Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2024
Infections In Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients on Immunomodulator and Biologic Therapy are Not Associated With High Serum Drug Levels.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) therapies now utilise higher doses of immunomodulatory and biologic therapies, predisposing patients to an increased risk of infections. ⋯ Infections in patients with IBD were common, and the risk was highest with combination therapy. Infections were not associated with high serum anti-TNF levels.
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2024
Telemedicine in Specialist Outpatient Care during COVID-19: A Qualitative Study.
COVID-19 accelerated healthcare changes, introducing various telehealth services. Work is needed to determine the suitability of telemedicine in the post-pandemic era. ⋯ Despite expressing some concerns over its limitations, patients valued telemedicine for its convenience and for meeting their needs during the pandemic. While acknowledging that patients experienced some benefits from telemedicine, clinicians expressed concerns about potential missed diagnoses, uncertain clinical outcomes and lack of administrative and technological infrastructure. The ultimate test of telemedicine will be its impact on clinical outcomes versus longstanding models of in-person care.
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2024
Prescribing of antivirals for COVID-19 in a South Australian local health network according to statewide guidelines.
Antiviral drugs were rapidly implemented into clinical practice for the treatment of high-risk patients with COVID-19, prompting the development of statewide guidelines. This South-Australian study reviewed guideline adherence, assessed prescribing patterns and highlighted the inappropriate management of relative drug-drug interactions and dosing for renal function. Additionally, it evaluated the impact of inappropriate antiviral drug use and suggested methods to improve quality use of medicines.
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Pharmaceutical industry exposure is widespread during medical training and may affect education and clinical decision-making. Medical faculties' conflict of interest (COI) policies help to limit this exposure and protect students against commercial influence. ⋯ We found little indication that Australian medical students are protected from commercial influence on medical education, and there has been limited COI policy development within the past decade. More attention is needed to ensure the independence of medical education in Australia.
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Internal medicine journal · Jan 2024
"Selection Into Training Will Always Be an Inexact Process": A survey of Directors of Physician Education on selection into Basic Physician Training in Australia and New Zealand.
Despite being one of the largest medical specialty training programmes in Australasia, there is no standardised method for selection into Basic Physician Training (BPT), and limited data exist regarding current practices. ⋯ BPT sites should critically evaluate their selection methods, and more research in this field is needed to establish best practice.