PMCC (Performance Measurement Coordinating Council): integrating performance measurement efforts.
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Accreditation↗
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Results for “Health data integration”
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
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Use DRG data to develop reimbursement strategies, improve hospital efficiency.
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Delivery of Health Care, Integrated↗
Utilization data confirm positive influence of capitation.
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Capitation Fee↗
Building a virtual cancer research organization.
BACKGROUND: The Cancer Research Network (CRN) comprises the National Cancer Institute and 11 nonprofit research centers affiliated with integrated health care delivery systems. The CRN, a public/private partnership, fosters multisite collaborative research on cancer prevention, screening, treatment, survival, and palliation in diverse populations. METHODS: The CRN's success hinges on producing innovative cancer research that likely would not have been developed by scientists working individually, and then translating those findings into clinical practice within multiple population laboratories. The CRN is a collaborative virtual research organization characterized by user-defined sharing among scientists and health care providers of data files as well as direct access to researchers, computers, software, data, research participants, and other resources. The CRN's research management Web site fosters a high-functioning virtual scientific community by publishing standardized data definitions, file specifications, and computer programs to support merging and analyzing data from multiple health care systems. RESULTS: Seven major types of standardized data files developed to date include demographics, health plan eligibility, tumor registry, inpatient and ambulatory utilization, medication dispensing, laboratory tests, and imaging procedures; more will follow. Data standardization avoids rework, increases multisite data integrity, increases data security, generates shorter times from initial proposal concept to submission, and stimulates more frequent collaborations among scientists across multiple institutions. CONCLUSIONS: The CRN research management Web site and associated standardized data files and procedures represent a quasi-public resource, and the CRN stands ready to collaborate with researchers from outside institutions in developing and conducting innovative public domain research.
Biomedical Research↗
The role of the general practitioner and the orthodontist in the provision of orthodontic care.
Orthodontics is a small branch of dentistry but one of the oldest and most widespread of dental specialties. It is characterized by long-term treatment objectives which are related to dentofacial morphology and function, growth, facial balance and maturation. Owing to the lack of baseline data it has not been included in the recommendations of the FDI for a stepwise procedure towards 'Health for All by the Year 2000'. Serious efforts should be made to allow inclusion of orthodontics by overcoming this data problem. It is strongly recommended that an internationally acceptable index for orthodontic purposes at the community level be developed. Problems of integration of orthodontic services within oral health care programmes are most significant at medium resource levels when priorities have to be established among many highly desirable dental services. In upper resource levels with less caries and periodontal disease than before the general practitioner should be aware of the rapidly increasing needs for service among elderly people due to improved oral health in adults. For the sake of efficiency, control and quality orthodontic treatment should preferably be carried out by appropriately educated orthodontists, even if the case appears simple in the beginning. Simple cases treated by specialists consume fewer resources than are needed for a system of effective communication and delegation to the general practitioner. Continuing education of all practitioners and other members of the dental team should be carried out in personnel categories and across the boundaries between them.
General Practice, Dental↗
Use of innovative technologies in the evaluation of Nashville's REACH 2010 community action plan: reducing disparities in cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the African American community.
Ethnic minorities in the United States suffer disproportionately from chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, AIDS, and diabetes. A nationally-funded initiative known as Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) has designated 26 communities to implement demonstration projects to reduce health disparities in targeted minority populations. This article presents two methods of integrating innovative technologies into the program's evaluation plan: (1) a Web-based data entry system for recording project activity and (2) geographic information systems (GISs) for developing visual maps of project targets. These technologies can assist other programs in managing and measuring community-based public health initiatives.
Black or African American↗
Uncontested categories: the use of race and ethnicity variables in nursing research.
Classifying human beings according to race and ethnicity may seem straightforward to some but it, in fact, belies a difficult process. No standard procedure exists for categorizing according to race and ethnicity, calling into question the variables' use in research. This article explores the use of race and ethnicity variables in the nursing research literature. Content analysis was conducted of a sample of 337 original research studies published in Nursing Research from the years 1952, 1955, and then every 5 years through to 2000. Of the 337 research articles reviewed, 167 mentioned race, ethnicity, or their 81 code words or phrases. Out of the 167 articles, 153 used race or ethnicity to describe the study sample, and 45 of the 167 articles included race or ethnicity as an element of data analysis. Throughout the sample, there was substantial inconsistency related to race and ethnicity categorization, meanings of the terms, and use of these variables. Specificity related to conceptual assumptions, definitions, and context was missing and, as a result, data interpretation and understanding are suspect. The integrity of nursing knowledge requires that nurse researchers recognize and address the difficulties inherent in using race and ethnicity in health research.
Bias↗
Healthcare disparities and models for change.
