Healthcare Standards Research Articles

A Review of Approaches to Standardizing Medical Descriptions for Clinical Entity Recognition: Implications for Artificial Intelligence Implementation

This article reviews the current state of standardization in specific areas of the medical sector in Poland, focusing on terminology and the unique context of the Polish language. The primary objective was to analyze the existing resources and examine possibilities, challenges, and opportunities associated with integrating Artificial Intelligence, particularly natural language processing methods, into the healthcare system. The additional goal of this review was to place Poland in the international context by comparing the current state of the Polish standardization of healthcare with those of selected countries with more and less developed systems. The exploration highlights the main challenges that impact integration, including the specificity of the language and challenges in transferring knowledge from other languages, lack of communication between parties, and lack of stakeholder involvement in the standardization processes. This review also presents potential solutions to the mentioned challenges and provides insights into future directions, possibilities, proposals, and recommendations for all stakeholders. The practical application of this research extends beyond Poland. Many countries with underrepresented languages face similar challenges in clinical data processing, and the advances in CER for Polish could serve as a model for implementing AI-driven solutions in these regions. By refining CER models and adapting them to diverse linguistic and healthcare contexts, this research can foster improvements in patient care, medical research, and healthcare administration on a global scale.

ANALYSIS OF PERIODIC SELF-ASSESSMENTS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF HEALTH QUALITY STANDARDS IN TERMS OF MATERIAL MANAGEMENT AS A PREVENTIVE ACTIVITY: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY IN A UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

This study aims to investigate the effects of periodic self-assessments on materials management within the framework of quality management in healthcare. The retrospective study, conducted in a university hospital, evaluates the effectiveness of quality improvement initiatives and compliance with health standards, while examining in detail the effects of these processes on materials management. It also investigates how self-assessment processes improve healthcare service delivery and contribute to materials management processes. Problems identified through Fishbone and Pareto analysis are examined, prioritised and solutions are developed. The findings obtained aim to improve material management processes and increase quality standards in health. The main purpose of the research is to examine the effects of periodic self-assessments on materials management in order to improve the quality of healthcare services. The findings emphasise the importance of maintaining quality standards in health services and systematic handling of periodic self-assessments. Problems identified by Fishbone and Pareto analysis are analysed by root cause analysis and solutions are developed. This approach aims to contribute to the development of materials management processes and to the improvement of quality standards in healthcare. The results of the research are an important guide for practitioners, managers and policy makers in the fields of quality management and materials management in health services.

Urban Entrepreneurship on the Fringe: Action Research on the Challenges of Street Vendors in Manila

The presence of street vendors in metropolitan cities has been a cause for debate as vending provides these vendors with a source of livelihood but at the expense of regulatory oversight and urban order. Vending as a business emerged due to the lack of work opportunities available despite the growing demand. Vendors, however, remain crucial stakeholders of the informal economy as their existence fills a need for the minimum-income working class. As such, the objective of the study is to determine and understand the different factors that affect the business of street vendors and their coping mechanisms to these challenges and propose an action plan. This study is unique in its focus on the informal economy, specifically street vendors in Manila, an often overlooked yet vital part of urban livelihoods. By employing a qualitative approach, it delves deeply into the lived experiences of street vendors, uncovering the cultural, socioeconomic, and regulatory challenges they face in a highly urbanized Southeast Asian city. The study highlights human-centered narratives often missed in quantitative research and provides valuable insights into the dynamics between street vendors and government regulations. Its findings could influence inclusive policies that better support informal entrepreneurs, contributing to broader discussions on inclusive business practices. The results reveal that factors affecting street vendors relate to interpersonal dynamics, family dynamics and obligations, educational aspirations, financial vulnerability, market competition, operational challenges, supply chain dependency, health and labor, and enforcement of regulations. To manage these factors, vendors have adopted mechanisms to combat these issues through debt and financial management, operational adaptation, community assistance and support, adaptation to regulation, and emotional resilience. In the end, this research proposes a five-point agenda to support street vendors' adherence to social and legal norms, beginning with developing inclusive policies that formally recognize and regulate street vending, ensuring legal protection and designated vending zones. It then focuses on economic empowerment through improved access to financial services, microcredit, and financial literacy programs while introducing social security measures. Health and safety programs are implemented to enhance vendors' well-being, providing access to healthcare, ergonomic training, and sanitation standards. Governance improvements, anti-harassment initiatives, and transparent law enforcement to protect vendors from exploitation should also materialize. Finally, community engagement and public relations efforts aim to foster positive perceptions of street vendors, highlighting their contributions to the economy and encouraging cooperation with local businesses and authorities.

