Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Aug 2021
Australia and New Zealand Transplant and Cellular Therapies COVID-19 vaccination consensus position statement.
Australia and New Zealand have achieved excellent community control of COVID-19 infection. In light of the imminent COVID-19 vaccination roll out in both countries, representatives of all adult and paediatric allogeneic bone marrow transplant and cellular therapy (TCT) centres as well as representatives from autologous transplant only centres in Australia and New Zealand collaborated with infectious diseases specialists with expertise in TCT on this consensus position statement regarding COVID-19 vaccination in TCT patients in Australia and New Zealand. ⋯ Vaccination should not replace other public health measures in TCT patients given the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in TCT patients is unknown. Furthermore, given the limited available data, prospective collection of safety and efficacy data of COVID-19 vaccination in this patient group is a priority.
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Internal medicine journal · Aug 2021
Medical Oncology Care Plan: a tool for improving the provision of clinical information to patients.
Improving clinical communication between patient and clinician through the provision of written information empowers patients to make informed decisions, underpinning patient-centred care and leading to greater health outcomes. The Townsville Cancer Centre has formulated a holistic care plan template for each patient as a tool to enhance this communication. ⋯ While initially time consuming, completion of care plans had many benefits for clinicians; they prompted them to collect holistic information, engage in discussions to capture patient goals and document details about prognosis, treatment options and management of side-effects. Medical oncology care plans provide a sustainable method to provide clinicians a practical template to gather vital information and encourage patients to participate in the decision-making process for healthcare.
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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.