Asia-Pacific Journal of Health Management (ACHSM)
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Outpatient Letters in Real Time for Better Patient Outcomes
No full textThe Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service commenced a six-month proof-of-concept to trial speech recognition and self-type software in 2020. This action was taken in response to an ageing medical transcription workforce; an increase in outpatient letters due to population growth and the novel coronavirus pandemic; and more timely transfer of care communication to GPs.
The proof-of-concept presented the health service with a unique opportunity as no other public hospital in Queensland had leveraged speech recognition or self-type software for the production and distribution of outpatient letters. The proof-of-concept trial provided 18 clinicians with the choice to type or dictate outpatient letters, electronically sign, and distribute to referring general practitioners (GPs) in one transaction.
The results of the proof-of-concept demonstrated a 39% uptake of speech recognition and self-type software, demonstrating an opportunity to supplement the medical transcription workforce to address the rising outpatient activity. The proof-of-concept also demonstrated an average reduction in transaction time of 25% from the baseline measure over the six-month trial period. This finding supports the timely transfer of communication to GPs. However, it will need to be carefully analysed against the participant frustrations of voice to text accuracy to minimise the risk of poor adoption
Determining The Barriers to Access Dental Services For People With A Disability: A qualitative study
No full textAim: To determine the perceptions of carers of people with a disability in terms of the problems they face in accessing dental care. Method: The survey was based on the modified Penchansky’s 5A classification. It focused on members of a local disability support agency and was completed as part of their ongoing quality improvement processes.
Result: A total of 169 carers took part, with a quarter indicating that the person they cared for did not have a regular dentist. Nearly 25% of the participants found it extremely difficult to obtain appropriate oral health care. Amongst the participants 10% had to abandon dental treatment due to difficulties, while 13% have yet to receive any sort of dental care. Amongst school-aged children, 64.5% were unable to receive dental care from the school dental service.
Conclusion: The study was conducted to obtain an insight and understanding of how people with a disability and their primary caregivers experience dental care. Several concerns were identified, with most related to the process of providing care (patient-professional interaction factors) and the structure of the dental health system and its operation (factors related to access, affordability and information systems.) Targeted strategies aimed at providing affordable and appropriate services to people with disabilities should be prioritised.So What? The study showed emerging concerns among the participants relating to providing information regarding dental care options, as well as concerns regarding the availability and accessibility of the services. Further research will be conducted using the standardized tool the Measure of Processes of Care, and findings will translate to help initiate a program with the help of Developmental Disability Western Australia to provide information
Covid-19 Related Factors Associated with Antenatal Care in Rural Bangladesh: A qualitative study: Antenatal care seeking in the rural women of Bangladesh during COVID-19
No full textObjective: Available literature reveals that usage of Maternal Health Care Services (MHCSs), including antenatal care (ANC), has been decreased significantly in the developing countries due to Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic. However, the COVID-19 related factors on the MHCSs utilization in Bangladeshi women are yet to be examined. Therefore, this study examines the effect of COVID-19 on the use of ANC services among rural communities in Bangladesh.Method: A community-based qualitative study was conducted from May 01, 2021, to July 20, 2021, among selected pregnant women residing in eight villages of the Kushtia District, Bangladesh. A total of ten focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted. Open Code 4.0 software was used to transcribe, translate, and analyze the data thematically.
Results: Findings suggest that the measures taken by the government against the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly decreased the optimum usage of ANC services. The need to shift the role of the health workforces a vital factor that has a negative effect on women's attitude towards seeking MHCSs. Anxiety, dirty and poor environment of the health facilities, low quality of care, stigma, and risk minimization strategy are among other factors that refrained the pregnant women from seeking ANC services.
Conclusion: Undoubtedly, the COVID-19 related factors have decreased the possible usage of ANC services among rural communities in Bangladesh. Additional necessary health workforces are needed to recruit urgently. A special wing for pregnant women in each health facility may be opened as a one-stop service center for the COVID-19 period. The policymakers should take necessary actions to reduce anxiety among pregnant women and motivate them to use MHCSs for safe motherhood
Exploring the Challenges of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in COVID-19 Pandemic: A qualitative study
No full textObjectives: To explore the challenges and experiences of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Iran.
Design: Qualitative study
Setting: Prehospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Iran.
Participants: 15 Prehospital Emergency personnel were invited to participate. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted between Januarys to March 2021.