Sustainable Polymeric Biomaterials from Alternative Feedstocks.

As materials engineered to interact with biological systems for medical purposes, polymeric biomedical materials have revolutionized and are indispensable in modern healthcare. However, aging populations and improving healthcare standards worldwide have resulted in ever-increasing demands for such biomaterials. Currently, many clinically used polymers are derived from nonrenewable petroleum resources, thus spurring the need for exploring alternatives for the next generation of sustainable biomaterials. Other than biomass, this Perspective also spotlights carbon dioxide and postuse plastics as viable resources potentially suitable for biomaterial production. For each alternative feedstock, key recent developments and practical considerations are discussed, including emerging biomaterial applications, possible feedstock sources, and hindrances toward translation and practical adoption. Other than replacements for petroleum-derived polymers, we explore how utilization of these alternatives capitalizes on their intrinsic physiochemical and material properties to achieve their desired therapeutic effects. We hope that this Perspective can stimulate further development in sustainable biomaterials to achieve practical therapeutic benefits as part of a circular materials economy with minimal environmental impact.

Adhering to Patient Safety Standards: A Healthcare Imperative for the 21st Century

The ethics of healthcare processes aim to protect patient safety by emphasizing the importance of adhering to rules and avoiding harmful practices. They also suggest practical solutions to prevent such failures. Non-compliance, whether due to human error or technical failure, can result in operational failures and pose severe hazards to patients, healthcare workers, and hospital facilities. This paper discusses intentional non-compliance with healthcare standards and guidelines, referred to as deviation, and demonstrates how adhering to these rules can reduce the risk of harm. Noncompliance can have severe consequences, as it may reveal an organization's fail-safe mechanisms, defenses, or safety nets, potentially resulting in catastrophic events and causing significant harm. These errors typically occur when active errors combine with latent errors, such as flaws or vulnerabilities in a system's defenses. This habit allows the latter to overcome the defenses, gain patient access, and cause harm. There is no such thing as a completely safe environment, even the most advanced ones. Additionally, all humans, regardless of their intelligence, have weaknesses. In healthcare processes, every signal has the potential to cause harm, leading to tragic outcomes or even death. The factors contributing to non-compliance fall under individual, collective, organizational, or sociocultural categories. Reducing non-compliance in healthcare processes and ensuring patient safety requires all stakeholders to commit to patient safety ethics.

Pharmacist knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding pharmacy code of practice and ethics in Iraq.

The Iraqi pharmacy code of practice and ethics enables pharmacists to resolve conflicts between the code and patient demands and satisfy their needs. This study evaluates pharmacists' knowledge, attitude, and practice toward the pharmacy code of practice and ethics. This cross-sectional study was conducted in three different provenances (Baghdad, Al-Diwaniya, and Wasit) from October 1st to December 31st, 2022. Among 202 Iraqi pharmacists, the mean age was (30.4 ± 6.8) years old, and about (59%) of the participants were aware of the Iraqi Code of Practice and Ethics; similar results were found regarding their practice. About two-thirds of the participants agreed that modifying the Iraqi Pharmacy Code of Practice and Ethics will enable pharmacists to resolve the conflict between the code and patient demands, satisfy their needs, and raise healthcare standards. More than two-thirds of the participants thought that they don't need training courses to give vaccines for addiction, smoking cessation, obesity, or sleeping problems. According to the study, more than half of the Iraqi pharmacists exhibited good knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the pharmacy code of practice and ethics. However, it is recommended that Iraqi pharmacists engage in comprehensive training programs covering different aspects of healthcare, such as vaccination and smoking cessation, to further improve their contribution to the healthcare system.

"Like an umbrella, protecting me from the rain until I get to my destination": Evaluating the implementation of a tailored primary care model for urban marginalized populations.

