scholarly journals Access in New Zealand to antidotes for accidental and intentional drug poisonings

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Abbott ◽  
Michaela Creighton ◽  
Janelle Hannam ◽  
Timothy Vincent ◽  
Carolyn Coulter
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Rare Event ◽  
Morbidity And Mortality ◽  
Common Reason ◽  
Drug Poisoning ◽  
Prior Use ◽  
Hospital Pharmacies

INTRODUCTION: Access to antidotes for the treatment of drug poisonings can impact on morbidity and mortality. Treatment for drug poisonings usually occurs at the nearest emergency department; however, health professionals working in primary care are often the first point of contact for patients. As New Zealand has a small, diffuse population, and poisonings are a rare event, it can be difficult to anticipate what antidotes are required. AIM: The aim of the study was to determine what antidotes are frequently used and stocked in hospital pharmacies. METHODS: A survey was sent out to all 25 hospital pharmacies, excluding private and satellite hospitals. The survey contained questions about the stocking, and prior use, of over 30 antidotes. Also included were open-ended questions asking about reasons for not stocking antidotes and procedures for procuring antidotes in an emergency. RESULTS: Twenty out of 25 hospital pharmacies completed the survey. Most hospital pharmacies were found to stock large quantities of commonly used antidotes and low quantities of uncommonly used antidotes—but in sufficient quantity to treat one to two patients. A low number of poisonings was the most common reason cited for not stocking antidotes, followed by high cost. Most hospitals had clear guidelines for procuring and lending antidotes in an emergency. DISCUSSION: New Zealand hospital pharmacies stock adequate quantities of most antidotes, including antidotes that are expensive and rarely required, but which may be needed urgently. Hospital pharmacies also have clear procurement procedures for obtaining other antidotes in an emergency. KEYWORDS: Antidote stocking; access to antidotes; drug poisoning

scholarly journals Providing gender-affirming hormone therapy through primary care: Service users' and health professionals' experiences of a pilot clinic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Ker ◽  
Gloria Fraser ◽  
Antonia Lyons ◽  
C Stephenson ◽  
T Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Hormone Therapy ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Care Providers

© 2020 CSIRO Publishing Journal Compilation © Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 2020 This is an open access article licensed under a. INTRODUCTION: Primary health care providers are playing an increasingly important role in providing gender-affirming health care for gender diverse people. This article explores the experiences of a primary care-based pilot clinic providing gender-affirming hormone therapy in Wellington, New Zealand. AIM: To evaluate service users' and health professionals' experiences of a pilot clinic at Mauri Ora (Victoria University of Wellington's Student Health and Counselling Service) that provided gender-affirming hormones through primary care. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with four (out of six) service users and four health professionals about their perspectives on the clinic. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were identified in service users' interviews, who discussed receiving affirming care due to the clinic's accessibility, relationship-centred care and timeliness. Three themes were identified in the health professionals' interviews, who described how the clinic involves partnership, affirms users' gender and agency, and is adaptable to other primary care settings. Both service users and health professionals discussed concerns about the lack of adequate funding for primary care services and the tensions between addressing mental health needs and accessing timely care. DISCUSSION: The experiences of service users and health professionals confirm the value of providing gender-affirming hormone therapy in primary care. Models based in primary care are likely to increase accessibility, depathologise gender diversity and reduce wait times.

scholarly journals Long-term condition management: health professionals’ perspectives

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Ashworth ◽  
Shona Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Health Board ◽  
Long Term Conditions ◽  
Family Nursing

INTRODUCTION: Long-term conditions (LTCs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in New Zealand. The burden upon patients and health care services to manage these conditions has prompted calls for primary care to lead the way in early diagnosis and coordination of LTC care. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perspectives of health professionals in a geographically-isolated region of New Zealand regarding current levels of LTC management to provide direction for future service development. METHODS: Semi-structured, face-to-face interviews conducted in 2009 with 10 purposively sampled health professionals in the primary care field, including four general practitioners, four nurses and two management team personnel, all practising in a regional District Health Board. The resultant data were analysed using a general inductive thematic approach. FINDINGS: Three main themes were identified by the health professionals as being key issues pertaining to the management of LTCs. These are discussed as issues pertaining to management, information and communication and leadership. CONCLUSION: The results showed that LTC management is rated as highly important by health care professionals who are aware of the need to change current delivery methods to improve client outcomes. All those interviewed highlighted issues related to funding as being a significant barrier to implementing innovations in LTC management, including nurse-led services. Plans to develop integrated family health centres, information technology systems and increased collaboration between clinicians were hailed as potential solutions to improving LTC management. KEYWORDS: Chronic disease; family nursing; family practice; nurse led clinics; nurse’s practice patterns

scholarly journals Providing gender-affirming hormone therapy through primary care: Service users' and health professionals' experiences of a pilot clinic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Ker ◽  
Gloria Fraser ◽  
Antonia Lyons ◽  
C Stephenson ◽  
T Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Care ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Hormone Therapy ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Care Service ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Care Providers

