Canadian journal of rural medicine : the official journal of the Society of Rural Physicians of Canada = Journal canadien de la médecine rurale : le journal officiel de la Société de médecine rurale du Canada
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Telepsychiatry has become a common modality for the provision of psychiatric consultations to patients in rural regions. ⋯ Concordance between patient and provider satisfaction may contribute to adherence and positive treatment outcomes. These results provide support for the use of telepsychiatry consultations to improve patient access to psychiatric care in rural regions.
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While 12.4% of British Columbians live rurally, only 2.0% of specialists practise rurally, making interfacility transport of high-acuity patients vital. Decision-making aids have been identified as a way to improve the interfacility transfer process. We conducted a pilot study to explore the potential of the Standardised Early Warning Score (SEWS) as a decision-making aid for staff at sending facilities. ⋯ Overall, the performance of the SEWS in the context of rural interfacility transport suggests that the tool will have utility in supporting decision-making.
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Opioid use in pregnancy is increasing globally. In northwest Ontario, rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) are alarmingly high. We sought to document the increasing rates of opioid exposure during pregnancy and associated cases of NAS over a 7-year period in northwest Ontario. ⋯ Despite our continually increasing rates of opioid exposure in pregnancy, rates of NAS decreased annually and were substantially lower than those of our regional LHIN. In contrast to 2009, most opioid exposure in our region is now iatrogenic as a result of OAT. These improvements may be attributable in part to the rural community-based prenatal and addictions services developed in our catchment area.
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The economic contribution of medical schools to major urban centres can be substantial, but there is little information on the contribution to the economy of participating communities made by schools that provide education and training away from major cities and academic health science centres. We sought to assess the economic contribution of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) to northern Ontario communities participating in NOSM's distributed medical education programs. ⋯ Distributed medical education at the NOSM resulted in a substantial economic contribution to participating communities.