Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · May 2023
Consultation with patients for whom English is not their native language.
Good communication with the patient is the cornerstone of effective and efficient consultation. The absence of a common language between the patient and physician negatively impacts the consultation outcome. ⋯ While involving an interpreter may help, it has its downsides and may not be ideal in all situations. Here, we discuss the experiences of various medical practitioners from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds (from Middle Eastern and Asian Countries) in managing non-English-speaking patients with a focus on the impacts of linguistic/cultural barriers in delivering optimal healthcare services and possible solutions to them.
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Since the recognition of BRAF V600E mutations in the majority of cases of hairy cell leukaemia, Erdheim-Chester disease and Langerhans cell histiocytosis, the targeted oral kinase inhibitors dabrafenib and vemurafenib have been adapted for their treatment. Like other targeted agents, these drugs produce high response rates and predictable but unique side effects. Physician familiarity is essential for the effective use of these agents. We review the Australian experience of BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy in these rare haematological cancers.
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Internal medicine journal · May 2023
Impact of a pharmacist led thiopurine monitoring service in outpatients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Thiopurines are effective therapies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); however, treatment comes with safety concerns and adverse effects. Knowledge of the impact of pharmacists performing thiopurine monitoring is limited. ⋯ Pharmacist monitoring of thiopurine therapy initiation in IBD outpatients improves adverse effect monitoring and increases medication persistence.
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Internal medicine journal · May 2023
'Tu Souffres, Cela Suffit': Louis Pasteur's (1822-1895) inspirational motto for Sydney's St George Hospital.
In the fiscal year of 1960-1961, board members of Sydney's St George Hospital elected to adopt a new motto for the organisation: 'Tu souffres, cela suffit' - French for 'You are suffering, that is enough'. Today these words are all too familiar to staff members and visitors to St George Hospital, but few are aware of their actual historical significance. Accessible histories of the hospital attribute the motto to the distinguished French microbiologist Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), but the original context of Pasteur's remark is not commonly stated. We set out to record the exact source and history of the hospital's motto alongside its logo, referencing in passing, Louis Pasteur's outstanding legacy to Australian medicine in this bicentenary year of his birth.