George Gamble

A Cross-Cultural Study of Physician Treatment Decisions for Demented Nursing Home Patients Who Develop Pneumonia

PURPOSE We wanted to explore factors that influence Dutch and US physician treatment decisions when nursing home patients with dementia become acutely ill with pneumonia. METHODS Using a qualitative semistructured interview study design, we collected data from 12 physicians in the Netherlands and 12 physicians in North Carolina who care for nursing home patients. Our main outcome measures were perceptions of influential factors that determine physician treatment decisions regarding care of demented patients who develop pneumonia. RESULTS Several themes emerged from the study. First, physicians viewed their patient care roles differently. Dutch physicians assumed active, primary responsibility for treatment decisions, whereas US physicians were more passive and deferential to family preferences, even in cases when they considered families’ wishes for care as inappropriate. These family wishes were a second theme. US physicians reported a perceived sense of threat from families as influencing the decision to treat more aggressively, whereas Dutch physicians revealed a predisposition to treat based on what they perceived was in the best interest of the patient. The third theme was the process of decision making whereby Dutch physicians based decisions on an intimate knowledge of the patient, and American physicians reported limited knowledge of their nursing home patients as a result of lack of contact time. CONCLUSION Physician-perceived care roles regarding treatment decisions are influenced by contextual differences in physician training and health care delivery in the United States and the Netherlands. These results are relevant to the debate about optimal care for patients with poor quality of life who lack decision-making capacity.

Implementing a Standing Order Immunization Policy: A Minimalist Intervention

Introduction: Standing order immunization policies (SOIPs) for influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations have been found to be among the most effective strategies for increasing immunizations rates. Despite their proven efficacy these policies have not been widely adopted and there has been limited attention focused on testing particular adoption/implementation strategies. This pilot research assessed the efficacy of a minimalist strategy to implement an SOIP. Methods: A convenience sample of 3 primary care outpatient clinics in North Carolina agreed to participate in this study and adopt and implement an SOIP for influenza and pneumococcal immunizations for their patients ≥65 years old. The adoption procedure included 1-hour training for clinic nurses and providers, the provision of appropriate forms, and 2 brief reminders of protocols during the study period. Chart audits of appropriate patients who had a clinic visit during flu season (October through February) at each clinic during the baseline year of policy implementation (1999) and the year after (2000) allowed calculation of influenza and pneumococcal immunization rates as primary outcome measures. Results: There was little evidence to indicate that these clinics made changes to implement a SOIP policy. Immunization flow sheet use, a critical process measure of SOIP implementation, was found to be less consistent than would be expected under a well-implemented SOIP. It was also found that, although influenza immunization rates did increase slightly in the 3 intervention clinics, the changes were not statistically significant. Pneumococcal immunization rate changes were also inconsistent across clinics and from baseline to post-intervention periods. Conclusions: This minimalist effort to implement the SOIP seems not to have had sufficient impact to significantly change clinic practices. Flow sheet use, as one critical measure of SOIP implementation, did not change over the course of the intervention period. We did not find the expected increase in influenza and pneumococcal immunization rates as a result of a newly adopted SOIP. Additional research on improved strategies to fully implement SOIPs is needed to insure effective adoption of this proven systems intervention.

Een cultuurvergelijkend onderzoek naar behandelbesluiten van artsen met betrekking tot demente verpleeghuispatiënten met pneumonie

A cross-cultural study of physician treatment decisions for demented nursing home patients who develop pneumoniaThis qualitative interview study in the Netherlands and North Carolina (US) found that physician treatment decisions are influenced by contextual differences in physician training and healthcare delivery in the US and the Netherlands. Dutch physicians treating nursing home residents with dementia and pneumonia assumed active, primary responsibility for treatment decisions while US physicians were more passive and deferential to family preferences, even in cases where they considered the families’ wishes inappropriate. Dutch physicians knew their patients well and made treatment decisions based on what they perceived was in the best interest of the patient while US physicians reported limited knowledge of their nursing home patients due to a lack of contact time. Efforts to improve care for patients with poor quality of life who lack decision-making capacity must consider the context of societal values, physician training, and the processes by which physicians negotiate patient and family preferences.SamenvattingUit dit kwalitatieve onderzoek op basis van interviews in Nederland en in North Carolina (VS) bleek dat medische beslissingen door de arts worden beïnvloed door contextuele verschillen in de opleiding van artsen en in de structuur van de gezondheidszorg in de Verenigde Staten en Nederland. De Nederlandse artsen die verpleeghuispatiënten met dementie en pneumonie behandelden, namen actief de primaire verantwoordelijkheid voor behandelbesluiten, terwijl de Amerikaanse artsen zich passiever opstelden en zich meer voegden naar de voorkeuren van de familie, zelfs wanneer zij deze medisch niet zinvol vonden. De Nederlandse artsen kenden hun patiënten goed; zij namen hun beslissingen op basis van wat zij als het meest in overeenstemming achtten met het belang van de patiënt, terwijl Amerikaanse artsen aangaven hun patiënten in het verpleeghuis niet erg goed te kennen, omdat zij slechts beperkt tijd hadden voor contact met hen. Bij verbetering van zorg voor wilsonbekwame patiënten met een beperkte kwaliteit van leven dient rekening te worden gehouden met deze contextuele factoren en met de processen die bepalen hoe artsen zorgvoorkeuren van patiënt en familie vaststellen en bespreken.