Open medicine : a peer-reviewed, independent, open-access journal最新文献

Background: Limited access to specialist care remains a major barrier to health care in Canada, affecting patients and primary care providers alike, in terms of both long wait times and inequitable availability. We developed an electronic consultation system, based on a secure web-based tool, as an alternative to face-to-face consultations, and ran a pilot study to evaluate its effectiveness and acceptability to practitioners.

Methods: In a pilot program conducted over 15 months starting in January 2010, the e-consultation system was tested with primary care providers and specialists in a large health region in Eastern Ontario, Canada. We collected utilization data from the electronic system itself (including quantitative data from satisfaction surveys) and qualitative information from focus groups and interviews with providers.

Results: Of 18 primary care providers in the pilot program, 13 participated in focus groups and 9 were interviewed; in addition, 10 of the 11 specialists in the program were interviewed. Results of our evaluation showed good uptake, high levels of satisfaction, improvement in the integration of referrals and consultations, and avoidance of unnecessary specialist visits. A total of 77 e-consultation requests were processed from 1 Jan. 2010 to 1 Apr. 2011. Less than 10% of the referrals required face-to-face follow-up. The most frequently noted benefits for patients (as perceived by providers) included improved access to specialist care and reduced wait times. Primary care providers valued the ability to assist with patient assessment and management by having access to a rapid response to clinical questions, clarifying the need for diagnostic tests or treatments, and confirming the need for a formal consultation. Specialists enjoyed the improved interaction with primary care providers, as well as having some control in the decision on which patients should be referred.

Interpretation: This low-cost referral system has potential for broader implementation, once payment models for physicians are adapted to cover e-consultation.

Canadian public health care systems pay for-profit corporations to provide essential medical laboratory services. This practice is a useful window on the effects of using for-profit corporations to provide publicly funded services. Because private corporations are substantially protected by law from the public disclosure of "confidential business information," increased for-profit delivery has led to decreased transparency, thus impeding informed debate on how laboratory services are delivered. Using for-profit laboratories increases the cost of diagnostic testing and hinders the integration of health care services more generally. Two useful steps toward ending the for-profit provision of laboratory services would be to stop fee-for-service funding and to integrate all laboratory work within public administrative structures.

Background: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its complications is higher among First Nations people and people with low socio-economic status (SES). Previous studies in Alberta have shown that provision of care through Primary Care Networks (PCNs) is associated with better quality of care and better outcomes for people with diabetes, possibly because of greater utilization of chronic disease management programs. However, it is unknown whether First Nations individuals and those in lower SES groups experience these benefits.

Methods: We used administrative and laboratory data for a population-based cohort analysis of Alberta residents under 65 years of age with diabetes. The primary outcome, assessed over a 1-year period, was admission to hospital or emergency department visit for a diabetes-specific ambulatory care sensitive condition (ACSC). Secondary outcomes were 2 quality-of-care indicators (likelihood of measurement of glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c] and or retinal screening) and 2 measures of health care utilization (visits to specialist and primary care physicians). We used negative binomial regression to determine the association between care within a PCN and hospital admission or emergency department visit for diabetes-specific ACSCs. We also assessed outcomes in 3 populations of interest (individuals receiving a health care subsidy [household income less than $39 250 and not eligible for Income Support], those receiving Income Support, and First Nations individuals) relative to the remainder of the population, controlling for whether care was provided in a PCN and adjusting for several baseline characteristics.

Results: We identified a total of 106 653 patients with diabetes eligible for our study, of whom 43 327 (41%) received care in a PCN. Receiving care through a PCN was associated with lower rates of ACSC-related hospital admission or emergency department visits for all groups of interest, which suggests that PCNs had similar effects across each group. However, regardless of where care was provided, First Nations and low-SES patients had more than twice the adjusted rates of hospital admission or emergency department visits for diabetes-specific ACSCs than the general population and were less likely to receive guideline-recommended care, including measurement of HbA1c and retinal screening.

Interpretation: Care in a PCN was associated with lower risks of hospital admission or emergency department visits for diabetes-specific ACSCs, even within vulnerable groups such as First Nations people and those of low SES. However, differences in outcomes and quality-of-care indicators persisted for First Nations individuals and those of low SES, relative to the general population, irrespective of where care was provided.

Background: Among people living with HIV infection in the era of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART), admission to hospital may indicate inadequate community-based care. As such, population-based assessments of the utilization of inpatient services represent a necessary component of evaluating the quality of HIV-related care.

