implementation of a system-wide buprenorphine to-go supply at ED discharge is a feasible option to provide continuity of care to patients with OUD.

Mapping Evidence-Based Non-Opioid and Non-Pharmacological Pain Management Modalities Across Minnesota: The Non-Opioid Pain Alleviation Information Network Project.

Objective: The Non-Opioid Pain Alleviation Information Network (NOPAINMN) project was designed to identify, consolidate, and map evidence-based non-opioid and non-pharmacological pain management complementary and integrative health (CIH) modalities for chronic pain management across Minnesota into a searchable and informational website (www.nopainmn.org ). Methods: The Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health's Pain Task Force White Paper identifying evidence-based research of non-pharmacological pain practice (NPPC) was reviewed and referenced. National and state certifying boards and accrediting organizations for NPPC modalities were accessed to identify Minnesota-based NPPC providers' name, business/health-system affiliation, address, contact information, and credentials. The NOPAINMN website displays these data in a consumer-facing website with searchable fields such as NPPC modality type, and location with varying distances. The website was β-tested by practitioners and stakeholders for optimization. Eight main NPPC modalities and their respective subcategories were identified and mapped: Acupuncture; Integrative Medical Care (Functional medicine consultation and Integrative medicine consultation); Massage Therapy; Mind-Body Therapies (Biofeedback, Clinical Hypnosis, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, and Music Therapy); Movement Therapies (Tai Chi, qigong, and Yoga Therapy); Psychology (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy); Rehabilitative Therapies (Physical and Occupational Therapy); and Spinal Manipulation. Results: All information compiled resulted in 17,155 providers/practitioners. Physical Therapy had the greatest number of reported providers (n = 5224), followed by Occupational Therapy (n = 3792), Psychology (n = 3324), Chiropractic (n = 3033), Acupuncture (n = 591), and Massage Therapy (n = 544). The Resource Map included 56 major health systems, 686 facilities, 2651 solo or private group practices, and 14 academic training schools. With web-based cross-referencing, providers and facilities were affiliated and linked with health systems to produce an interconnected mapping system. β-Testing with patients found that the website was reported as relatively easy to use and informative. Conclusion: The website was created to assist individuals, health care providers, insurance carriers, and health care facilities in finding evidence-based information and resources on NPPC to guide, support, and proactively manage and engage chronic pain patients across Minnesota.

New Zealand Pae Ora Healthcare Reforms 2022: Viable by Design? A Qualitative Study Using the Viable System Model.

The New Zealand (NZ) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) health reforms came into effect in July 2022 with the establishment of Health New Zealand (HNZ) (Te Whatu Ora) and the Māori Health Authority (MHA) (Te Aka Whai Ora) - the organisations charged for healthcare provision and delivery. Given these changes represent major health system reform, we aimed to conduct an early evaluation of the design of the reforms to determine if they can deliver a viable and sustainable NZ health system going forward. The evaluation was informed by Beer's viable system model (VSM). A qualitative exploratory design with semi-structured interviews and documents analysis using thematic analysis was used. We conducted 28 interviews with senior healthcare managers and reviewed over 300 official documents and news analyses. The VSM posits that for a system to be viable, all its five sub-systems (operations; co-ordination; operational control; development and governance) need to be strong. Our analysis suggests that the health reforms, despite their strengths, do not satisfy this requirement. The reforms do appreciate the complexity of the healthcare environment: multiple stakeholders, social inequalities, interdependencies. However, our analysis suggests a severe lack of detail regarding the implementation and operationalisation of the reforms. Furthermore, resourcing and coordination within the reformed system is also unclear. The health system reforms may not lead to a viable future NZ health system. Poor communication of the reform implementation and operationalisation will likely result in system failure and inhibit the ability of frontline health organisations to deliver care.

Moving forward through consensus: a national Delphi approach to determine the top research priorities in prostate cancer in Uganda

ObjectiveTo identify key areas for research in prostate cancer (PC) in the Ugandan context by establishing the major health system, socioeconomic and clinical barriers to seeking, reaching and receiving high-quality...

