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Showing results for tags 'Diagnosis'.
Found 478 results
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EventuntilCVDPREVENT will provide a foundation for professionally-led quality improvement in individual GP practices across Primary Care Networks (PCNs). It will support primary care in understanding how many patients with CVD and/or the six main high-risk conditions are potentially undiagnosed, or under or over treated. These include atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, non-diabetic hyperglycaemia and chronic kidney disease. The audit will provide data to highlight gaps, identify inequalities, and opportunities for improvement. This event will be the first publicised presentation of the CVD publication, being presented live by Dr Pete Green, Clinical Lead CVD Prevent & Chair, Heart UK. This event has been sponsored by Daiichi Sankyo UK. This webinar is for Govconnect registered members who are UK healthcare professionals and allied personnel in commissioning, AHSN and health policy only. Speakers: Dr Yassir Javaid, Clinical Advisor for Cardiology, Royal College of GPs Dr Pete Green, Clinical Lead CVD Prevent & Chair, Heart UK Vishal Mashru, Head of Medicines & Research, Cross Counties & North Blaby PCN Dr Ravi Pawa, Country Medical Director, Daiichi Sankyo Register
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EventThis Westminster Health Forum policy conference: will examine what is needed to improve diagnostic speed and outcomes. It will also be an opportunity to discuss the future outlook for medical device regulation in the wake of Brexit, with the MHRA having consulted on a more transparent and flexible approach. Further sessions look at supporting continued research and innovation, with the Government launching strategic and funding plans, including investment in modernising diagnostics as part of wider efforts to address waiting lists. Additional areas for discussion include: industry partnerships staff recruitment and retention learning from the response to COVID-19 opportunities for driving efficiencies. Keynote sessions with: Professor Sir Mark Caulfield, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, Queen Mary University of London; Chief Executive Officer, Barts Life Sciences; and former Chief Scientist, Genomics England Dr Sarah Byron, Programme Director, Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, NICE Professor Louise Jones, Chair, Genomics and Reproductive Science Specialty Advisory Committee, Royal College of Pathologists; and Professor of Breast Pathology, Barts Cancer Institute Stephen Lee, Director, Diagnostics Regulation, Association of British Healthcare Industries Professor Michael Messenger, Principal Scientific Advisor for In Vitro Diagnostics, MHRA Doris-Ann Williams, Chief Executive, British In Vitro Diagnostics Association Register
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EventuntilAt a time when deaths from coronary heart disease and stroke are markedly declining, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, deaths from heart failure are increasing. The management of this devastating long-term condition is estimated to account for 2% of the entire NHS budget, with 70% of this spent on acute hospital admissions. Both prevalence and incidence of heart failure increase steeply with increasing age and with deprivation but outcomes for patients are improved with earlier diagnosis and treatment. Join the King's Fund for this free online event, where we will consider how heart failure is a growing population health problem and the solutions to help overcome the challenges this condition presents. These include preventing the underlying causes of heart failure, as well as identifying risk factors for the condition, such as access to diagnosis, particularly for older people and those from more deprived communities. Register
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EventSince the emergence of the disease, severe Covid infections have been associated with a risk of severe and dangerous coagulopathy. And in recent weeks two vaccines have been linked to a rare increased risk of clotting, in particular cerebral sinus venous thrombosis (CSVT) which requires urgent and specific treatment. This Royal Society of Medicine webinar will tell the story of our understanding of these coagulation disorders, looking at the causes, risks, diagnosis, and treatments. Register
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EventCancer affects us all. Survival in England is at a record high and patients’ experience of treatment and care has never been higher, but we won’t stop there. We want every person with cancer to have the very best diagnosis, treatment and care. NHS England & Improvement The NHS Long Term Plan set out a clear pathway for the improvement of cancer care, the aim being: • Enable an extra 55,000 people each year to survive for five years or more following their cancer diagnosis. • Three in four cancers (75%) will be diagnosed at an early stage. This virtual conference aims to showcase the forward-thinking and innovative initiatives that are already being implemented across the country. Register
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Content ArticleSome patients are unable to tolerate imaging procedures such as MRIs due to pain or anxiety. In these cases, a variety of medications are routinely used prior to imaging to allow the procedure to be carried out successfully. Varying levels of sedation before imaging can be appropriate given the need for patients to remain still during the imaging process, but the minimal amount of sedation should be used to mitigate unwanted side effects and reduce the risk of adverse events. This article examines two cases that highlight the risks of minimal-to-moderate sedation for imaging procedures, especially in high-risk patients, when multiple medication doses are required and when monitoring is limited or inadequate.
