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Unlucky numbers: Fighting murder convictions that rest on shoddy stats
LEIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS— When a Dutch nurse named Lucia de Berk stood trial for serial murder in 2003, statistician Richard Gill was aware of the case. But he saw no reason to stick his nose into it. De Berk was a pediatric nurse at Juliana Children’s Hospital in The Hague. In 2001, after a baby died while she was on duty, a colleague told superiors that De Berk had been present at a suspiciously high number of deaths and resuscitations. Hospital staff immediately informed the police. When investigators reexamined records from De Berk’s shifts, they found 10 suspicious incidents. Three other hospitals where D...
Source: Science of Aging Knowledge Environment - January 19, 2023 Category: Geriatrics Source Type: research

Association Between Primary Care Practitioner Empathy and Risk of Cardiovascular Events and All-Cause Mortality Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study.
CONCLUSIONS: Positive patient experiences of practitioner empathy in the year after diagnosis of type 2 diabetes may be associated with beneficial long-term clinical outcomes. Further work is needed to understand which aspects of patient perceptions of empathy might influence health outcomes and how to incorporate this understanding into the education and training of practitioners. PMID: 31285208 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Annals of Family Medicine - June 30, 2019 Category: Primary Care Authors: Dambha-Miller H, Feldman AL, Kinmonth AL, Griffin SJ Tags: Ann Fam Med Source Type: research

The use of a portable three-lead ECG monitor to detect atrial fibrillation in general practice.
CONCLUSIONS: The inexpensive portable PEM device recording diagnosed AF with a high sensitivity and specificity. KEY POINTS Simple ECG monitors could be useful to identify atrial fibrillation and thereby lead to a better prevention of stroke. The PEM device was easy to use and 95.7% of the recordings were technically acceptable for detecting atrial fibrillation. The PEM device has a high sensitivity and specificity in detecting atrial fibrillation compared to a standard 12-lead ECG. Further studies should evaluate the clinical usefulness of the PEM device, e.g. to detect intermittent atrial fibrillation. PMID: 2740915...
Source: Primary Care - July 12, 2016 Category: Primary Care Authors: Kristensen AN, Jeyam B, Riahi S, Jensen MB Tags: Scand J Prim Health Care Source Type: research

Service factors causing delay in specialist assessment for TIA and minor stroke: a qualitative study of GP and patient perspectives
Conclusions Primary and emergency care providers need to review how they can best handle patients presenting with symptoms that could be due to stroke or TIA. In general practice, this may include receptionist training and/or triage by a nurse or doctor. Mechanisms need to be established to enable direct referral to the TIA clinic when patients whose symptoms have resolved present to other agencies. Further work is needed to improve diagnostic accuracy by non-specialists.
Source: BMJ Open - May 16, 2016 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Wilson, A., Coleby, D., Regen, E., Phelps, K., Windridge, K., Willars, J., Robinson, T. Tags: Open access, Cardiovascular medicine, Emergency medicine, Health services research, Qualitative research Source Type: research

Implementing guidelines to routinely prevent chronic vascular disease in primary care: the Preventive Evidence into Practice cluster randomised controlled trial
Conclusions This intervention was associated with improved recording of some risk factors but no change in the level of risk at the follow-up audit. Trial registration number Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Register (ANZCTR): ACTRN12612000578808, results.
Source: BMJ Open - December 11, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Harris, M. F., Parker, S. M., Litt, J., van Driel, M., Russell, G., Mazza, D., Jayasinghe, U. W., Del Mar, C., Lloyd, J., Smith, J., Zwar, N., Taylor, R., Powell Davies, G., On behalf of the Preventive Evidence into Practice (PEP) Partnership Group, On be Tags: Open access, Cardiovascular medicine, Evidence based practice, General practice / Family practice, Health services research, Public health, Diabetes and Endocrinology Source Type: research

GP receptionists 'could help prevent stroke deaths'
Conclusion This valuable and well-designed study assessed a cross-section of general practices from one UK region, looking at how well receptionists are able to recognise the signs of stroke and give appropriate advice – either immediately passing patients on to the GP or telling them to contact emergency services. The study has many strengths. These include the large sample of GP surgeries and calls assessed, and that receptionists weren't aware of the nature of the study and the calls were unannounced. At the end of each individual call receptionists were told the call was part of the study and no further action was n...
Source: NHS News Feed - June 29, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Neurology Source Type: news

Receptionist rECognition and rEferral of patients with stroke (RECEPTS) study - protocol of a mixed methods study
This study therefore aims to understand the role of General Practice receptionists, with particular interest in receptionist's ability to recognise people who may be suffering from a stroke and to handle such patients as a medical emergency. Methods: The Receptionist rECognition and rEferral of PaTients with Stroke (RECEPTS) study will be a Primary Care based mixed methods study. 60 General Practices in the West Midlands will be recruited. Each practice will receive 10 unannounced simulated patient telephone calls, after the 10 calls questionnaires will be administered to each receptionist. These will examine the behaviour...
Source: Epidemiologic Perspectives and Innovations - May 12, 2014 Category: Epidemiology Authors: James P SheppardSatinder SinghJanet JonesElizabeth BatesJohn SkeltonConnie WiskinRichard J McManusRuth M Mellor Source Type: research

Republished: Mainstreaming HIV services for men who have sex with men: the role of general practitioners
Mainstreaming HIV services for men who have sex with men: The role of general practitioners General practitioners (GPs) and other primary care doctors around the world have a strong potential for providing quality HIV prevention, testing and treatment for men who have sex with men, as advocated by the recent WHO guideline.1 As the HIV epidemic becomes more focused on chronic disease care in many parts of the world, a number of primary care issues come to the forefront of clinical HIV service delivery. GPs have advantages in providing HIV services because of their position as trusted, community-based, long-term advocates fo...
Source: Postgraduate Medical Journal - March 12, 2013 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Wong, W. C. W., Kidd, M. R., Tucker, J. D. Tags: Liver disease, Sexual transmitted infections (viral), General practice / family medicine, Immunology (including allergy), Drugs: infectious diseases, HIV/AIDS, Stroke, Hypertension, Communication, Ethics, Legal and forensic medicine Republished editoria Source Type: research