Articles: professional-practice.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2009
ReviewInterventions for promoting information and communication technologies adoption in healthcare professionals.
Information and communication technologies (ICT) are defined as digital and analogue technologies that facilitate the capturing, processing, storage and exchange of information via electronic communication. ICTs have the potential to improve information management, access to health services, quality of care, continuity of services, and cost containment. Knowledge is lacking on conditions for successful ICT integration into practice. ⋯ There is very limited evidence on effective interventions promoting the adoption of ICTs by healthcare professionals. Small effects have been reported for interventions targeting the use of electronic databases and digital libraries. The effectiveness of interventions to promote ICT adoption in healthcare settings remains uncertain, and more well designed trials are needed.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2009
ReviewInterprofessional collaboration: effects of practice-based interventions on professional practice and healthcare outcomes.
Poor interprofessional collaboration (IPC) can negatively affect the delivery of health services and patient care. Interventions that address IPC problems have the potential to improve professional practice and healthcare outcomes. ⋯ In this updated review, we found five studies (four new studies) that met the inclusion criteria. The review suggests that practice-based IPC interventions can improve healthcare processes and outcomes, but due to the limitations in terms of the small number of studies, sample sizes, problems with conceptualising and measuring collaboration, and heterogeneity of interventions and settings, it is difficult to draw generalisable inferences about the key elements of IPC and its effectiveness. More rigorous, cluster randomised studies with an explicit focus on IPC and its measurement, are needed to provide better evidence of the impact of practice-based IPC interventions on professional practice and healthcare outcomes. These studies should include qualitative methods to provide insight into how the interventions affect collaboration and how improved collaboration contributes to changes in outcomes.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2009
ReviewElectronic retrieval of health information by healthcare providers to improve practice and patient care.
The movement towards evidence-based practice makes explicit the need for access to current best evidence to improve health. Advances in electronic technologies have made health information more available, but does availability affect the rate of use of evidence in practice? ⋯ Overall there was insufficient evidence to support or refute the use of electronic retrieval of healthcare information by healthcare providers to improve practice and patient care.
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We have recently identified three salient questions within the patient choice cesarean delivery controversy. First, is performing cesarean delivery on maternal request consistent with good professional medial practice? Second, how should physicians respond to or counsel patients who request patient choice cesarean delivery? Third, should patient choice cesarean delivery be routinely offered to all pregnant women? ⋯ When a patient makes a request for an elective cesarean delivery, obstetricians, in their capacity as patient advocate, must help guide their patient through the labyrinth of detailed medical information toward a decision that respects both the patient's autonomy and the physician's obligation to optimize the health of both the mother and the newborn.
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Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2008
ReviewInterprofessional education: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes.
Patient care is a complex activity which demands that health and social care professionals work together in an effective manner. The evidence suggests, however, that these professionals do not collaborate well together. Interprofessional education (IPE) offers a possible way to improve collaboration and patient care. ⋯ This updated review found six studies that met the inclusion criteria, in contrast to our first review that found no eligible studies. Although these studies reported some positive outcomes, due to the small number of studies, the heterogeneity of interventions, and the methodological limitations, it is not possible to draw generalisable inferences about the key elements of IPE and its effectiveness. More rigorous IPE studies (i.e. those employing RCTs, CBA or ITS designs with rigorous randomisation procedures, better allocation concealment, larger sample sizes, and more appropriate control groups) are needed to provide better evidence of the impact of IPE on professional practice and healthcare outcomes. These studies should also include data collection strategies that provide insight into how IPE affects changes in health care processes and patient outcomes.