Improving health equity and access to the highest possible standard of health care is a key issue of social accountability. Centretown Community Health Centre in Ottawa, Canada has iteratively developed a program to target and serve marginalized and complex populations since 1999. The program implementation was evaluated using a validated implementation framework. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a health records extraction (n = 570), a client complexity assessment tool (n = 74), semi-structured interviews with clients and key stakeholders (n = 41), and a structured client satisfaction survey (n = 30). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis. Five hundred and seventy unique clients were seen between November 1-30, 2021. A third of clients (34%) did not have a provincial health card for access to universal health care services, and most (68%) were homeless or a resident of rooming houses. Most clients who reported their income (92%) were at or below Canada's official poverty line. The total mean complexity score for clients seen over a one-month period (n = 74) was 16.68 (SD 6.75) where a total score of at least 13 of 33 is perceived to be a threshold for client biopsychosocial complexity. Clients gained the majority of their total score from the Social support assessment component of the tool. Clients (n = 31) and key informants (n = 10) highlighted the importance of building relationships with this population, providing wrap-around care, and providing low-barrier care as major strength to the Urban Health program (UH). Key areas for improvement included the need to: i) increase staff diversity, ii) expand program hours and availability, and iii) improve access to harm reduction services. Clients appeared to be highly satisfied with the program, rating the program an average total score of 18.50 out of 20. The program appears to serve marginalized and complex clients and seems well-received by the community. Our findings have relevance for other health care organizations seeking to better serve marginalized and medically and socially complex individuals and families in their communities.

Evidence based management of medical devices: A follow-up experiment

Ensuring the optimal operation and longevity of medical devices is essential for maintaining high safety standards in healthcare. This study presents a significant advancement in the field by enhancing an existing evidence-based maintenance (EBM) framework, which is crucial for the effective management of medical equipment. Building upon previous methodologies, this research introduces a novel, comprehensive taxonomy for categorizing maintenance reports by revising and updating existing failure codes. This refinement addresses gaps in previous models, enabling more precise and effective maintenance strategies.A key innovation of this study is the development of a standard XML protocol, which addresses the current lack of standardization in the field, providing a consistent and unified approach to data management. This standardization is critical for improving communication and data exchange across different healthcare systems and technologies.To validate the enhanced EBM framework, the study applies it to corrective maintenance work orders related to Digital Angiography Systems, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Computed Tomography, using data from the Pisa University Hospital’s Computerized Maintenance Management System from 2021 to 2022. This validation demonstrates the reproducibility and adaptability of the framework across different medical equipment, healthcare contexts, and timeframes.The findings represent a significant advancement in healthcare technology management, offering a robust, standardized approach that optimizes the safety, functionality, and longevity of medical devices. This research not only expands maintenance standards in the healthcare sector but also provides a critical tool for addressing the current challenges in medical device maintenance, paving the way for more reliable and effective healthcare technologies.

Barriers in reporting adverse effects of medical devices: a literature review.

Medical devices play an essential role in the delivery of healthcare but its use is not entirely risk free. There are several instances where it causes mortality or morbidity among users. It is important to evaluate the risks involved at every stage of its application to bring improvement in the standard of healthcare. For the purpose Materiovigilance Program of India was launched on July 6, 2015. Despite these efforts, available data suggests that reporting of adverse events is very low. The present study aims to identify barriers that influence the reporting of adverse events of medical devices and outline a strategy to overcome these barriers. Systemic review method has been adopted to achieve these ends. Thirty-one papers have been selected based on the inclusion criteria related to objective of the study. Lack of awareness, attitude, and resources are found to be major barriers at the individual level for not reporting adverse effects of medical devices. The organizational factors such as hierarchical set up, lack of time and incentives, and furthermore lack of industry responsiveness have been identified as prominent barriers to the reporting of adverse events. In order to improve the reporting level, it is important to make access and contact easier with the reporting system. Engaging healthcare professionals at various levels by acknowledging and appreciating their contribution. The adverse events of medical devices should not be restricted to physicians; only rather other health care professional such as nurses, pharmacists, and technicians should also be encouraged to report any adverse event of medical devices.