The Impact of Health Transformation Plan on Bed Occupancy Rate, Average Length of Stay, and Bed Turnover Interval in a Deprived Region of Iran: An Interrupted Time Series

Background: The health transformation plan (HTP) in Iran started in May 2013 with 3 financial support approaches for people, creating justice in access to health services and improving the quality of services in hospitals in 2 health and treatment sectors. In the first phase, this program was divided into 8 separate packages in the treatment section, reducing the amount of payment for hospitalized patients, supporting the longevity of doctors in disadvantaged areas, the presence of resident specialist doctors in hospitals, improving the quality of visiting services in hospitals, improving the quality of hoteling in hospitals, and financial support of incurable, special and low-income patients. It refers to promoting natural childbirth and launching an air emergency service. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effect of HTP on bed occupancy rate, average length of stay, and bed rotation distance in one of the most deprived areas. Methods: This study was a semi-experimental and retrospective descriptive-analytical study before and after the health system transformation plan based on the information collected from March 2012 to March 2019 in all Sistan and Baluchistan province hospitals. The data of indicators of monthly bed occupancy rate, average length of stay, and bed rotation interval in 83 months in the years before and after the implementation of the transformation plan were collected from the Vice-Chancellor of Treatment of Universities or the statistical units of hospitals and compared. The data were analyzed by Stata software using the interrupted time series (ITS) model, and split regression analysis was used to evaluate the short-term and long-term effects of HTP on the studied indicators. Results: This study showed that the bed occupancy rate increased, and the average length of stay and bed turnover interval decreased immediately after HTP in Sistan and Baluchistan province hospitals. Also, the reform had a long effect on these indicators. Conclusions: Possibly due to underdeveloped hospitalization services in the past, the bed occupancy rate increased, and the average length of stay and bed turnover interval decreased in the hospitals after this province's major health system reform.

Readability and reliability of online patient education materials about statins

ObjectiveStatins are the cornerstone for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease. Patients often consult online patient education materials (OPEMs) to inform medical decision-making. We therefore aimed to assess the readability and reliability of OPEMs related to statins. MethodsA total of 17 statin-related terms were queried using an online search engine to identify the top 20 search results for each statin-related term. Each OPEM was then grouped into the following categories based on 2 independent reviewers: government OPEMs (national, state, or local government agencies); healthcare/nonprofit OPEMs (major health systems and nonprofit organizations with a specific cardiovascular health focus); industry/commercial OPEMs (pharmaceutical manufacturers and online pharmacies); lay press OPEMs (healthcare-oriented news organizations); and dictionary/encyclopedia OPEMs. Grade-level readability for each OPEM was calculated using 5 standard readability metrics and compared with AMA-recommended readability recommendations. Reliability of each OPEM was evaluated using the JAMA benchmark criteria for online health information and certification from Health on the Net (HONCode). ResultsA total of 340 websites were identified across the 17 statin search terms. There were 211 statin OPEMs after excluding non-OPEM results; 172 OPEMs had unique content. Statin OPEM readability exceeded the recommended 6th grade AMA reading level (average reading grade level of 10.9). The average JAMA benchmark criteria score was 2.13 (on a scale of 0–4, with higher scores indicating higher reliability), and only 60% of statin OPEMs were HONCode-certified. There was an inverse association between readability and reliability. The most readable results were from industry and commercial sources, while the most reliable sites were from lay press sources. ConclusionsStatin OPEMs are written at an overall averaging reading grade level of 10.9. There was an inverse association between readability and reliability. Lack of accessible, high-quality online health information may contribute to statin nonadherence.

Comparing Outcomes of Musculoskeletal Radiographs from In-Person and Telemedicine Primary Care Cohorts, April 2019-June 2021.