Methods: We used a validated algorithm to search Ontario's administrative health care databases for all persons living with HIV infection aged 18 years or older between 1992/93 and 2008/09. We then conducted a population-based study using time-series and longitudinal analyses to first quantify the immediate effect of cART on hospital admission rates and then analyze recent trends (for 2002/03 to 2008/09) in rates of total and HIV-related admissions.

Results: The introduction of cART in 1996/97 was associated with more pronounced reductions in the rate of hospital admissions among men than among women (for total admissions, -89.9 v. -60.5 per 1000 persons living with HIV infection, p = 0.003; for HIV-related admissions, -56.9 v. -36.3 per 1000 persons living with HIV infection, p < 0.001). Between 2002/03 and 2008/09, higher rates of total hospital admissions were associated with female sex (adjusted relative rate [RR] 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-1.27) and low socio-economic status (adjusted RR 1.21, 95% CI 1.14-1.29). Higher rates of HIV-related hospital admission were associated with low socio-economic status (adjusted RR 1.30, 95% CI 1.17-1.45). Recent immigrants had lower rates of both total admissions (adjusted RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.61-0.80) and HIV-related admissions (adjusted RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.61-0.96).

Interpretation: We observed important socio-economic- and sex-related disparities in rates of hospital admission among people with HIV living in Ontario, Canada.

Background: In August 2010, a tamper-resistant formulation of controlled-release oxycodone (OxyContin-OP) was introduced in the United States but not in Canada. Our objective was to determine whether introduction of OxyContin-OP in the United States influenced prescription volumes for the original controlled-release oxycodone formulation (OxyContin) at Canadian pharmacies near the international border.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, serial, cross-sectional study of prescriptions dispensed from pharmacies in the 3 cities with the highest volume of US-Canada border crossings in Ontario: Niagara Falls, Windsor and Sarnia. We analyzed data on all outpatient prescriptions for OxyContin dispensed by Canadian pharmacies near each border crossing between 2010 Apr. 1 and 2012 Feb. 29. We calculated and compared monthly prescription rates, adjusted per 1000 population and stratified by tablet strength.

Results: The number of tablets dispensed near 4 border crossings in the 3 Canadian cities remained stable over the study period. However, the rate of dispensing at pharmacies near the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel increased roughly 4-fold between August 2010 and February 2011, from 505 to 1969 tablets per 1000 population. By April 2011, following warnings to prescribers and pharmacies regarding drug-seeking behaviour, the dispensing rate declined to 1683 tablets per 1000 population in this area. By November 2011, the rate had returned to levels observed in early 2010. Our analyses suggest that 242 075 excess OxyContin tablets were dispensed near the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel between August 2010 and October 2011.

Conclusions: Prescribing of the original formulation of controlled-release oxycodone rose substantially near a major international border crossing following the introduction of a tamper-resistant formulation in the United States. It is possible that the restriction of this finding to the area surrounding the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel reflects specific characteristics of this border crossing, including its high traffic volume, direct access to the downtown core and drug-trafficking patterns in the Detroit area. Our findings highlight the potential impact of cross-border differences in medication availability on drug-seeking behaviour.

Although administrative health care databases have long been used to evaluate adverse drug effects, responses to drug safety signals have been slow and uncoordinated. We describe the establishment of the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES), a collaborating centre of the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN). CNODES is a distributed network of investigators and linked databases in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Principles of operation are as follows: (1) research questions are prioritized by the coordinating office of DSEN; (2) the linked data stay within the provinces; (3) for each question, a study team formulates a detailed protocol enabling consistent analyses in each province; (4) analyses are "blind" to results obtained elsewhere; (5) protocol deviations are permitted for technical reasons only; (6) analyses using multivariable methods are lodged centrally with a methods team, which is responsible for combining the results to provide a summary estimate of effect. These procedures are designed to achieve high internal validity of risk estimates and to eliminate the possibility of selective reporting of analyses or outcomes. The value of a coordinated multi-provincial approach is illustrated by projects studying acute renal injury with high-potency statins, community-acquired pneumonia with proton pump inhibitors, and hyperglycemic emergencies with antipsychotic drugs. CNODES is an academically based distributed network of Canadian researchers and data centres with a commitment to rapid and sophisticated analysis of emerging drug safety signals in study populations totalling over 40 million.

This article provides the scientific rationale and background information for the Canadian Hypertension Education Program's 2012 recommendations for the management of hypertension. It also summarizes the key new recommendations and the theme for 2012, which is the prevention of hypertension. The full recommendations are available at www.hypertension.ca.