Medical-Focused Computer Program for Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language for Medical Purposes

The study sets out to develop an online course for medical professionals who are not native Arabic speakers. The present study relied on a questionnaire developed by reviewing relevant theoretical literature and prior research in order to apply descriptive and analytical methods to accomplish the study's aims. The researcher sent an online questionnaire to a large number of healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, lab techs, and radiology technicians. The objective of this survey is to learn about the linguistic communication needs of healthcare workers and to find out when Arabic is useful for communicating with patients and meeting quality standards in healthcare. The study compiled a list of 36 linguistic needs pertaining to various medical settings (e.g., emergency rooms, outpatient clinics, hypnosis rooms, labs, and radiology departments), developed an electronic program to teach Arabic to non-native speakers, and made several suggestions and recommendations.

How Iran’s Hospital Accreditation Program Meets the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua)

Background: Hospital health service quality is a fundamental component of the health system. Hospital accreditation is a key approach to enhancing this quality, necessitating the correct implementation of processes. Objectives: This study aims to investigate the compliance of the executive processes of Iran’s hospital accreditation program with the requirements of the International Society for Quality in Health Care and to provide corrective solutions. Methods: This qualitative study uses an inductive content analysis technique. A checklist with seven axes was established by extracting and interpreting the requirements of the executive processes from the International Society for Quality in Health Care. By examining existing documents at the Ministry of Health’s Accreditation Office and conducting interviews with managers and experts in the field, challenges in the domain of the executive processes of Iran’s hospital accreditation program were identified using the relevant checklist. Corrective solutions were then gathered through semi-structured interviews with 19 experts, managers, and accreditation field specialists, categorized inductively, and presented using MAXQDA software. Results: Challenges in seven areas were identified, including governance; strategic, operational and financial management; risk management; human resources management; information management; survey and client management; and the granting of accreditation approval. Subsequently, solutions were categorized into five groups encompassing 26 concepts, focusing on reforming macro policies, addressing implementation challenges, fostering appropriate interactions, improving human resource management, and promoting evidence-based decision-making. Conclusions: The Iran hospital accreditation program’s adherence to International Society for Quality in Health Care standards is inadequate. Establishing a semi-autonomous, non-profit accreditation body that operates under government control and ensuring the independence of the accreditation office is essential for achieving higher compliance and receiving certification from International Society for Quality in Health Care.

Health professional regulation and provision of quality health services; cross sectional analysis of private health care providers in Wajir County, Kenya

Background: Health professional regulatory bodies oversee and enforce standards in healthcare to safeguard patient safety and prevent harm. However, international consistency in these regulations remains limited. The Kenya health sector relies on various bodies to enforce standards among professionals and institutions, albeit constrained by financial and human resources that hinder effective oversight. This study aimed to assess how regulatory practices- such as licensing, training oversight, inspection of practice, and quality assurance mechanisms- affect the quality of healthcare provided by private providers. Methods: The study targeted 108 healthcare providers from 36 private health facilities, primarily nurses and clinical officers. A sample of 86 participants was drawn using purposive sampling. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Results: The licensing of health professionals, training, inspection of practice, and quality assurance mechanisms collectively influenced 47.9% of the variation in service quality. Statistical analysis revealed significant associations between licensing (p=0.003), practice inspections (p=0.01), quality assurance (p=0.001), and service quality. Conclusions: Regulatory bodies play a crucial role in ensuring healthcare standards; however, their effectiveness hinges on tailored strategies that address local challenges and foster collaborative efforts towards sustainable quality improvement in healthcare services. Routine inspections, conducted in a supportive manner, are likely to ensure ongoing adherence to standards. Moreover, adequate resource allocation for regulatory compliance and continuous quality improvement activities, including the formation of internal quality improvement (QI) teams and the maintenance of regular QI meetings and assessments, was deemed essential.