With Healthy People 2010 making the goal of eliminating health disparities a national priority, policymakers, researchers, medical centers, managed care organizations (MCOs), and advocacy organizations have been called on to move beyond the historic documentation of health disparities and proceed with an agenda to translate policy recommendations into practice. Working models that have successfully reduced health disparities in managed care settings were presented at the National Managed Health Care Congress Inaugural Forum on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care on March 10-11, 2003, in Washington, DC. These models are being used by federal, state, and municipal governments, as well as private, commercial, and Medicaid MCOs. Successful models and programs at all levels reduce health disparities by forming partnerships based on common goals to provide care, to educate, and to rebuild healthcare systems. Municipal models work in collaboration with state and federal agencies to integrate patient care with technology. Several basic elements of MCOs help to reduce disparities through emphasis on preventive care, community and member health education, case management and disease management tracking, centralized data collection, and use of sophisticated technology to analyze data and coordinate services. At the community level, there are leveraged funds from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Primary Health Care. Well-designed models provide seamless monitoring of patient care and outcomes by integrating human and information system resources.
Cultural Diversity↗
Creating notifications tailored for individual workers by using a database: a conceptual framework and its application.
Although prevention strategies to assure good mental health in the workplace have become important, worker notification in studies using psychometric tests has rarely been discussed. Until now it has been difficult to prepare a large number of notifications that are tailored well for individual workers. We have developed a system to create notifications that explain the results for individual workers in plain language using a relational database (RDB). First, scores for each test were divided into categories and the workers' data was classified. Then, explanations were written for each category. RDB software read component files into a database file, integrated all data, and printed out notifications. After the system was developed, we realized its high potential for use in occupational health care, as well as in many other fields. We also report an example of its application.
Databases, Factual↗
A process model for assessing adolescent risk for suicide.
As the incidence of adolescent suicide within our society continues to rise, it becomes increasingly important for the mental health professional to be able to accurately assess suicide risk in adolescents who seek help. This process model discusses primary risk factors (previous attempt, affective disorders, and hopelessness), secondary risk factors (substance abuse and personality or behavioral disorders), situational risk factors (family functioning, suicide exposure, social support, life stressors, and homosexuality), and their combined implications and significance in determining an adolescent's level or risk for suicide. Use of both empirical data and clinical intuition are integrated to form a working client model that is continuously reassessed in four stages, guiding the mental health professional through a comprehensive assessment process.
Adolescent↗
Cold-storage affects antioxidant properties of apples in Caco-2 cells.
Data on the composition of phenolic antioxidant compounds present in food plants and assessment of their activity are essential for epidemiological explanation of the health benefits of fruit and vegetables. Various factors such as cultivation methods, industrial processing, and storage may affect the final concentrations of phytochemicals in food plants and their eventual bioactivity. This study investigated the influence of commercial cold-storage periods on the antioxidant properties of apples grown either by organic or integrated systems. In both cases, total phenolics and total antioxidant activity decreased only in the first 3 mo and only in apples with skin (P < 0.05), suggesting that cold storage rapidly impoverishes these properties in skin but not in pulp. Assessment of antioxidant bioactivity in vitro, measured in terms of intracellular antioxidant, cytoprotective, and antiproliferative activity in human colon carcinoma (Caco-2) cells (differentiated to normal intestinal epithelia for intracellular antioxidant and cytoprotective effects), showed strong, time-related decreases over 6 mo of cold storage for all 3 parameters (P < 0.01), irrespective of the cultivation system. These findings with integrated and organic apples further support the concept that organic systems of cultivation do not generally provide real health benefits. Moreover, the data from the present study clearly show that factors such as cold storage may affect the antioxidant properties of apples. Epidemiological studies on the cancer-preventive benefits of fruits and vegetables should take into account the cold-storage bias for apples, and possibly for other products.
Antioxidants↗
Integrating 'mental illness' and 'motherhood': the positive use of surveillance by health professionals. A qualitative study.
BACKGROUND: Sociologists have long recognised the social control functions of different social institutions. Nurses, however, often appear more comfortable with formulating their roles in altruistic terms. OBJECTIVES: In this paper, we examine the relevance of Foucauldian concepts, in particular that of surveillance, to an understanding the relationship between healthcare professionals (especially nurses) and their patients. DESIGN: We use the concept of 'interactional frames' to analyse data from qualitative interviews with mothers who have a mental illness. SETTINGS: The research, from which the data in this paper were taken, was carried out in a largely urban area of south-east Wales, in the UK, during 2001 and 2002. PARTICIPANTS: The participants were 11 women, each with one or more children, all of whom were under the care of their local Community Mental Health Team. METHODS: The paper draws on findings from a wider study of the influence of child-care responsibilities on access to services for women with mental health problems. Data were generated through individual, semi-structured interviews, carried out and transcribed by one of the authors (BD). RESULTS: Women produced accounts of their mothering practices which acknowledged the norms of 'good' mothering. They spoke about the need for 'impression management' in their clinical encounters, both those in which they were the patient and those undertaken on behalf of their children. The data showed health professionals moving between frames in which the woman was a mother and in which she was a person with a mental illness, and integrating the two frames to the woman's benefit. CONCLUSIONS: Women who are mothers and who are also users of mental health services face particular challenges in managing the contradictory aspects of their dual identity. Health professionals can use their disciplinary power in a positive way, to help women in this task.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Evaluating the impact of health promotion programs: using the RE-AIM framework to form summary measures for decision making involving complex issues.
