The Permanente journal
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The Permanente journal · Jan 2013
ReviewTelepsychiatry in correctional facilities: using technology to improve access and decrease costs of mental health care in underserved populations.
It is unclear if telepsychiatry, a subset of telemedicine, increases access to mental health care for inmates in correctional facilities or decreases costs for clinicians or facility administrators. The purpose of this investigation was to determine how utilization of telepsychiatry affected access to care and costs of providing mental health care in correctional facilities. ⋯ Increasing access to mental health care for this underserved group through telepsychiatry may improve living conditions and safety inside correctional facilities. Providers, facilities, and state and federal governments can expect increased savings with utilization of telepsychiatry.
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The Permanente journal · Jan 2012
ReviewTransparency matters: Kaiser Permanente's National Guideline Program methodological processes.
The practice-guideline process of collecting, critically appraising, and synthesizing available evidence, then developing expert panel recommendations based on appraised evidence, makes it possible to provide high-quality care for patients. Unwanted variability in the quality and rigor of evidence summaries and Clinical Practice Guidelines has been a long-standing challenge for clinicians seeking evidence-based guidance to support patient care decisions. ⋯ The Care Management Institute disseminates all KP national guidelines to its eight Regions via postings on its Clinical Library Intranet site, a Web-based internal information resource.
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The approach to and management of the athlete with concussion can be a challenging endeavor to physicians who care for athletes who have suffered a head injury--this group includes family physicians, pediatricians, internists, emergency medicine physicians, primary sports medicine physicians, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and neurosurgeons. Sometimes questions regarding the need for neurologic, psychological, or radiographic imaging can make the decision for return to play unclear. New legislation will undoubtedly increase physician visits for these athletes to return to play. Thus, the goal of this article is to review the latest guidelines regarding concussion management to help all physicians who care for athletes do so appropriately.
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Health care professionals are in a unique position to identify and to assist victims of human trafficking. Human trafficking today occurs both domestically and globally. It manifests in many forms, including adult and child forced labor, involuntary domestic servitude, adult and child sexual slavery, involuntary servitude, debt bondage, and child soldiers. This article offers insight into modern human trafficking and ways health care professionals can be activists.