scholarly journals The Internet Hospital Plus Drug Delivery Platform for Health Management During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liang Ding ◽  
Qiuru She ◽  
Fengxian Chen ◽  
Zitong Chen ◽  
Meifang Jiang ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Widespread access to the internet has boosted the emergence of online hospitals. A new outpatient service called “internet hospital plus drug delivery” (IHDD) has been developed in China, but little is known about this platform. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics, acceptance, and initial impact of IHDD during the outbreak of COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital in South China METHODS The total number of and detailed information on online prescriptions during the first 2 months after work resumption were obtained. Patients’ gender, age, residence, associated prescription department, time of prescription, payment, and drug delivery region were included in the analysis. RESULTS A total of 1380 prescriptions were picked up or delivered between March 2 and April 20, 2020. The largest group of patients were 36-59 years old (n=680, 49.3%), followed by the 18-35 years age category (n=573, 41.5%). In total, 39.4% (n=544) of the patients chose to get their medicine by self-pickup, while 60.6% (n=836) preferred to receive their medicine via drug delivery service. The top five online prescription departments were infectious diseases (n=572, 41.4%), nephrology (n=264, 19.1%), endocrinology (n=145, 10.5%), angiocardiopathy (n=107, 7.8%), and neurology (n=42, 3%). Of the 836 delivered prescriptions, 440 (52.6%) were sent to Guangdong Province (including 363 [43.4%] to Shenzhen), and 396 (47.4%) were sent to other provinces in China. CONCLUSIONS The IHDD platform is efficient and convenient for various types of patients during the COVID-19 crisis. Although offline visits are essential for patients with severe conditions, IHDD can help to relieve pressure on hospitals by reducing an influx of patients with mild symptoms. Further efforts need to be made to improve the quality and acceptance of IHDD, as well as to regulate and standardize the management of this novel service.

10.2196/19678 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. e19678
Author(s):  
Liang Ding ◽  
Qiuru She ◽  
Fengxian Chen ◽  
Zitong Chen ◽  
Meifang Jiang ◽  
...  

Background Widespread access to the internet has boosted the emergence of online hospitals. A new outpatient service called “internet hospital plus drug delivery” (IHDD) has been developed in China, but little is known about this platform. Objective The aim of this study is to investigate the characteristics, acceptance, and initial impact of IHDD during the outbreak of COVID-19 in a tertiary hospital in South China Methods The total number of and detailed information on online prescriptions during the first 2 months after work resumption were obtained. Patients’ gender, age, residence, associated prescription department, time of prescription, payment, and drug delivery region were included in the analysis. Results A total of 1380 prescriptions were picked up or delivered between March 2 and April 20, 2020. The largest group of patients were 36-59 years old (n=680, 49.3%), followed by the 18-35 years age category (n=573, 41.5%). In total, 39.4% (n=544) of the patients chose to get their medicine by self-pickup, while 60.6% (n=836) preferred to receive their medicine via drug delivery service. The top five online prescription departments were infectious diseases (n=572, 41.4%), nephrology (n=264, 19.1%), endocrinology (n=145, 10.5%), angiocardiopathy (n=107, 7.8%), and neurology (n=42, 3%). Of the 836 delivered prescriptions, 440 (52.6%) were sent to Guangdong Province (including 363 [43.4%] to Shenzhen), and 396 (47.4%) were sent to other provinces in China. Conclusions The IHDD platform is efficient and convenient for various types of patients during the COVID-19 crisis. Although offline visits are essential for patients with severe conditions, IHDD can help to relieve pressure on hospitals by reducing an influx of patients with mild symptoms. Further efforts need to be made to improve the quality and acceptance of IHDD, as well as to regulate and standardize the management of this novel service.


2022 ◽  
pp. 100596
Author(s):  
Khawla Abu Hammour ◽  
Mariam Abdeljalil ◽  
Qusai Manaseer ◽  
Bayan Al-Manaseer

Author(s):  
Shelagh K. Genuis

This qualitative paper explores how health information mediated by the internet and media is used and made valuable within the life of consumers managing non-crisis health challenges, and how informal information seeking and gathering influences self-positioning within patient-clinician relationships. Findings have implications for health information literacy and collaborative, patient-centred care.Cette étude qualitative explore comment l’information sur la santé relayée par Internet et les médias est utilisée et rendue utile dans le contexte de consommateurs gérant des problèmes médicaux non urgents, et comment la recherche et la collecte d’information informelles influencent l’auto-positionnement dans la relation patient clinicien. Les résultats ont des applications dans la maîtrise de l’information médicale et les soins collaboratifs centrés sur le patient.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 919-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Ianchis ◽  
Claudia Mihaela Ninciuleanu ◽  
Ioana Catalina Gifu ◽  
Elvira Alexandrescu ◽  
Cristina Lavinia Nistor ◽  
...  