Results: Themes relating to challenges of Prehospital Emergency Personnel in COVID – 19 were: Lack of preparedness of EMS for the pandemic, shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), psychological distress and negative emotions, shortage of staff and challenges associated with delivering care for patients using PPE.
Conclusions: The current study found that Health Care Workers (HCWs) in the prehospital emergency field had multiple challenges in caring for their patients during COVID-19. Therefore, they are vulnerable in this situation. These challenges must be addressed in order to protect them in pandemics
The Impact of Public Health Intervention Policies On Locals’ Mobility Patterns During the First Half of 2020
No full textObjective: The prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause inconvenience and affect lifestyle because human movements can spread virus transmission. This study aims to investigate the impact of the government’s public health intervention policies and reported COVID-19 cases on locals’ mobility patterns.
Design: Secondary data on various mobility patterns of Hong Kong people against public health intervention policies and reported COVID-19 cases were collected and analyzed from publicly available sources, including government, commercial, and news sites. Data were collected from January to July 2020. Multiple regression was applied for hypothesis testing.
Results: Results showed positive and negative impacts of public health intervention policies and reported COVID-19 cases on locals’ mobility patterns. The policy of wearing facial masks negatively influenced locals’ mobility patterns. Then, the policy of closure of leisure and cultural service venues increases locals’ mobility for retail, groceries, and transit. Moreover, the policy limiting social gatherings to 50 people enhanced locals’ mobilities for retail and transit. From another aspect, the reported COVID-19 cases had a negative impact on locals’ mobility for retail, parks, and transit.
Conclusions: This study presents considerable effects of public health intervention policies. With the restrictions on certain activities or behaviors, locals will transfer to another behavior, which consequently enhances travel mobilities. The reported COVID-19 cases significantly reduced local mobility patterns
Health Services Avoidance and Self-Treatment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from rural India
No full textObjectives: This paper is one of the first studies that identifies factors that inhibit access to healthcare services and healthcare-seeking behaviour (HCSB) in rural India during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: The data source was the household sample survey of the World Bank on ‘COVID-19-Related Shocks in Rural India 2020, Rounds 1-3’. Binomial and multinomial regression analysis was carried out to estimate the determinants of health care avoidance and HCSB.
Results: Families belonging to low consumption quartiles not only delayed obtaining health care but also underutilized formal health resources at public and private facilities. The majority of non-agricultural households, as well as those that reduced their consumption during the outbreak, were forced to self-medicate through pharmacies. Family planning, immunization, child growth monitoring, and routine medical check-ups were among the services that were not availed during the pandemic.
Conclusion: The findings of this study emphasize the need of removing financial obstacles to care during the COVID-19, as well as the importance of child-related care continuity (child development monitoring, antenatal care, and immunization) and routine check-ups
Lessons Learned: Academia's tryst with the pandemic-mental and physical health impacts : ---7th International Conference on Embracing Change & Transformation Innovation and Creativity
No full textIntroduction: The COVID-19 pandemic brought various changes in the manner we work and the teaching-learning profession is not an exception. It is essential to understand the impact which the pandemic has had on the physical and mental well-being of the major stakeholders of the academic ecosystem.
Objectives: This study discusses the condition of educational institutes due to the pandemic and its impact on the mental and physical well-being of the faculty members and students.
Research Methodology: In order to understand the viewpoint of the students and faculty primary data collection was undertaken in graduate and postgraduate colleges in four Indian states namely Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. There are approximately seven to eight thousand colleges in these four states which offer graduate and post-graduate courses. More than 80,000 students’ study in these colleges. Due to the pandemic, it was not feasible to collect data from all of the colleges. In total, 25 colleges were contacted from these four states. Hence, the method of convenience sampling was used to collect the data. A structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to 1,750 students. 1,500 undergraduate and post-graduate students completed the questionnaire (85.7% response rate). From the same institutes, around 715 faculty were given a questionnaire to complete about issues faced in shifting to online teaching from offline teaching due to COVID-19. 600 faculty members completed the questionnaire (83.9% response rate).
Results: According to the findings, online learning has progressed but is resulting in a rise in loneliness and isolation among students and teachers. When one-on-one communication between instructors and students is disrupted, the majority of students felt isolated, which can lead to poor mental and physical health in pandemics.