EUROPEAN INTEGRATION AS A CATALYST FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDICAL TOURISM IN UKRAINE IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD

This article explores the potential of medical tourism as a key component of Ukraine’s economic recovery strategy after the war, emphasizing the role of European integration in this context. Medical tourism, known for its ability to attract significant foreign investment and improve the economic indicators of the country's development, is seen as a strategic sector that can significantly contribute to the socio-economic recovery of Ukraine after a long conflict. The object of the research is the post-war reconstruction of the health care industry, where Ukraine faces the dual challenge of reviving its economy and enhancing the global competitiveness of its medical sector. Despite a well-established foundation in medical education and the affordability of medical services attractive to international patients, Ukraine encounters several barriers. The article identifies key problems, such as underdeveloped infrastructure, low level of certification of medical institutions, and ineffectiveness of regulations, which are currently inhibiting the full-scale development of medical tourism. The article focuses on the impact of European integration processes on the medical tourism sector. It asserts that closer alignment with European standards could lead to the modernization of medical services, enhancing quality and trust in Ukraine's medical tourism market. This integration promotes the adoption of best practices in medical service provision and management, ensuring that Ukrainian medical institutions can meet and exceed international patients' expectations. Various aspects of medical tourism are explored, from the development of medical services before the war, which predominantly attracted patients from Europe, to the dramatic consequences of the war, including infrastructure damage and professional brain drain. Legal reforms aimed at streamlining and improving the regulatory framework for medical tourism are discussed as critical to creating a conducive environment for the sector. The role of the strategic partnerships with European medical institutions is highlighted as a crucial factor. Such partnerships could lead to technology transfer, joint research, and educational opportunities, which not only improve service quality but also enhance the international image of Ukraine's medical tourism sector. Additionally, these collaborations can help to standardize medical procedures and protocols to match European norms, thereby increasing the safety and appeal of medical services offered in Ukraine. The article underscores the need for continued reforms, investment in modern medical technologies, and marketing strategies for the international promotion of Ukraine as a leading provider of medical tourism services. It notes that addressing outlined challenges and effectively leveraging European integration could enable Ukraine to tap into the growing global market for medical tourism, offering comprehensive, high-quality, and cost-effective medical solutions to international patients. Overall, the article provides a deep analysis of the catalytic role of European integration in advancing medical tourism in Ukraine, noting that with the right policies and international cooperation, Ukraine can significantly improve its economic landscape and health care standards in the post-war period.

The acceptability and effectiveness of artificial intelligence-based chatbot for hypertensive patients in community: protocol for a mixed-methods study

BackgroundChatbots can provide immediate assistance tailored to patients’ needs, making them suitable for sustained accompanying interventions. Nevertheless, there is currently no evidence regarding their acceptability by hypertensive patients and the factors influencing the acceptability in the real-world. Existing evaluation scales often focus solely on the technology itself, overlooking the patients’ perspective. Utilizing mixed methods can offer a more comprehensive exploration of influencing factors, laying the groundwork for the future integration of artificial intelligence in chronic disease management practices.MethodsThe mixed methods will provide a holistic view to understand the effectiveness and acceptability of the intervention. Participants will either receive the standard primary health care or obtain a chatbot speaker. The speaker can provide timely reminders, on-demand consultations, personalized data recording, knowledge broadcasts, as well as entertainment features such as telling jokes. The quantitative part will be conducted as a quasi-randomized controlled trial in community in Beijing. And the convergent design will be adopted. When patients use the speaker for 1 month, scales will be used to measure patients’ intention to use the speaker. At the same time, semi-structured interviews will be conducted to explore patients’ feelings and influencing factors of using speakers. Data on socio-demography, physical examination, blood pressure, acceptability and self-management behavior will be collected at baseline, as well as 1,3,6, and 12 months later. Furthermore, the cloud database will continuously collect patients’ interactions with the speaker. The primary outcome is the efficacy of the chatbot on blood pressure control. The secondary outcome includes the acceptability of the chatbot speaker and the changes of self-management behavior.DiscussionArtificial intelligence-based chatbot speaker not only caters to patients’ self-management needs at home but also effectively organizes intricate and detailed knowledge system for patients with hypertension through a knowledge graph. Patients can promptly access information that aligns with their specific requirements, promoting proactive self-management and playing a crucial role in disease management. This study will serve as a foundation for the application of artificial intelligence technology in chronic disease management, paving the way for further exploration on enhancing the communicative impact of artificial intelligence technology.Trial registrationBiomedical Ethics Committee of Peking University: IRB00001052-21106, 2021/10/14; Clinical Trials: ChiCTR2100050578, 2021/08/29.