Musculoskeletal conditions are a common reason for primary care visits, and they are being increasingly addressed at televisits. We therefore examined outcomes of musculoskeletal radiographs ordered at in-person and telemedicine primary care visits, which have implications for patient care and the economic impact of telemedicine. We performed a retrospective cohort study of musculoskeletal radiograph orders placed April 1, 2019-March 31, 2021 at a major academic health system. Radiology reports were classified as normal or abnormal based on the radiologist's impression. Findings were compared using c2 tests. The main outcome was radiographic abnormalities. A secondary outcome was the effect of social determinants of health and medical comorbidities on telemedicine utilization. A total of 1580 radiographs were reviewed. Compared with televisits occurring after onset of the SARS-Cov2-19 pandemic, radiographs ordered at in-person visits had higher odds of being abnormal (OR 2.51, 95% CI 1.33-4.75; P = .004). When comparing radiographic outcomes at in-person visits before and after the pandemic's onset, those ordered afterward had higher odds of being abnormal (OR 1.88, 95% CI 1.30-2.71; P < .001). Social determinants of health and medical comorbidities were not associated with telemedicine utilization. After the onset of the SARS-Cov2-19 pandemic, radiographs ordered at in-person visits had higher odds of being abnormal compared with televisits. These findings indicate that prudence should be applied to ordering musculoskeletal radiographs in telemedicine encounters.

An intersectional framework for counterfactual fairness in risk prediction.

Along with the increasing availability of health data has come the rise of data-driven models to inform decision making and policy. These models have the potential to benefit both patients and health care providers but can also exacerbate health inequities. Existing "algorithmic fairness" methods for measuring and correcting model bias fall short of what is needed for health policy in two key ways. First, methods typically focus on a single grouping along which discrimination may occur rather than considering multiple, intersecting groups. Second, in clinical applications, risk prediction is typically used to guide treatment, creating distinct statistical issues that invalidate most existing techniques. We present novel unfairness metrics that address both challenges. We also develop a complete framework of estimation and inference tools for our metrics, including the unfairness value ("u-value"), used to determine the relative extremity of unfairness, and standard errors and confidence intervals employing an alternative to the standard bootstrap. We demonstrate application of our framework to a COVID-19 risk prediction model deployed in a major Midwestern health system.

Dialysis costs for a health system participating in value-based care.

Unplanned "crash" dialysis starts are associated with worse outcomes and higher costs, a challenging problem for health systems participating in value-based care (VBC). We examined expenditures and utilization associated with these events in a large health system. Retrospective, single-center study at Cleveland Clinic, a large, integrated health system participating in VBC contracts, including a Medicare accountable care organization. We analyzed beneficiaries who transitioned to dialysis between 2017 and 2020. Crash starts involved initiating inpatient hemodialysis (HD) with a central venous catheter (CVC). Optimal starts were initiated with either home dialysis or outpatient HD without a CVC. Suboptimal starts were initiated with outpatient HD with a CVC or inpatient HD without a CVC. A total of 495 patients initiated chronic dialysis: 260 crash starts, 130 optimal starts, and 105 suboptimal starts. Median predialysis 12-month cost was $67,059 for crash starts, $17,891 for optimal starts, and $7633 for suboptimal starts (P < .001). Median postdialysis 12-month cost was $71,992 for crash starts, $55,427 for optimal starts, and $72,032 for suboptimal starts (P = .001). Predialysis inpatient admission per 1000 beneficiaries was 1236 per 1000 for crash starts vs 273 per 1000 for optimal starts and 170 per 1000 for suboptimal starts (P < .001). Postdialysis inpatient admission for crash starts was 853 per 1000 vs 291 per 1000 for optimal starts and 184 per 1000 for suboptimal starts (P < .001). In a major health system, crash starts demonstrated the highest cost and hospital utilization, a pattern that persisted after dialysis initiation. Developing strategies to promote optimal starts will improve VBC contract performance.

Is Workload Associated With Internal Impingement in Professional Baseball Pitchers? An Analysis of Days of Rest, Innings Pitched, and Batters Faced.