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Content ArticleRates of blood testing in primary care are rising. Communicating blood test results generates significant workload for patients, GPs, and practice staff. This study from Watson et al. explored GPs’ and patients’ experience of systems of blood test communication. The study found that methods of test result communication varied between doctors and were based on habits, unwritten heuristics, and personal preferences rather than protocols. Doctors expected patients to know how to access their test results. In contrast, patients were often uncertain and used guesswork to decide when and how to access their tests. Patients and doctors generally assumed that the other party would make contact, with potential implications for patient safety. Text messaging and online methods of communication have benefits, but were perceived by some patients as ‘flippant’ or ‘confusing’. Delays and difficulties obtaining and interpreting test results can lead to anxiety and frustration for patients and has important implications for patient-centred care and patient safety.
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Content ArticleThis retrospective cohort study in JAMA Internal Medicine aimed to determine whether there are systematic racial and ethnic biases in pulse oximetry among patients with Covid-19, and whether these biases result in patients not being accurately recognised as candidates for oxygen threshold–specific therapy. The authors found that patients from racial and ethnic minority groups with Covid-19 are often subject to overestimation of arterial oxygen saturation levels. This contributes to them not being recognised, or a delay in them being recognised, as eligible to receive Covid-19 therapies.
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Content ArticleDr Harsha Master, Dr Ashish Chaudhry, Dr Nicholas Gall, Dr Louise Newson, Dr Sarah Glynne, and Dr Paul Glynne present their experiences of diagnosing, managing, and referring patients with long COVID and associated conditions. Read this article to learn more about: the definition, prevalence, and symptoms of long COVID exclusion of alternative diagnoses, and identification of red-flag symptoms the authors’ experiences of managing long COVID and its complications.
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Content ArticleThis white paper from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) describes a framework to guide health care organisations in their efforts to provide safe, equitable, person-centred telemedicine. The framework includes six elements to consider: access, privacy, diagnostic accuracy, communication, psychological and emotional safety, and human factors and system design.
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Content Article1 in 6 people in the UK live with a neurological condition, but there simply isn’t the workforce or services in place to provide the support they need. Every two years, The Neurological Alliance runs My Neuro Survey to give a picture of the experience of care, treatment and support for people with neurological conditions. From a lack of mental wellbeing support, delays to life changing treatment and care and a lack of information and support at diagnosis, over 8,500 people living with or affected by neurological conditions across the UK shared their experiences in the 2021/22 My Neuro Survey.
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Content ArticleThis retrospective cohort study in the British Journal of General Practice aimed to identify opportunities for timely investigations or referrals in patients presenting with potential symptoms of colon and rectal cancer, or abnormal blood tests. The study found evidence that patients with these cancers presented with low haemoglobin, high platelets and high inflammatory markers as early as nine months pre-diagnosis, and the authors suggest that starting cancer-specific investigations or referrals earlier may be beneficial in patients with some of these diagnostic markers.
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Content ArticleThis article in The BMJ examines the risks and benefits of current prostate cancer screening methods in the UK. It highlights issues that prevent early diagnosis including great variation in how prostate cancers behave and the poor performance of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing in identifying disease that requires treatment. As a result of the limited benefits of screening for prostate cancer, routine screening is not recommended by the UK’s National Screening Committee or the US Preventive Service Task Force. The authors highlight that a bid by NHS England to find an estimated 14,000 men who have not yet started treatment for prostate cancer due to the pandemic, seems to contradict this recommendation. The NHS campaign warns that people shouldn’t wait for symptoms and encourages men to use a risk checker which informs patients of risk factors including family history, age and ethnicity. The authors express concern that the campaign implies there is great benefit in detecting asymptomatic disease, which could lead people to believe that the NHS is promoting screening. They argue that the NHS needs to be clearer and more consistent in its messaging, making sure that information aimed at the public emphasises that although PSA testing is available on request for men older than 50, it is not currently recommended, and why.
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Content ArticleFew things are more devastating than a cancer diagnosis, shares Maria Caulfield, minister for women’s health. She should know – she’s worked on a cancer ward for the best part of twenty five years and supported women through diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. Here, she speaks exclusively to Marie Claire UK about her ten year plan and how we can make gynae issues a thing of the past. Not only does she want to prevent the five gynaecological cancers, but she wants to help make sure we diagnose them early, too: we know that the earlier you are diagnosed, the higher your chance of survival.
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Content ArticleThis study from Pickles et al. explores experiences of women who identified themselves as having a possible breast cancer overdiagnosis.
