Family practice
-
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine was rapidly implemented in care settings globally. To understand what factors affect the successful completion of telemedicine visits in our urban, academic family medicine clinic setting, we analysed telemedicine visits carried out during the pandemic. ⋯ In our urban clinical setting, only a small minority of telemedicine visits required an in-person follow-up visit. This information may be useful in guiding approaches to triaging patients to telemedicine or standard in-person care.
-
Remunerated telehealth consultations were introduced in Australia in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Videoconferencing has advantages over telephone-consulting, including improved diagnostic and decision-making accuracy. However, videoconferencing uptake in Australia has been low. This study aimed to establish prevalence and associations of video versus telephone consultations in Australian general practice (GP) registrars' practice. ⋯ Registrars' telehealth consultations were mostly performed via telephone. Telephone use being associated with socioeconomic disadvantage has health equity implications. Future research should explore barriers to videoconferencing use and strategies to increase its uptake.
-
This paper presents a rare case of subacute bacterial endocarditis (SBE) following a herpes zoster (HZ) episode, with no prior records found in the existing literature. ⋯ HZ episodes have not conventionally been linked in the medical literature to the occurrence of SBE. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that HZ infections have been associated with the development of other consequential bacterial infections, such as pneumonia and necrotizing fasciitis.This case underscores the necessity for medical practitioners to recognize the possibility of HZ symptoms obscuring indications of critical underlying conditions and infections. The implications of this report highlight the significance of maintaining heightened vigilance for signs of other severe infections when managing patients presenting with HZ symptoms.
-
Observational Study
The association between use of ambient voice technology documentation during primary care patient encounters, documentation burden, and provider burnout.
The burden of documentation in the electronic medical record has been cited as a major factor in provider burnout. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between ambient voice technology, coupled with natural language processing and artificial intelligence (DAX™), on primary care provider documentation burden and burnout. ⋯ The use of ambient voice technology during patient encounters was associated with significantly reduced documentation burden and primary care provider disengagement but not total provider burnout scores.
-
Viral infections are the main original cause of recurrent respiratory tract infections (RRTIs), but their complications and recurrences are due to bacteria as well. While some operational definitions and epidemiology of RRTIs are reported in paediatrics, no similar definitions have been proposed for adults. ⋯ We provided evidence on the epidemiology and concurrent/predisposing factors of RRTIs in adults. These data should support health authorities and general practitioners for the application of the most appropriate preventive and/or treatment strategies.