Internal impingement is a common cause of shoulder pain and dysfunction in baseball pitchers. The purpose of this study was to determine if the amount of rest days between outings, the number of innings pitched in each outing, and the number of batters faced in each outing are risk factors for internal impingement in professional baseball pitchers. It was hypothesized that a higher workload would significantly increase a pitcher's risk of developing internal impingement. Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. All professional (Major and Minor League) baseball pitchers who were diagnosed with internal impingement between 2011 and 2017 were identified using the Major League Baseball's Health and Injury Tracking System. A separate player usage data set was used to determine workload. The authors compared workload variables (days of rest, innings pitched, and batters faced per game) between each of 4 injury-exposure groups (pitchers with documented internal impingement <2, <6, <12, and >12 weeks after a game) and a control group of pitchers with no internal impingement using Student t tests or Mann-Whitney U tests. In a within-pitcher paired analysis of the injury groups, the workload variables during 3 acute periods (<2, <6, and <12 weeks preinjury) were compared with the baseline values (>12 weeks preinjury). Overall, there were 624 professional baseball pitchers diagnosed with internal impingement during the study period. Compared with pitcher games (n = 213,964), pitchers in all 4 injury-exposure groups had significantly more innings pitched per game (P ≤ .003 for all) and faced significantly more batters per game (P < .001 for all). There were significantly more starting pitchers in each of the injury-exposure groups when compared with the controls (P < .001 for all). However, when comparing acute and baseline workloads in the pitchers diagnosed with internal impingement, there were no significant differences in the number of innings pitched, batters faced, or days of rest. This analysis revealed significantly greater pitcher workload and percentage of starting pitchers in professional baseball players diagnosed with internal impingement when compared with healthy controls. However, this injury did not seem to be associated with an acute increase in workload.

Long-term clinical outcomes and healthcare utilization of sickle cell disease patients with COVID-19: A 2.5-year follow-up study.

This study investigated whether patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) had elevated risk of worse long-term clinical outcomes and healthcare utilization 2.5 years post-SARS-CoV-2 infection. This study consisted of 178 patients with SCD who tested positive for COVID-19 between February 1, 2020 and January 30, 2022 in a major academic health system in New York City. The control cohort consisted of two-to-one matches of 356 SCD patients without a COVID-19 positive test. The last follow-up was July 18, 2022. The primary outcome was mortality. Secondary outcomes were annualized emergency department visits due to pain, pain hospital admission, length of stay due to pain, acute chest syndrome, episodic transfusion, and episodic exchange transfusion. There was no significant difference in mortality between SCD patients with and without COVID-19 (p > .05). There were no significant differences in secondary outcomes between pre- and postpandemic (p > .05). There were also no significant differences in these outcomes between SCD patients with and without COVID-19 (p > .05). SCD care utilization was not significantly associated with COVID-19 hospitalization status (p > .05). SCD patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection incurred no additional risk of worse long-term outcomes compared to matched controls of SCD patients not infected by SARS-CoV-2.

A Focus on Contraception in the Wake of Dobbs.

A Focus on Contraception in the Wake of Dobbs.

Defining the patient population with HER2-low breast cancer in Hawaii.

e18560 Background: About half of HER2-negative tumors (immunohistochemistry (IHC) 0, IHC 1+, or IHC 2+ without in-situ hybridization (ISH) amplification) are HER2-low (IHC 1+ or IHC2+ without ISH amplification). These tumors have gained attention due to their responsiveness to HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugates. Most studies have found a positive association between HER2-low and hormone receptor (HR) expression. Few studies report the demographics of patients that develop HER2-low tumors, and those that do were performed in ethnically homogeneous populations. Our study aims to characterize patients with HER2-low tumors in Hawaii, the US state with the highest diversity index, to better understand the patient population affected by HER2-low tumors. Methods: A retrospective chart review at a major health system in Hawaii evaluated all breast cancer specimens with HER2 testing performed between January 2021 and June 2022. Patient demographics at the time of diagnosis were collected, including age, menopausal status, body mass index (BMI), race/ethnicity. Tumor characteristics were identified by searching pathology reports and included: HER2 status-IHC score and ISH amplification, HR status, histologic type and grade, clinical stage, and 21-gene recurrence score. Results: Clinical and pathologic data was available for 332 cases of HER2-low breast cancers out of 1,478 cases. Of these, 309 (93.1%) were HR+, and 23 (6.9%) were HR-. In the HER2-low, HR+ group 53 (17.2%) were age &lt; 50 and 256 (82.8%) were age 50+, compared to the HER2-low, HR- group with 2 (8.7%) patients and 21 (91.3%) patients respectively. Of all patients with HER2-low tumors, 99 (29.8%) were Japanese, 64 (19.3%) were White, 60 (18.1%) were Filipino, and 47 (14.2%) were Native Hawaiian. This distribution remained constant irrespective of HR status. Those with a BMI of &lt; 25 kg/m2 made up 39.7% of HER2-low patients, and those with a BMI &gt; 25 kg/m2 made up 54%. Of 159 HR+ cases that had a 21-gene recurrence score, 133 (83.7%) of these had a low score (£25). Most HER-2 low tumors were &lt; 2cm, grade 1 or 2, and stage 1A. Conclusions: Our data confirmed the strong relationship between HER2-low and HR+ expression. As expected, most patients were age 50+, although there were more patients younger than 50 in the HER2-low, HR+ group compared to the HR- group. The ethnic distribution of HER2-low tumors is consistent with that of the general population of Hawaii, there does not appear to be any group more at risk than another. [Table: see text]