Activities of public administration entities in the field of standardization, licensing and accreditation of healthcare in Ukraine

According to the provisions of the Basic Law of our state, life and health, honor and dignity, inviolability and security of a person are the highest social value. In order to ensure the guaranteed right to health care, the state, in the form of authorized bodies, takes the necessary organizational and legal measures and methods aimed at preserving human health. The human right to health covers a wide range of health-related phenomena and practices. Standardization, licensing and accreditation as means of ensuring the human right to health care directly belong to this spectrum of social relations. Taking into account the fact that the health care of citizens is based on a number of principles enshrined in the Constitution and laws of Ukraine, the article emphasizes that standardization, licensing and accreditation, which are the guarantee of life and health care, occupy a specific weight in health care citizens. Through the prism of legislative regulation and the analysis of subordinate regulatory legal acts, the author of the article examines the impact of regulatory legal acts on the regulation of relations in the field of standardization, licensing, and accreditation. The author focuses on the activities of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the State Service of Ukraine for Medicinal Products and Drug Control, as well as other public administration entities that play a leading role in licensing, standardization and accreditation of business entities, as well as other participants in relations in the field of health care. In general, the article draws attention to the important role of public law entities in regulating relations in the field of standardization, licensing, and accreditation, as well as draws attention to the legal mechanism of compulsory licensing. It is concluded that the modern system of public administration in the researched sphere of public relations is carried out primarily by authorized state bodies. It is emphasized that the subject of further research should be the issue of determining the system of public and private law entities involved in the process of regulating relations in the sphere of health care of Ukraine, the disclosure of the legal mechanism of compulsory licensing in order to ensure the health of the population, the defense of the state, environmental safety and other public interests, as well as the activities of public entities during the martial law regime.

Sociology of E-Health Initiatives in Sierra Leone’s Communal Health Zone

The Sierra Leonean government has promoted diverse programs and approaches as a segment of civic automation ambitions to hand associates of the communal with a reachable path to health social data and services. Accomplishments have been made to grasp Datalogies in Sierra Leone’s communal health zone. The conduct of social health establishments in Sierra Leone nonetheless persists in degenerating at a moment when the exploit of Datalogies in social health is attaining motivation in the Mano River Basin. This sociological inquiry, therefore, urges to evaluate the execution of the social E-health system disclosing the ongoing state of social e-health or electronic device networks in Sierra Leone’s communal clinics. The sociological inquiry embraced an exploratory social inquiry design. Respondents in this inquiry preferred purposive sampling. Social data were amassed via respondents' social observations, in-depth dialogues, and documentary inquiry. The inquiry determined that despite social e-health being an essential instrument in enhancing standard, swift, and productive social health care, its achievement in Sierra Leone has not been smooth, and it is still in its immaturity platforms. The inquiry wrapped up with the fact that social e-health is a dependable instrument for forwarding prosperous and efficient communal social health service supply in Sierra Leone. The sociological inquiry, therefore, mirrors and offers aspects imperative for the thriving application of social E-health in Sierra Leone’s communal social health zone.

Perfusionist education in Japan: A survey of challenges and current status.

This study aimed to examine the educational challenges faced by perfusionists in Japan. Although Japan has over 400 cardiovascular surgery centers, it performs fewer surgeries than by countries such as Germany and the United States. We focused on challenges related to varying caseloads and working conditions. We conducted an online survey containing 24 questions using Google Forms from January to June 2022, targeting perfusionists in Japan. The 24-question survey spanned various educational topics and was approved by the Morinomiya University of Medical Sciences Ethics Committee. Responses were received from 129 perfusionists across 77 institutions. Approximately 70% of these centers managed less than 200 cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) cases per year, with a similar proportion of perfusionists handling under 50 CPB cases annually. Challenges in Japanese perfusionist education include enhancing communication and troubleshooting skills and the need for instructors with a broad teaching experience. This study emphasizes the significant differences in caseload and work environments for perfusionists among Japanese institutions. Perfusionists, who often work in clinical engineering, have various responsibilities. These findings highlight the need for improved communication, problem-solving skills, and the implementation of modern teaching technologies. Additionally, this study highlights the complexities of training Japanese perfusionists and underscores the need for more practical, technology-driven educational methods. Addressing these issues is crucial for improving Japan's healthcare standards and could influence global perfusionist education.

An advanced Artificial Intelligence platform for a personalised treatment of Eating Disorders.