Current public health and medical evidence rely heavily on efficacy information to make decisions regarding intervention impact. This evidence base could be enhanced by research studies that evaluate and report multiple indicators of internal and external validity such as Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) as well as their combined impact. However, indices that summarize the combined impact of, and complex interactions among, intervention outcome dimensions are not currently available. We propose and discuss a series of composite metrics that combine two or more RE-AIM dimensions, and can be used to estimate overall intervention impact. Although speculative and, at this point, there have been limited empirical data on these metrics, they extend current methods and are offered to yield more integrated composite outcomes relevant to public health. Such approaches offer potential to help identify interventions most likely to meaningfully impact population health.
Decision Making↗
Semantic integration in healthcare networks.
A seamless support of information flow for increasingly distributed healthcare processes requires to integrate heterogeneous IT systems into a comprehensive distributed information system. Different standards contribute to ease this integration. In a research project focussing on the development of a reference architecture for inter-institutional health information systems, we identified and categorised concurring integration standards by distinguishing between technical and semantic integration on the one hand, and data and functional integration on the other hand. In addition, standards for semantic integration are roughly categorised according to their scope. By placing standards into a corresponding matrix a "semantic gap" is revealed, which cannot be covered by standards as it contains volatile medical concepts. As a conclusion, it is recommended to conceptually consider the necessity of system evolution in systems architectures and also in future integration standards.
Computer Communication Networks↗
The attitude of community health nurses towards integration of traditional healers in primary health care in north-west province.
South Africa is called "the rainbow nation" because it has so many different cultures. These have an impact on the provision of primary health care. The purpose of this research is to foster good relationships between community health nurses and traditional healers and to explore, identify and describe the attitude of community health nurses towards the integration of traditional healers into primary health care. A non-experimental, explorative and descriptive research strategy was designed to explore the working relationship between community health nurses and traditional healers. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire. Quantitative as well as qualitative data analysis techniques were adopted to interpret the findings. The results indicated that respondents demonstrated positive attitudes towards working with traditional healers, especially in the provision of primary health care. Positive opinions, ideas and views were provided about the integration of traditional healers into primary health care. Respect, recognition and sensitivity were emphasized by respondents.
Attitude of Health Personnel↗
Geriatric assessment, coordinated case management, and information systems: an integrated model for delivery of services to nursing home residents.
Several interventions have been developed to minimize the effects of a fragmented health care system and improve services to older adults in long-term care settings. In the context of scarce specialized resources and expertise, this article describes Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, Minimum Data Set, and Resident Assessment Protocols, the integration of which offers promise for effective evaluation and case management. The model's significance and potential benefits for targeting services to residents at risk for adverse outcomes are explored as components of an integrated information system for enhancing the care of nursing home residents.
Aged↗
Mental retardation in teenagers: prevalence data from the Niagara region, Ontario.
OBJECTIVES: There are few Canadian prevalence studies of mental retardation (MR); those that do exist were conducted prior to the era of community integration. We undertook a population-based study to explore mental health disturbances in young persons with MR. The first requirement was to identify a population with MR and to establish its prevalence. Here, we report data on the prevalence of MR in a population aged 14 to 20 years. METHOD: We conducted the study in the Niagara Region of Ontario, which has a population base of around 400,000. Researchers worked closely with schools and with agencies providing services to persons with MR to identify the study group. We confirmed the functioning level of participants through standard tests of nonverbal intelligence and receptive language; teachers and other service personnel provided information relevant to the estimation of nonparticipants' functioning level. RESULTS: We identified 255 individuals as having MR (IQ < or = 75). Of these, 171 chose to participate (defined as "participants with MR"; the remaining 84 were "nonparticipants with MR"). Thus, the participation rate was 67% (171/255). Participants and nonparticipants with MR did not differ on age, sex, or IQ, although there were more nonparticipants in the lower social strata. Overall prevalence for MR was 7.18/1000. For mild mental retardation (MMR; that is, IQ = 50 to 75), prevalence was 3.54/1000, and for severe mental retardation (SMR; that is, IQ < 50), it was 3.64/1000. CONCLUSIONS: Our prevalence estimate for SMR is similar to rates from previous studies conducted worldwide. Our estimate for MMR parallels the lower rates found in Scandinavian countries and contrasts with the higher rates generally reported in the US.
Adolescent↗
Effect of changes in antibiotic prescribing on patient outcomes in a community setting: a natural experiment in Australia.
This study examined whether a significant change in antibiotic use caused by an Australian government directive targeted at amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (AC) was associated with changes in prescription share, health care costs, and patient outcomes. We used an integrated database of computerized general practice medical records, which included data regarding 34,242 patients and 318,234 recorded patient visits. There were 15,303 antibiotic prescriptions provided to 9921 patients during a 4-year period, with AC prescribed for 1453 (14.6%) of these patients. A total of 5125 patient outcomes were identified. There was a shift away from best-practice antibiotic prescribing, and a significant association was identified between the rate and cost of process-of-care and patient outcomes and the decrease in AC-prescription share. This policy initiative created unintended changes in prescribing behavior, increased costs to the government, and a trend toward poorer patient outcomes. Detailed analyses are required before instigating initiatives aimed at changing clinicians' prescribing behavior.
Adolescent↗