Commentary on: Chua M, Lau XK, Ignacio J. Facilitators and barriers to implementation of telemedicine in nursing homes: A qualitative systematic review and meta-aggregation. Worldviews Evid Based Nurs. 2024 Feb 10.
Implications for practice and research Telemedicine seems to hold a lot of promise, especially in nursing homes where patients are in desperate need of prompt medical attention. Lack of experience among healthcare professionals, as well as a lack of knowledge about process flows and organisational readiness, may be barriers to the introduction of telemedicine into nursing homes. Further research that examines the work system from the perspective of nursing homes will be necessary to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of telemedicine connections in these settings.
One of the biggest issues facing society is the growing number of elderly people who require care, which in turn is driving up demand for...
To evaluate the impact of spatial separation on patient flow in the emergency department.
This was a retrospective, time-and-motion analysis conducted from 15 to 22 August, 2022 at the emergency department of a tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. During this duration, spatial separation was implemented in critical and semi-critical zones to separate patients with symptoms of respiratory infections into respiratory area, and patients without into non-respiratory area. This study adhered to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines.
Patients triaged to critical and semi-critical zones were included in this study. Timestamps of patient processes in emergency department until patient departure were documented.
The emergency department length-of-stay was longer in respiratory area compared to non-respiratory area; 527 min (381–698) versus 390 min (285–595) in critical zone and 477 min (312–739) versus 393 min (264–595) in semi-critical zone. In critical zone, time intervals of critical flow processes and compliance to hospital benchmarks were similar in both areas. More patients in respiratory area were managed within the arrival-to-contact ≤30 min benchmark and more patients in non-respiratory area had emergency department length-of-stay ≤8 h.
The implementation of spatial separation in infection control should address decision-to-departure delays to minimise emergency department length of stay.
The study evaluated the impact of spatial separation on patient flow in the emergency department. Emergency department length-of-stay was significantly prolonged in the respiratory area. Hospital administrators and policymakers can optimise infection control protocols measures in emergency departments, balancing infection control measures with efficient patient care delivery.
STROBE guidelines.
None.
The study obtained ethics approval from the institution's Medical Ethics Committee (MREC ID NO: 20221113–11727).
The author has checked and make sure our submission has conformed to the Journal's statistical guideline. There is a statistician on the author team (Noor Azhar).
The study aimed to identify factors associated with participation in Phase II cardiac rehabilitation and to assess patient perceptions towards the usage of technologies in cardiac rehabilitation.
Despite efforts to promote utilisation of cardiac rehabilitation (CR), participation among patients remains unsatisfactory. Little is known of patient decision to participate Phase II CR in a multi-ethnic country.
A cross-sectional study design.
A consecutive sampling of 240 patients with coronary heart disease completed Coronary Artery Disease Education Questionnaire (CADE-Q) II, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale (CRBS).
Seventy per cent of patients (mean age 60.5 [SD = 10.6] years, 80.8% male) participated in phase II cardiac rehabilitation. Self-driving to cardiac rehabilitation centres, higher barriers in perceived need/health care and logistical factors were significantly associated with decreased odds of participation. Patients with more barriers from comorbidities/functional status, higher perceived social support from friends, and anxiety were more likely to participate. Chinese and Indians were less likely to participate when compared with Malays. More than 80% of patients used both home and mobile broadband internet, and 72.9% of them would accept the usage of technologies, especially educational videos, instant messenger, and video calls to partially replace the face-to-face, centre-based cardiac rehabilitation approach.
Several barriers were associated with non-participation in phase II cardiac rehabilitation. With the high perceived acceptance of technology usage in cardiac rehabilitation, home-based and hybrid cardiac rehabilitation may represent potential solutions to improve participation.
By addressing the barriers to cardiac rehabilitation, patients are more likely to be ready to adopt health behaviour changes and adhere to the cardiac rehabilitation programme. The high perceived acceptance of using technologies in cardiac rehabilitation may provide insights into new delivery models that can improve and overcome barriers to participation.