Pregnancy Outcomes Before and After the Emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) Variant [ID: 1365953

INTRODUCTION: Starting December 15, 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant became the predominant strain in the United States. Preliminary data suggest that the Omicron variant causes less severe COVID-19 than earlier variants. We hypothesize that adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes are less likely if infection occurred during the Omicron epoch compared to pre-Omicron. METHODS: This IRB-approved retrospective cohort study was conducted at a major university health system in Maryland from March 2020 to May 2022. We identified patients who were SARS-CoV-2 positive before and after December 15, 2021. Demographics and maternal, obstetric, and neonatal outcomes were collected and compared. Wilcoxon rank-sum and Fisher’s exact tests were used to compare continuous and categorical data, respectively. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were calculated using vaccination status. RESULTS: A total of 742 SARS-CoV-2–positive pregnant patients were identified. Of those, 548 (74%) tested positive pre-Omicron and 194 (26%) tested positive during the Omicron wave. Tobacco and illicit drug use were higher among patients in the Omicron epoch. Patients were also older and more likely to have received at least one vaccine dose (3% versus 35%, P&lt;.001). Omicron epoch patients had less severe disease as evidenced by higher rates of asymptomatic infection (72% versus 44%) as well as lower rates of hospital admission due to COVID-19, supplemental oxygenation, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. However, the odds of ICU admission were not significantly decreased in Omicron epoch patients after adjusting for vaccination (aOR 0.15, 95% CI 0.02–1.14). The odds of preeclampsia and preterm birth less than 34 weeks were lower in Omicron epoch patients after adjusting for vaccination (aOR, 0.61 and 0.38, respectively). Neonatal outcomes were not statistically different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Pregnant patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the Omicron epoch have a less severe disease course than those infected pre-Omicron. Lower ICU admissions during the Omicron epoch may be due to higher vaccination rates.

Predicting Iran's achievement to Sustainable Development Goal 3.2: A systematic analysis of neonatal mortality with scenario-based projections to 2030.

Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 (SDG 3.2) is to reduce Under-5 and neonatal mortality rates (U5MR and NMR), two major health systems' performance indicators, globally by 2030. We aimed to report Iran's U5MR and NMR status during 2010-2017 and its achievement of SDG 3.2 by 2030, using scenario-based projection. To estimate the national and subnational levels of U5MR and NMR, we applied an Ensemble Bayesian Model Averaging (EBMA) with Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) and Spatio_temporal models. We used all available data sources including: 12-year data from the Death Registration System (DRS), two censuses, and a demographic and health surveys (DHS). This study employed two approaches, Maternal Age Cohort (MAC) and Maternal Age Period (MAP), to analyze summary birth history data obtained from censuses and DHS. In addition, we calculated the child mortality rate directly from DHS using the complete birth history method. National and subnational NMR was projected up to 2030 with a scenario-based method using average Annual Rate of Reduction (ARR) introduced by UN-IGME. In 2017, national U5MR and NMR were 15·2 (12·4-18·0) and 11·8 (10·4-13·2), with an average ARR of 5·1% (2·1-8·9) and 3·1% (0·9-5·8) during 2010-2017, respectively. According to our projection scenarios, 17 provinces have not fulfilled SDG 3.2 for NMR yet, and the current trend (the current trend of NMR improvement in Iran) will not result in reaching SDG for some provinces by 2030; However, if each province has the same neonatal mortality annual reduction rate as the best-performing province in the same region, besides achieving SDG, the national NMR will be reduced to 5·2, and almost 92,000 newborn lives will be saved. Iran has achieved SDG3.2 regarding U5MR and NMR; however, there are provincial inequalities. For all provinces to reach SDG3.2, health policies should focus on reducing provincial inequalities by precise planning for neonatal health care.