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Content ArticleUK Asian and Black ethnic groups have poorer outcomes for some cancers and are less likely to report a positive care experience than their White counterparts it was found in a study from Martins et al. reported in the British Journal of Cancer. The study investigated ethnic differences in the route to diagnosis (RTD) to identify areas in patients' cancer journeys where inequalities lie and targeted intervention might have optimum impact. Across the 10 cancers studied, most patients were diagnosed via the two-week wait (36.4%), elective GP referral (23.2%), emergency (18.2%), hospital routes (10.3%), and screening (8.61%). Patients of Other ethnic group had the highest proportion of diagnosis via the emergency route, followed by White patients. Asian and Black group were more likely to be GP-referred, with the Black and Mixed groups also more likely to follow the two-week wait route. However, there were notable cancer-specific differences in the RTD by ethnicity. These findings suggest that, where inequalities exist, the adverse cancer outcomes among Asian and Black patients are unlikely to be arising solely from a poorer diagnostic process.
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Content ArticleThis practice pointer in The BMJ explains why diagnostic errors occur and provides five strategies that healthcare workers can use to achieve diagnostic excellence. Each of these strategies is explored in detail: Seek diagnostic feedback, which includes tracking patient outcomes and seeking feedback from patients, families and other healthcare workers. "Byte sized" learning, which involves digital learning activities. Consider bias by getting to know patients and treating them as individuals, and through taking a 'diagnostic pause' to consider whether bias is playing into decisions. Make diagnosis a team sport through multidisciplinary huddles that include healthcare workers from different professions. Foster critical thinking by using intentional strategies to foster reflective scepticism and regular review.
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Content Article
Improving Diagnosis in Health Care (2015)
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Diagnosis
Accurate and timely diagnosis is a key aspect of healthcare, and misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis can have serious consequences for patients. This eBook published by the National Academies for Science, Engineering and Medicine highlights that tackling diagnostic error in healthcare is a moral, professional, and public health duty. It makes recommendations to improve the safety of diagnostic processes, outlining the need for collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among healthcare professionals, healthcare organisations, patients and their families, researchers and policy makers. -
Content ArticleThis study in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety aimed to investigate factors affecting length of time to diagnosis in primary care in the USA. The authors found that patients presenting with new or unresolved problems in ambulatory primary care often remain undiagnosed after a year. There were no provider or patient-level variables associated with lack of diagnosis and further research is needed into the causes and consequences of lack of timely diagnosis.
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Content ArticleNext Steps is a tool created by the Dementia Change Action Network to help patients find the right support, at the right time, while waiting for their memory assessment appointment. Some patients are facing longer waits as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and it can be an uncertain time. Next Steps provides information about what to expect from the memory assessment process and about organisations who can help.
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Content ArticleThis infographic accompanies the TeamSTEPPS for diagnosis improvement course from the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).
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Content Article
AHRQ course- TeamSTEPPS® for diagnosis improvement
Patient-Safety-Learning posted an article in Diagnosis
Diagnostic harm is an area of concern in healthcare quality and patient safety. A growing body of patient safety and care delivery research shows that diagnostic harm is both widespread and costly. TeamSTEPPS is an evidence-based program built on a framework composed of four teachable, learnable skills—communication, leadership, situation monitoring and mutual support. The TeamSTEPPS for Diagnosis Improvement Course applies the TeamSTEPPS framework to the specific problem of diagnostic error. On the course. teams will learn about how improved communication among all members of the team can help lead to safer, more accurate and more timely diagnosis in all healthcare settings. The course can be delivered virtually, in a classroom setting or as individual self-paced learning modules. Additional resources for trainees include: Team assessment tool for improving diagnosis Case study of the diagnostic journey of Mr. Kane Reflective practice tool Postcourse knowledge assessment -
Content Article70,000 people in the UK are living with pulmonary fibrosis. Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis has the information, support and stories to help you live a healthier life with pulmonary fibrosis.
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Content Article“I wish my GP had known more about my disease” is a comment made by patients with pulmonary fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis on a regular basis. Pulmonary fibrosis can be difficult to diagnose and misdiagnosis is common. That’s why Action for Pulmonary Fibrosis has partnered with the Royal College of General Practitioners to create a new module aimed at improving awareness of pulmonary fibrosis diagnosis. They have also got resources and materials for your patient, so that they have the support they need from diagnosis.
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Content ArticleAn estimated 1 in every 182 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Providing them safe care has inherent challenges, such as reaching an accurate diagnosis as quickly as possible, differentiating between disease progression and treatment side effects, and addressing broader systemic risks. Caitlyn Allen, sat down with medical oncologist and former chief quality officer of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Joseph O. Jacobson, to discuss the evolution of oncology care and what the future may hold.