Conclusion: Research outcomes can help institute, university, and policymakers in designing effective mental and physical health policies or developing programs to mitigate the negative effects of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings can help researchers discover that mental health is just as vital as physical health.
*(The paper presented at the 7th International Conference on Embracing Change & Transformation Innovation and Creativity 26-28 May 2022
The Use of Telehealth in Australia During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic for Medical Practitioners: A retrospective epidemiological analysis: Telehealth usage during COVID-19
No full textIntroduction: New Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) telehealth item codes were added in 2020 to allow Australians to gain access to medical services during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. Previous studies have been conducted on the utilisation of specific MBS item codes however none have been conducted on all medical practitioner telehealth item codes.
Objective: This retrospective epidemiological analysis aims to determine the utilisation rate of newly introduced medical practitioner telehealth MBS item codes and compare them with the usage of existing in-person item codes
Methods: The utilisation of 319 MBS item codes were extracted from the Medicare Statistics Database between March 2020 to March 2021. Using count and population statistics a population adjusted rate was generated and a linear regression analysis undertaken.
Results: A total of 199,059,309 in-person and telehealth services (Male, n=84,007,935; 42.2%, Female, n=115,051,374; 57.8%) were utilised during the study period. 147,697,104 were in-person compared to 51,191,898 telehealth services. In-person usage decreased by 27.5% while telehealth increased by 358.8%. In-person utilisation increased by 32.4% as the year continued while the telehealth utilisation decreased by 40.7%. There was a non-significant increase in total in-person item code utilisation (p=0.76) and a non-significant decrease (p=0.32) in the total telehealth item codes used
Conclusion: There was initially increased usage of telehealth especially during lockdown restrictions. However, when lockdowns eased, usage of telehealth decreased while in-person increased. Regardless, telehealth item codes continued to be used despite changes to eligibility criteria and lockdown restrictions easing. Hence, it appears that patients are accepting of telehealth as a healthcare delivery method
A Prospective Study Assessing Patient Perception of the Use Of Artificial Intelligence in Radiology
No full textObjective: Radiology has been at the forefront of medical technology including the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. However, there remains scant literature on the perspective of patients regarding clinical use of this technology. This study aimed to assess the opinion of radiology patients on the potential involvement of AI in their medical care.
Design: A survey was given to ambulatory outpatients attending our hospital for medical imaging. The survey consisted of questions concerning comfort with radiologist reports, comfort with entirely AI reports, comfort with in-part AI reports, accuracy, data security, and medicolegal risk.
Setting: Tertiary academic hospital in Melbourne, Australia.
Main outcome measures: Patients’ were surveyed for their overall comfort with the use of AI in their medical imaging using a Likert scale of 0 to 7.
Results: 283 patient surveys were included. Patients rated comfort in their imaging being reported by a radiologist at mean of 6.5 out of 7, compared with AI alone at mean 3.5 out of 7 (p<0.0001), or in-part AI at mean 5.4 out of 7 (p<0.0001). Patients felt AI should have an accuracy of mean 91.4% to be able to be used in a clinical environment. Patients rated their current comfort with data security at mean 5.5 out of 7 however comfort with data security using AI at mean 4.4 out of 7, p<0.0001.
Conclusions: Patients are trusting of the holistic role of a radiologist however, remain uncomfortable with clinical use of AI as a standalone product including accuracy and data security. If AI technology is to evolve then it must do so with appropriate involvement of stakeholders, of which patients are paramount
Awareness of Jordanian Surgical Patients about COVID 19 During Peak of Epidemic at JUH
No full textAround the first COVID-19 epidemic in Jordan, we aimed to explore awareness of COVID-19 (knowledge and attitudes) disease, treatment options, and preventive measures among patients who were admitted to Jordan University Hospital (JUH) and planned to undergo elective surgery over a period of 3 months in 2020.
This prospective cross-sectional article uses a questionnaire based survey which was provided to and was answered by patients themselves, then collected data was migrated to computer software and analyzed. The sample resulted in 292 patients. More than 95% were aware of the disease and and given age, educational levels and gender, we found no significant differences in knowledge and awareness of COVID-19 and protective and preventive measures. More than 60% of those surveyed were aware of COVID-19 serious complications and risk factors for developing them. Around 28% of patients who were admitted had significant anxiety from having COVID-19. The media appears to largely influence and spread some misconceptions about COVID-19 transmission and claimed therapies