The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Home monitoring by pulse oximetry of primary care patients with COVID-19: a pilot randomised controlled trial.
Pulse oximetry as a home or remote monitoring tool accelerated during the pandemic for patients with COVID-19, but evidence on its use is lacking. ⋯ Home monitoring of patients with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 by pulse oximetry appeared feasible; adherence was high, patients reported a high feeling of safety, while the number of primary care consultations remained similar to usual care.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Advance care planning engagement in patients with chronic, life-limiting illness: baseline findings from a cluster-randomised controlled trial in primary care.
Advance care planning (ACP) has been characterised as a complex process of communication and decision making. For ACP behaviour change, underlying processes such as self-efficacy and readiness are needed. However, studies about which patient characteristics are associated with ACP have mainly focused on whether ACP actions are completed, leaving behaviour change processes unexplored. ⋯ This study suggests that GPs providing information about ACP alone is not associated with a patient's ACP engagement; an important element is to listen to patients' worries regarding their future health.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted healthcare activity across a broad range of clinical services. The NHS stopped non-urgent work in March 2020, later recommending services be restored to near-normal levels before winter where possible. ⋯ Granular NHS general practice data at population-scale can be used to monitor disruptions to healthcare services and guide the development of mitigation strategies. The authors are now developing real-time monitoring dashboards for the key measures identified in this study, as well as further studies using primary care data to monitor and mitigate the indirect health impacts of COVID-19 on the NHS.