The present review aims to summarize the research efforts undertaken in the last few years in the development and testing of hydrogel-clay nanocomposites proposed as carriers for controlled release of diverse drugs. Their advantages, disadvantages and different compositions of polymers/biopolymers with diverse types of clays, as well as their interactions are discussed. Illustrative examples of studies regarding hydrogel-clay nanocomposites are detailed in order to underline the progressive researches on hydrogel-clay-drug pharmaceutical formulations able to respond to a series of demands for the most diverse applications. Brief descriptions of the different techniques used for the characterization of the obtained complex hybrid materials such as: swelling, TGA, DSC, FTIR, XRD, mechanical, SEM, TEM and biology tests, are also included. Enlightened by the presented data, we can suppose that hydrogel-clay nanocomposites will still be a challenging subject of global assiduous researches. We can dare to dream to an efficient drug delivery platform for the treatment of multiple affection concomitantly, these being undoubtedly like ”a tree of life” bearing different kinds of fruits and leaves proper for human healing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 438-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Li ◽  
Mohammad Ishraq Zafar ◽  
Xiaotong Wang ◽  
Xiaofang Ding ◽  
Honggang Li

Aim: To investigate the application of Scrotal Heat Stress (SHS) and Pulsed Unfocused Ultrasound (PuFUS) to explore Blood-Testis Barrier (BTB) permeability in adult mice. Background: The BTB provides a stable microenvironment and a unique immune barrier for spermatogenesis. Meanwhile, it blocks macromolecular substances access, including therapeutic agents and antibodies, thereby it decreases the therapeutic or immunocontraception effects. Objectives: To determine the viability of these physical approaches in delivering macromolecular substances into seminiferous tubules. Material & Methods: Mice were subjected to receive single SHS intervention at 39°C, 41°C, or 43°C for 30 min. Whereas, mice received the PuFUS intervention at 1.75w/cm2, 1.25w/cm2, and 2.5w/cm2 for 2 min, 5 min, and 10 min, respectively. The Biotin and macromolecular substances (IgG, IgM, and exosomes) were separately injected into the testicular interstitium at different times following SHS or PuFUS interventions, to observe their penetration through BTB into seminiferous tubules. Results: As detected by Biotin tracer, the BTB opening started from day-2 following the SHS and lasted for more than three days, whereas the BTB opening started from 1.5h following PuFUS and lasted up to 24h. Apparent penetration of IgG, IgM, and exosomes into seminiferous tubules was observed after five days of the SHS at 43°C, but none at 39°C, or any conditions tested with PuFUS. Conclusion: The current results indicate that SHS at 43°C comparatively has the potential for delivering macromolecular substances into seminiferous tubules, whereas the PuFUS could be a novel, quick, and mild approach to open the BTB. These strategies might be useful for targeted drug delivery into testicular seminiferous tubules. However, further studies are warranted to validate our findings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 327-333
Author(s):  
Shannon Armstrong-Kempter ◽  
Lucinda Beech ◽  
Sarah J. Melov ◽  
Adrienne Kirby ◽  
Roshini Nayyar

Background: The discovery of the benefits of antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) for preterm infants was one of the most significant developments in obstetric care. However, due to the difficulty in predicting preterm delivery, optimal use of ACS, is challenging. Objective: To describe prescribing practices for antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) at a tertiary hospital over five years to determine whether ACS were received at optimal timing; to determine patient characteristics of women receiving ACS at optimal timing; to determine patient characteristics of those who did not receive ACS as indicated and to examine the trend in ACS prescribing over the study period. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of all deliveries from January 2011 to December 2015. The rates of ACS prescription for each group of women (preterm, late preterm, and term) were recorded and analysed. Results: A total of 65% of women who delivered before 34 weeks’ gestation received ACS. Of these women, 63% delivered within 7 days of receiving ACS. Women most likely to receive ACS with optimal timing were primiparous (relative risk [RR], 1.25 [CI, 1.08-1.45]), or women diagnosed with pre-eclampsia (RR, 1.34 [CI 1.10-1.63]), preterm premature rupture of membranes (RR, 1.33 [CI, 1.15-1.54]) or threatened preterm labour (RR, 1.42 [CI, 1.22-1.65]). Conclusion: A significant number of women and babies are exposed to ACS without commensurate benefit, and a significant number who deliver preterm do not receive ACS. The percentage of preterm and term infants receiving ACS should be determined to optimise service delivery.


Author(s):  
Inge Katrin Herrmann ◽  
Matthew John Andrew Wood ◽  
Gregor Fuhrmann

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