Background: In the general population, job insecurity may be as harmful to health as unemployment. Some evidence suggests that employment is associated with better health outcomes among people with HIV, but it is not known whether job security offers additional quality-of-life benefits beyond the benefits of employment alone.

Methods: We used baseline data for 1660 men and 270 women who participated in the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study, an ongoing observational cohort study that collects clinical and socio-behavioural data from people with HIV in the province of Ontario, Canada. We performed multivariable regression analyses to determine the contribution of employment and job security to health-related quality of life after controlling for potential confounders.

Results: Employed men with secure jobs reported significantly higher mental health-related quality of life than those who were non-employed (β = 5.27, 95% confidence interval [CI] 4.07 to 6.48), but insecure employment was not associated with higher mental health scores relative to non-employment (β = 0.18, 95% CI -1.53 to 1.90). Thus, job security was associated with a 5.09-point increase on a 100-point mental health quality-of-life score (95% CI 3.32 to 6.86). Among women, being employed was significantly associated with both physical and mental health quality of life, but job security was not associated with additional health benefits.

Interpretation: Participation in employment was associated with better quality of life for both men and women with HIV. Among men, job security was associated with better mental health, which suggests that employment may offer a mental health benefit only if the job is perceived to be secure. Employment policies that promote job security may offer not only income stability but also mental health benefits, although this additional benefit was observed only for men.

Background: It is unclear if histamine H2 receptor antagonists (H2 blockers) prevent a variety of gastrointestinal harms among patients taking acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) over long periods.

Methods: Electronic databases (e.g., MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials; from inception to November 2010) and reference lists of retrieved articles were searched. Randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the efficacy of H2 blockers in reducing gastrointestinal harms (bleeding, ulcers) among adults taking ASA for 2 weeks or longer were included. Two reviewers independently abstracted study and patient characteristics and appraised study quality using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. Peto odds ratio (OR) meta-analysis was performed, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and statistical heterogeneity was assessed using the I (2) and χ(2) statistics.

Results: Six RCTs (4 major publications and 2 companion reports) with a total of 498 participants (healthy volunteers or patients with arthritis, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease, or diabetes mellitus) were included. One trial adequately reported allocation concealment and sequence generation, with the other 3 trials being judged as unclear for both aspects. In one RCT, no statistically significant differences for gastrointestinal hemorrhage requiring admission to hospital (p = 0.14) or blood transfusion (p = 0.29) were observed between the group receiving concomitant famotidine and ASA and the group receiving concomitant placebo and ASA. After a median of 8 weeks' follow-up, H2 blockers were more effective than placebo in reducing gastrointestinal hemorrhage (2 RCTs, total of 447 patients, OR 0.07, 95% CI 0.02-0.23) and peptic ulcers (3 RCTs, total of 465 patients, OR 0.21, 95% CI 0.12-0.36) among patients taking ASA for 2 weeks or longer. Despite substantial clinical heterogeneity across the studies, including types of H2 blockers, dosing of ASA and underlying conditions, no statistical heterogeneity was observed.

Interpretation: H2 blockers reduced gastrointestinal harm among patients taking ASA for 2 weeks or longer. These results should be interpreted with caution, because of the small number of studies identified for inclusion.

Background: Human error due to risky behaviour is a common and important contributor to acute injury related to poverty. We studied whether social benefit payments mitigate or exacerbate risky behaviours that lead to emergency visits for acute injury among low-income mothers with dependent children.

Methods: We analyzed total emergency department visits throughout Ontario to identify women between 15 and 55 years of age who were mothers of children younger than 18 years, who were living in the lowest socio-economic quintile and who presented with acute injury. We used universal health care databases to evaluate emergency department visits during specific days on which social benefit payments were made (child benefit distribution) relative to visits on control days over a 7-year interval (1 April 2003 to 31 March 2010).

Results: A total of 153 377 emergency department visits met the inclusion criteria. We observed fewer emergencies per day on child benefit payment days than on control days (56.4 v. 60.1, p = 0.008). The difference was primarily explained by lower values among mothers age 35 years or younger (relative reduction 7.29%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.69% to 12.88%), those living in urban areas (relative reduction 7.07%, 95% CI 3.05% to 11.10%) and those treated at community hospitals (relative reduction 6.83%, 95% CI 2.46% to 11.19%). No significant differences were observed for the 7 days immediately before or the 7 days immediately after the child benefit payment.

Interpretation: Contrary to political commentary, we found that small reductions in relative poverty mitigated, rather than exacerbated, risky behaviours that contribute to acute injury among low-income mothers with dependent children.