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Study: Emergency visits increase risk of infections for long-term care residents
There was an increased risk of acute infection among long-term care residents who visited hospital emergency departments, according to a study published online January 23 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
There was an increased risk of acute infection among long-term care residents who visited hospital emergency departments (ED), according to a study published online January 23 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Lead author Caroline Quach, MD, MSc, and several other researchers compared the rates of new respiratory and gastrointestinal infections among long-term care facility residents aged 65 years and older.
“Elderly residents of long-term care facilities are likely to be at the greatest risk of morbidity and mortality from communicable disease acquired in the emergency department. When residents are transferred to the emergency department for assessment, they are likely to have longer stays and be cared for in multi-bed observation areas and corridors,” Dr Quach wrote.
The researchers found that new infections were acquired by 21 (5%) of the 424 residents who visited the ED versus infections in 17 (2%) of the 845 residents who did not visit the ED.
“Considerations should be given to the implementation of additional precautions for residents for 5 to 7 days after their return from the emergency department,” Dr Quach wrote.
But the authors also said that further research is required to identify specific sources of transmission in the ED and to monitor for the presence and compliance to infection control guidelines and policies.
Coalition promotes important acetaminophen dosing reminders
November 18th 2014It may come as a surprise that each year Americans catch approximately 1 billion colds, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as 20% get the flu. This cold and flu season, 7 in 10 patients will reach for an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine to treat their coughs, stuffy noses, and sniffles. It’s an important time of the year to remind patients to double check their medicine labels so they don’t double up on medicines containing acetaminophen.
Support consumer access to specialty medications through value-based insurance design
June 30th 2014The driving force behind consumer cost-sharing provisions for specialty medications is the acquisition cost and not clinical value. This appears to be true for almost all public and private health plans, says a new report from researchers at the University of Michigan Center for Value-Based Insurance Design (V-BID Center) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).
Management of antipsychotic medication polypharmacy
June 13th 2013Within our healthcare-driven society, the increase in the identification and diagnosis of mental illnesses has led to a proportional increase in the prescribing of psychotropic medications. The prevalence of mental illnesses and subsequent treatment approaches may employ monotherapy as first-line treatment, but in many cases the use of combination of therapy can occur, leading to polypharmacy.1 Polypharmacy can be defined in several ways but it generally recognized as the use of multiple medications by one patient and the most common definition is the concurrent use of five more medications. The presence of polyharmacy has the potential to contribute to non-compliance, drug-drug interactions, medication errors, adverse events, or poor quality of life.
Medical innovation improves outcomes
June 12th 2013I have been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the pancreas, a disease that’s long been considered not just incurable, but almost impossible to treat-a recalcitrant disease that some practitioners feel has given oncology a bad name. I was told my life would be measured in weeks.