Eating Disorders (EDs) affect individuals globally and are associated with significant physical and mental health challenges. However, access to adequate treatment is often hindered by societal stigma, limited awareness, and resource constraints. The project aims to utilize the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL), to improve EDs diagnosis and treatment. The Master Data Plan (MDP) will collect and analyze data from diverse sources, utilize AI algorithms for risk factor identificat io n, treatment planning, and relapse prediction, and provide a patient-facing chatbot for information and support. This platform will integrate patient data, support healthcare professionals, and empower patients, thereby enhancing care accessibility, personalizing treatment plans, and optimizing care pathways. Robust data governance measures will ensure ethical and secure data management. Anticipated outcomes include enhanced care accessibility and efficiency, personalized treatment plans leading to improved patient outcomes, reduced waiting lists, heightened patient engagement, and increased awareness of EDs with improved resource allocation. This project signifies a pivotal shift towards data-driven, patient-centered ED care in Italy. By integrat ing AI and promoting collaboration, it seeks to redefine mental healthcare standards and foster better well- being among individuals with EDs.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of fruquintinib in Chinese patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer is a significant health concern worldwide, with metastatic CRC (mCRC) presenting a particularly challenging prognosis. The FRESCO-2 trial highlighted the potential of fruquintinib in heavily pretreated mCRC patients. Given the recent changes in drug pricing in China and the evolving mCRC treatments, this study aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of fruquintinib in the context of current Chinese healthcare standards. This study utilized data from the FRESCO-2 trial, incorporating a partitioned-survival model to simulate three health states: Progression-Free Survival, Progressive Disease, and death. Costs and utility values were derived from published literature and the FRESCO-2 trial. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the base-case result and to understand the impact of various parameters on the ICER. The base-case analysis revealed a total cost of $11,089.05 for the fruquintinib group and $5,374.48 for the placebo group. The overall QALYs were higher in the fruquintinib group (0.61 QALYs) compared to the placebo group (0.43 QALYs). The ICER was calculated to be $31,747.67 per QALY. Sensitivity analyses identified the utility of progression-free survival, the cost of fruquintinib, and the costs of best supportive care as significant determinants of ICER. Fruquintinib emerges as a promising therapeutic option for refractory mCRC. However, its cost-effectiveness depends on selected willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold. While the drug's ICER surpasses the WTP based on China's 2022 GDP per capita, it remains below the threshold set at three times the national GDP.

Comprehensive analysis of artificial intelligence techniques for gynaecological cancer: symptoms identification, prognosis and prediction

Gynaecological cancers encompass a spectrum of malignancies affecting the female reproductive system, comprising the cervix, uterus, ovaries, vulva, vagina, and fallopian tubes. The significant health threat posed by these cancers worldwide highlight the crucial need for techniques for early detection and prediction of gynaecological cancers. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines are used to select the articles published from 2013 up to 2023 on the Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, PubMed, Excerpta Medical Database, and encompass AI technique for the early detection and prediction of gynaecological cancers. Based on the study of different articles on gynaecological cancer, the results are also compared using various quality parameters such as prediction rate, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, the area under curve precision, recall, and F1-score. This work highlights the impact of gynaecological cancer on women belonging to different age groups and regions of the world. A detailed categorization of the traditional techniques like physical-radiological, bio-physical and bio-chemical used to detect gynaecological cancer by health organizations is also presented in the study. Besides, this work also explores the methodology used by different researchers in which AI plays a crucial role in identifying cancer symptoms at earlier stages. The paper also investigates the pivotal study years, highlighting the periods when the highest number of research articles on gynaecological cancer are published. The challenges faced by researchers while performing AI-based research on gynaecological cancers are also highlighted in this work. The features and representations such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), ultrasound, pap smear, pathological, etc., which proficient the AI algorithms in early detection of gynaecological cancer are also explored. This comprehensive review contributes to the understanding of the role of AI in improving the detection and prognosis of gynaecological cancers, and provides insights for future research directions and clinical applications. AI has the potential to substantially reduce mortality rates linked to gynaecological cancer in the future by enabling earlier identification, individualised risk assessment, and improved treatment techniques. This would ultimately improve patient outcomes and raise the standard of healthcare for all individuals.