Provision and experience of care among women with hypertension in pregnancy: a multi-center qualitative study in Ghana

BackgroundHypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) remain a leading global health problem with complex clinical presentations and potentially grim birth outcomes for both mother and fetus. Improvement in the quality of maternal care provision and positive women’s experiences are indispensable measures to reduce maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes.ObjectiveTo explore the perspectives and lived experiences of healthcare provision among women with HDP and the associated challenges.MethodsA multi-center qualitative study using in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted in five major referral hospitals in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana between June 2018 and March 2019. Women between 26 and 34 weeks’ gestation with confirmed HDP who received maternity care services were eligible to participate. Thematic content analysis was performed using the inductive analytic framework approach.ResultsFifty IDIs and three FGDs (with 22 participants) were conducted. Most women were between 20 and 30 years, Akans (ethnicity), married/cohabiting, self-employed and secondary school graduates. Women reported mixed (positive and negative) experiences of maternal care. Positive experiences reported include receiving optimal quality of care, satisfaction with care and good counselling and reassurance from the health professionals. Negative experiences of care comprised ineffective provider–client communication, inappropriate attitudes by the health professionals and disrespectful treatment including verbal and physical abuse. Major health system factors influencing women’s experiences of care included lack of logistics, substandard professionalism, inefficient national health insurance system and unexplained delays at health facilities. Patient-related factors that influenced provision of care enumerated were financial limitations, chronic psychosocial stress and inadequate awareness about HDP.ConclusionWomen with HDP reported both positive and negative experiences of care stemming from the healthcare system, health providers and individual factors. Given the importance of positive women’s experiences and respectful maternal care, dedicated multidisciplinary women-centered care is recommended to optimize the care for pregnant women with HDP.

A Gateway Framework to Guide Major Health System Changes Comment on "'Attending to History' in Major System Change in Healthcare in England: Specialist Cancer Surgery Service Reconfiguration".

Recent events - on both a global scale and within individual countries - including the lockdowns associated with COVID-19 pandemic, inflation concerns, and political tensions, have increased pressure to reconfigure social services for ongoing sustainability. Healthcare services across the world are undergoing major system change (MSC). Given the complexity and different contextual drivers across healthcare systems, there is a need to use a variety of perspectives to improve our understanding of the processes for MSC. To expand the knowledge base and develop strategies for MSC requires analysing change projects from different perspectives to distil the elements that drove the success. We offer the Gateway Framework as a collaborative transformational system tool to assess and reorganise operations, services, and systems of healthcare organisations. This framework and guiding questions, accounts for past events whilst being proactive, future orientated, and derived from externally defined and a standardised requirements to promote safe, high-quality care.

Assessing the impact of a payor-funded embedded clinical pharmacist on patient and provider satisfaction in a private primary care practice.

