Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Jul 2021
EVALUATION OF CALLING CRITERIA FOR THE RAPID RESPONSE SYSTEM UTILISING SINGLE VERSUS MULTIPLE PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETER DISTURBANCES.
The Adult Deterioration Detection System for Medical Emergency Team (MET) activation is widely used and includes single parameter (SP-MET) and multiple parameter (MP-MET) disturbances. Whether the patient characteristics, interventions and outcomes differ for SP-MET compared with MP-MET is uncertain. ⋯ SP-MET identify a cohort of patients at lower risk of requiring escalation of care and ICU admission. Given the resource intensity of MET activation, further research is warranted to determine whether alternative response strategies are appropriate for selected SP disturbances.
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Internal medicine journal · Jul 2021
Accessible and affordable healthcare? Views of Australians with and without chronic conditions.
With 50% of Australians having chronic disease, health consumer views are an important barometer of the 'health' of the healthcare system for system improvement and sustainability. ⋯ Health consumers, especially those with chronic conditions, identified significant cost barriers to access of healthcare. Equitable access to healthcare must be at the centre of health reform.
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Obtaining informed consent is an important responsibility of all doctors and is a major component of their day-to-day practice. However, little is known regarding practising doctors' understanding of consent in relation to medical law. ⋯ The results from our survey suggest that there is a requirement to enhance the education of medical practitioners to meet the medicolegal requirements and optimise consent.
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Internal medicine journal · Jul 2021
Patient satisfaction and acceptability with telehealth at specialist medical outpatient clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
Outpatient clinics were shifted rapidly to telehealth in Australia during the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, drastically altering patient care and experience. ⋯ This study offers unique insights into patients' experiences with telehealth, which until the current global pandemic, has been an uncommon mode of consultation delivery in urban areas. This study suggests when defining the place of telehealth in future healthcare delivery, patient perspective and careful patient selection will be key. Disease progression, language and cognitive ability, health literacy, technology access and patient and clinician preference are important considerations when deciding how effectively to embed and integrate telehealth into consultations.