Jean Triscott

Is telemedicine a subset of medical informatics

Informatics has a key characteristic of a new discipline in a technically transient environment—there is no universal definition of it. This is not surprising, given its complex and diverse nature. In a broad sense informatics is the interface between developing technologies and the decision sciences, in particular clinical sciences. Telemedicine has no universally accepted definition either. Telemedicine requires the use of electronic communication networks for the transmission of information and data related to the diagnosis and treatment of, as well as education about, medical conditions. The debate ensues over whether it is or is not a subset of medical informatics. The care of the elderly diploma programme is a telemedicine project within the department of family medicine at the University of Alberta; it is a distance learning programme directed towards educating and training physicians in rural Alberta. This project provided us with the practical experience of addressing both informatics and telemedicine issues jointly.

Cultural transition of international medical graduate residents into family practice in Canada.

Objectives To identify the perceived strengths that international medical graduate (IMG) family medicine residents possess and the challenges they are perceived to encounter in integrating into Canadian family practice. Methods This was a qualitative, exploratory study employing focus groups and interviews with 27 participants - 10 family physicians, 13 health care professionals, and 4 family medicine residents. Focus group/interview questions addressed the strengths that IMGs possess and the challenges they face in becoming culturally competent within the Canadian medico-cultural context. Qualitative data were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed thematically. Results Participants identified that IMG residents brought multiple strengths to Canadian practice including strong clinical knowledge and experience, high education level, the richness of varied cultural perspectives, and positive personal strengths. At the same time, IMG residents appeared to experience challenges in the areas of: (1) communication skills (language nuances, unfamiliar accents, speech volume/tone, eye contact, directness of communication); (2) clinical practice (uncommon diagnoses, lack of familiarity with care of the opposite sex and mental health conditions); (3) learning challenges (limited knowledge of Canada’s health care system, patient-centered care and ethical principles, unfamiliarity with self-directed learning, unease with receiving feedback); (4) cultural differences (gender roles, gender equality, personal space, boundary issues; and (5) personal struggles. Conclusions Residency programs must recognize the challenges that can occur during the cultural transition to Canadian family practice and incorporate medico-cultural education into the curriculum. IMG residents also need to be aware of cultural differences and be open to different perspectives and new learning.

Geriatric Core Competencies for Family Medicine Curriculum and Enhanced Skills: Care of Elderly

Background There is a growing mandate for Family Medicine residency programs to directly assess residents’ clinical competence in Care of the Elderly (COE). The objectives of this paper are to describe the development and implementation of incremental core competencies for Postgraduate Year (PGY)-I Integrated Geriatrics Family Medicine, PGY-II Geriatrics Rotation Family Medicine, and PGY-III Enhanced Skills COE for COE Diploma residents at a Canadian University. Methods Iterative expert panel process for the development of the core competencies, with a pre-defined process for implementation of the core competencies. Results Eighty-five core competencies were selected overall by the Working Group, with 57 core competencies selected for the PGY-I/II Family Medicine residents and an additional 28 selected for the PGY-III COE residents. The core competencies follow the CanMEDS Family Medicine roles. Both sets of core competencies are based on consensus. Conclusions Due to demographic changes, it is essential that Family Physicians have the required skills and knowledge to care for the frail elderly. The core competencies described were developed for PGY-I/II Family Medicine residents and PGY-III Enhanced Skills COE, with a focus on the development of geriatric expertise for those patients that would most benefit.

The ACHRU-CPP versus usual care for older adults with type-2 diabetes and multiple chronic conditions and their family caregivers: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundMany community-based self-management programs have been developed for older adults with type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), bolstered by evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that T2DM can be prevented and managed through lifestyle modifications. However, the evidence for their effectiveness is contradictory and weakened by reliance on single-group designs and/or small samples. Additionally, older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) are often excluded because of recruiting and retention challenges. This paper presents a protocol for a two-armed, multisite, pragmatic, mixed-methods RCT examining the effectiveness and implementation of the Aging, Community and Health Research Unit-Community Partnership Program (ACHRU-CPP), a new 6-month interprofessional, nurse-led program to promote self-management in older adults (aged 65 years or older) with T2DM and MCC and support their caregivers (including family and friends).Methods/designThe study will enroll 160 participants in two Canadian provinces, Ontario and Alberta. Participants will be randomly assigned to the control (usual care) or program study arm. The program will be delivered by registered nurses (RNs) and registered dietitians (RDs) from participating diabetes education centers (Ontario) or primary care networks (Alberta) and program coordinators from partnering community-based organizations. The 6-month program includes three in-home visits, monthly group sessions, monthly team meetings for providers, and nurse-led care coordination. The primary outcome is the change in physical functioning as measured by the Physical Component Summary (PCS-12) score from the short form-12v2 health survey (SF-12). Secondary client outcomes include changes in mental functioning, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and self-efficacy. Caregiver outcomes include health-related quality of life and depressive symptoms. The study includes a comparison of health care service costs for the intervention and control groups, and a subgroup analysis to determine which clients benefit the most from the program. Descriptive and qualitative data will be collected to examine implementation of the program and effects on interprofessional/team collaboration.DiscussionThis study will provide evidence of the effectiveness of a community-based self-management program for a complex target population. By studying both implementation and effectiveness, we hope to improve the uptake of the program within the existing community-based structures, and reduce the research-to-practice gap.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, Identifier: NCT02158741. Registered on 3 June 2014.