With expanding roles of clinic-embedded pharmacists comes the need to identify routes for optimization, soliciting and addressing feedback, and justifying the position(s) to the employing institution. Studies have demonstrated the benefit of integrating pharmacists into healthcare teams, but these opportunities remain largely limited to major health systems due to a lack of billing avenues for and familiarity with the services pharmacists can provide. With funding from and partnership with a third-party payor, a pharmacist was incorporated into a private physician-owned clinic to be a resource to the providers and provide comprehensive medication management to patients. Patient and provider experiences were assessed by survey and interview, respectively, utilizing both Likert-scale and free-response questions. The responses were coded, analyzed, and aggregated into themes. The demographic and Likert-scale responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Patients reported a high level of satisfaction with the pharmacist's service, indicating that they felt more comfortable managing their medications and that they would recommend the pharmacist to a family member or friend. Provider satisfaction was also high, with providers stating that they found the recommendations by the pharmacist helpful, that the recommendations improved cardiovascular risk factors in their patients with diabetes, and that, overall, they were satisfied with the care provided by the pharmacist. The primary concern from the providers was a lack of understanding regarding how best to reach and utilize the service. Overall, an embedded clinical pharmacist providing comprehensive medication management at a private primary care clinic had a positive impact on both provider and patient satisfaction.

Understanding the activity of oncology nurse coordinators: An elaboration of a framework based on an abductive approach

Care coordination is a major health system issue, in particular for cancer patients where a lack of coordination may impact quality of care, lived experiences, and care costs. Consequently, new roles facilitating Patient Pathway Coordination (PPC) have been created (nurse coordinators, NC). However, despite their importance, core PPC activities remain unclear. Practices are often heterogeneous and may be far removed from coordination roles, thus posing issues for implementation of PPC policies.To address this, we generated an analytical framework to investigate the Activity of PAtient PAthway Nurse Coordinators in Oncology (APANCO) from an organizational perspective. We adopted an abductive approach, characterized by two phases: the first involved a preliminary theoretical framework confronted with empirical data from two ethnographic fieldwork scenarios. In the second, we confronted the updated framework with data from a care coordination literature review.The final APANCO framework comprised three main categories at micro-level and three at meso-level. The first categories were used to analyze real NC activity at the micro-level and accounted for activities related (or not) to PPC. Meso-level categories considered organizational contexts that might have influenced NC work content.APANCO provided invaluable information on NCs activities. The framework may be used for clinical and managerial skills training and for standardizing job descriptions. These elements are key for decision-makers and managers who implement PPC programs.

A Decade of Prospective Peer Review: Impact on Safety Culture and Lessons Learned in a Multicenter Radiation Medicine Department

Quality assurance (QA) is critical to the success of radiation therapy (RT) for patients with cancer and affects clinical outcomes. We report longitudinal findings of a prospective peer review evaluation system implemented at a major academic health system as part of RT QA during a 10-year period. All cases treated within our department undergo prospective multidisciplinary peer review and are assigned a grade (A, B, or C). "A" cases require no changes, "B" cases require minor modification, and "C" cases require major modification before treatment planning. The z-ratio test for the significance of the difference between the 5-year baseline (2012-2016) and follow-up (2017-2021) period was used to compare grades between the 2 periods. A 2-tailed P value <.05 was considered significant. Of the 20,069 cases, 15,659 (78%) were curative and were analyzed. The fraction of A cases decreased from 74.8% (baseline) to 64.5% (follow-up), whereas B cases increased from 19.4% to 35.4% and C cases decreased from 5.8% to 0.1%. Of the 9 treatment locations, the main hospital site had a higher percentage of A grades relative to community locations in the baseline (78.6% vs 67.8%; P < .002) and follow-up (66.9% vs 62.3%; P < .002) periods. There was a decrease in the percentage of A cases from the baseline to the follow-up period regardless of plan type (complex vs intermediate vs simple). There was a decrease in the percentage of A cases among specialists from baseline to follow-up (78.2% to 67.7%; P < .002) and among generalists from baseline to follow-up (69.7% to 61.7%; P < .002). Our 10-year experience in contour peer review identifiedincreasedopportunities in improving treatment plan quality over time. The drop in A scores and rise in B scores suggests increased scrutiny and findings-based improvements over time, whereas the drop in C scores indicates amelioration of "major failures" addressed in the startup years. Peer review rounds upstream of treatment planning provide valuable RT QA and should be considered by other departments to enhance the quality and consistency of RT.