© 2020 CSIRO Publishing Journal Compilation © Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 2020 This is an open access article licensed under a. INTRODUCTION: Primary health care providers are playing an increasingly important role in providing gender-affirming health care for gender diverse people. This article explores the experiences of a primary care-based pilot clinic providing gender-affirming hormone therapy in Wellington, New Zealand. AIM: To evaluate service users' and health professionals' experiences of a pilot clinic at Mauri Ora (Victoria University of Wellington's Student Health and Counselling Service) that provided gender-affirming hormones through primary care. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with four (out of six) service users and four health professionals about their perspectives on the clinic. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Three themes were identified in service users' interviews, who discussed receiving affirming care due to the clinic's accessibility, relationship-centred care and timeliness. Three themes were identified in the health professionals' interviews, who described how the clinic involves partnership, affirms users' gender and agency, and is adaptable to other primary care settings. Both service users and health professionals discussed concerns about the lack of adequate funding for primary care services and the tensions between addressing mental health needs and accessing timely care. DISCUSSION: The experiences of service users and health professionals confirm the value of providing gender-affirming hormone therapy in primary care. Models based in primary care are likely to increase accessibility, depathologise gender diversity and reduce wait times.

Paediatric emergency department referrals from primary care

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 691
Author(s):  
Erin Turbitt ◽  
Gary Lee Freed
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Emergency Department ◽  
General Practice ◽  
General Practitioners ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Absolute Number ◽  
Patterns Of Care ◽  
Or Education ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Number Of Children

Background Over the last decade, paediatric referrals from general practitioners (GPs) to the emergency department (ED) have increased by 60% in Australia. Objective To investigate the characteristics of Victorian children referred by GPs to the ED with lower-urgency conditions. Method Data were collected from four hospital EDs in Victoria, May–November 2014. Parents attending the ED with their child triaged as lower urgency were surveyed. Descriptive, frequency, and bivariate analyses were performed. Results Of the 1150 responses, 28% (320) visited their GP before attending ED. Of these 66% (212), were referred by their GP. A greater proportion with injury than illness (84% vs 59%; P < 0.0001) was referred to the ED if they had first visited their GP. Conclusion Motivations of GPs to send lower-urgency injured and ill children to ED are not well understood. The high number of referrals from GPs to the ED for lower urgency conditions suggests attention by policy makers and health professionals must be paid to the current patterns of care of children in general practice. What is known about the topic? Paediatric referrals in Australia from GPs to EDs have increased in the last decade, along with the absolute number of children in Victoria presenting to the ED. What does this paper add? A significant number of children (66%) who attend the GP before visiting the ED are referred to the ED for their lower urgency condition. What are the implications for practitioners? It may be appropriate for GPs to be further supported to manage lower urgency conditions, through better resources or education.

Tailoring Communications for Primary Care Settings

1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (02) ◽  
pp. 171-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Glassman ◽  
B. K. Rimer
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Contact Time ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Patient Specific ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Medical Settings ◽  
Primary Care Settings ◽  
Professional Contact ◽  
Tailored Communications

AbstractIn more and more medical settings, physicians have less and less time to be effective communicators. To be effective, they need accurate, current information about their patients. Tailored health communications can facilitate positive patient-provider communications and foster behavioral changes conducive to health. Tailored communications (TCs) are produced for an individual based on information about that person. The focus of this report is on tailored print communications (TPCs). TPCs also enhance the process of evaluation, because they require a database and the collection of patient-specific information. We present a Tailoring Model for Primary Care that describes the steps involved in creating TPCs. We also provide examples from three ongoing studies in which TPCs are being used in order to illustrate the kinds of variables used for tailoring the products that are developed and how evaluation is conducted. TPCs offer opportunities to expand the reach of health professionals and to give personalized, individualized massages in an era of shrinking professional contact time.

Experiences in physical activity promotion in health care settings for primary prevention in the UK

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Full Range ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Physical Activity Promotion ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Activity Promotion ◽  
Randomised Controlled

In addition to the delivery of primary care services, recent changes to the NHS in the United Kingdom have placed increasing responsibility on GPs for the commissioning of the full range of health services from prevention through to clinical interventions and rehabilitation. Whilst historically there has always been an expectation that primary care professionals were ideally placed to provide support for prevention as well as treatment, their active engagement in the promotion of physical activity has remained largely superficial. With notable exceptions where individuals have a personal interest or commitment, the majority of health professionals tend to limit themselves to peremptory non-specific advice at best, or frequently don’t broach the subject at all. There are a number of reasons for this including increasing time pressures, a general lack of knowledge, limited evidence and concerns about litigation in the event of an adverse exercise induced event. However in the 1990s there was a surge of interest in the emerging “Exercise on Prescription” model where patients could be referred to community based exercise instructors for a structured “prescription” of exercise in community leisure centres. Despite the continuing popularity of the model there remain problems particularly in getting the active support of health professionals who generally cite the same barriers as previously identified. In an attempt to overcome some of these problems Wales established a national exercise referral scheme with an associated randomised controlled trial. The scheme evaluated well and had subsequently evolved with new developments including integration with secondary and tertiary care pathways, accredited training for exercise instructors and exit routes into alternative community based exercise opportunities.

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