Retroperitoneal haematoma associated with enoxaparin use in an elderly woman with chronic kidney disease

An 81-year-old woman with chronic kidney disease was on enoxaparin (1 mg/kg subcutaneously two times a day) for 4 months to manage pulmonary embolism. While admitted for diagnostic evaluation of frequent falls, transient ischaemic attacks and pain management, she developed vomiting, diarrhoea, melena and hypotension. Her estimated glomerular filtration rate decreased from an admission value of 34 mL/min/1.73 m2 to 13 mL/min/1.73 m2. CT scan showed retroperitoneal haematoma. She was placed in intensive care and stabilised with aggressive fluid replacement, blood transfusion, and discontinuation of enoxaparin and concomitant aspirin. We attribute this major bleeding to enoxaparin use in an elderly woman with chronic kidney disease and concomitant aspirin intake. We will review reported cases of enoxaparin-associated retroperitoneal haematoma. We suggest that enoxaparin be used with caution in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease, and stress that treatment monitoring and reversal may not be readily available.

Training of Specialized Geriatric Physicians to Meet the Needs of an Aging Population—A Unique Care of the Elderly Physician Program in Canada

accepted at the North American Primary Care Research Group 2013 for a poster presentation. Conflict of Interest: The editor in chief has reviewed the conflict of interest checklist provided by the authors and has determined that the authors have no financial or any other kind of personal conflicts with this paper. Funded by the Northern Alberta Academic Family Physician Endowment Fund. Author Contributions: LC: conception and design, acquisition of data, interpretation of data, drafting the article, critical revision of the article for important intellectual content, final approval of the version to be published. BD: conception and design, analysis and interpretation of data, critical revision of the article for important intellectual content, final approval of the version to be published. RM: conception and design, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the article, critical revision of the article for important intellectual content, final approval of the version to be published. OB: analysis and interpretation of data, critical revision of the article for important intellectual content; final approval of the version to be published. JT: conception, drafting the article, critical revision of the article for important intellectual content, final approval of the version to be published. Sponsor’s Role: None.

Web-Based Intervention for Family Carers of Persons with Dementia and Multiple Chronic Conditions (My Tools 4 Care): Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

Background My Tools 4 Care (MT4C) is a Web-based intervention that was developed based on the transitions theory. It is an interactive, self-administered, and portable toolkit containing six main sections intended to support carers of community-living persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia and multiple chronic conditions through their transition experiences. Objective The objective of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of MT4C with respect to increasing hope, self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life in carers of community-living older persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia and multiple chronic conditions. Methods A multisite, pragmatic, mixed methods, longitudinal, repeated-measures, randomized controlled trial was conducted between June 2015 and April 2017. Eligible participants were randomized into either treatment (MT4C) or educational control groups. Following baseline measures, carers in the treatment group received 3 months of password-protected access to MT4C. Trained research assistants collected data from participants via phone on hope (Herth Hope Index [HHI]), self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale), and health-related quality of life (Short Form-12 item [version 2] health survey; SF-12v2) at baseline, 1, 3, and 6 months. The use and cost of health and social services (Health and Social Services Utilization Inventory) among participants were measured at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Analysis of covariance was used to identify group differences at 3 months, and generalized estimating equations were used to identify group differences over time. Results A total of 199 carers participated in this study, with 101 participants in the treatment group and 98 in the educational control group. Of all, 23% (45/199) participants withdrew during the study for various reasons, including institutionalization or death of the person with dementia and lack of time from the carer. In the treatment group, 73% (74/101) carers used MT4C at least once over the 3-month period. No significant differences in the primary outcome measure (mental component summary score from the SF-12v2) by group or time were noted at 3 months; however, significant differences were evident for HHI-factor 2 (P=.01), with higher hope scores in the treatment group than in the control group. General estimating equations showed no statistically significant group differences in terms of mental component summary score at all time points. Attrition and the fact that not all carers in the treatment group used MT4C may explain the absence of statistically significant results for the main outcome variable. Conclusions Despite no significant differences between groups in terms of the primary outcome variable (mental component score), the significant differences in terms of one of the hope factors suggest that MT4C had a positive influence on the lives of participants. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02428387; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02428387 (Archived by Webcite at http://www.webcitation.org/708oFCR8h).

Effectiveness of a Core-Competency-based Program on Residents' Learning and Experience.

Background The Care of the Elderly (COE) Diploma Program is a six-to-twelve-month enhanced skills program taken after two years of core residency training in Family Medicine. In 2010, we developed and implemented a core-competency–based COE Diploma program (CC), in lieu of one based on learning objectives (LO). This study assessed the effectiveness of the core-competency–based program on residents’ learning and their training experience as compared to residents trained using learning objectives. Methods The data from the 2007–2013 COE residents were used in the study, with nine and eight residents trained in the LO and CC programs, respectively. Residents’ learning was measured using preceptors’ evaluations of residents’ skills/abilities throughout the program (118 evaluations in total). Residents’ rating of training experience was measured using the Graduate’s Questionnaire which residents completed after graduation. Results For residents’ learning, overall, there was no significant difference between the two programs. However, when examined as a function of the four CanMEDS roles, there were significant increases in the CC residents’ scores for two of the CanMEDS roles: Communicator/Collaborator/Manager and Scholar compared to residents in the LO program. With respect to residents’ training experience, seven out of ten program components were rated by the CC residents higher than by the LO residents. Conclusion The implementation of a COE CC program appears to facilitate resident learning and training experience.