Epitome of Current Medical Literature

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Why do patients engage in medical tourism?

Medical tourism is commonly perceived and popularly depicted as an economic issue, both at the system and individual levels. The decision to engage in medical tourism, however, is more complex, driven by patients¿ unmet need, the nature of services sought and the manner by which treatment is accessed. In order to beneficially employ the opportunities medical tourism offers, and address and contain possible threats and harms, an informed decision is crucial. This paper aims to enhance the current knowledge on medical tourism by isolating the focal content of the decisions that patients make. Based on the existing literature, it proposes a sequential decision-making process in opting for or against medical care abroad, and engaging in medical tourism, including considerations of the required treatments, location of treatment, and quality and safety issues attendant to seeking care. Accordingly, it comments on the imperative of access to health information and the current regulatory environment which impact on this increasingly popular and complex form of accessing and providing medical care

Computer Aided ECG Analysis - State of the Art and Upcoming Challenges

In this paper we present current achievements in computer aided ECG analysis and their applicability in real world medical diagnosis process. Most of the current work is covering problems of removing noise, detecting heartbeats and rhythm-based analysis. There are some advancements in particular ECG segments detection and beat classifications but with limited evaluations and without clinical approvals. This paper presents state of the art advancements in those areas till present day. Besides this short computer science and signal processing literature review, paper covers future challenges regarding the ECG signal morphology analysis deriving from the medical literature review. Paper is concluded with identified gaps in current advancements and testing, upcoming challenges for future research and a bullseye test is suggested for morphology analysis evaluation.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, IEEE EUROCON 2013 International conference on computer as a tool, 1-4 July 2013, Zagreb, Croati

Paid Family and Medical Leave: Research and Lessons for the District of Columbia

This literature review highlights the main findings in current research looking at paid family and medical leave policies, and then examines how these experiences can inform the development of a paid leave policy in the District of Colombia. The need for paid family and medical leave is high, and paid leave would benefit nearly all employees at some point in their working lives. One in every five adults has taken family leave in the past three years. Support for these programs is generally very favorable among both employees and employers as well. The most common problem with current paid leave programs is a lack of awareness or ability to use the benefit. Any paid family and medical leave policy implementation must be accompanied with some sort of education campaign whether it is directed at workers or done through employer buy-in. There are many lessons to learn from existing paid family and medical leave programs, but ultimately the current programs are still very successful

A Qualitative Analysis of Medical Students' Views of Their First Psychiatry Rotation

Objective: The importance of student’s perspectives in informing curricula and pedagogy has long been recognised. However, student’s perspectives are rarely reported in the academic literature. Therefore this study explores and reports on medical student’s perspectives of their first psychiatry clinical rotation in a ‘new’ era medical school in Australia. Method: Seventy-three graduate entry medical students completed a semi-structured questionnaire about their experiences during a mental health rotation. The responses were analysed and coded into thematic categories. Results: The following thematic categories were evident; staff, breadth of experience, attitudes towards mental health, course materials and structure, and professional development. Conclusion: The results are discussed in the context of the current academic recommendations for the teaching of psychiatry and behavioural science to medical students. Although the use of student feedback is recommended by the literature, pragmatically it is rarely utilised and if it is utilised it is not reported in the academic literature. It is recommended that educators embrace the use of student’s perspectives to evaluate and inform their teaching

A review of human factors principles for the design and implementation of medication safety alerts in clinical information systems.

The objective of this review is to describe the implementation of human factors principles for the design of alerts in clinical information systems. First, we conduct a review of alarm systems to identify human factors principles that are employed in the design and implementation of alerts. Second, we review the medical informatics literature to provide examples of the implementation of human factors principles in current clinical information systems using alerts to provide medication decision support. Last, we suggest actionable recommendations for delivering effective clinical decision support using alerts. A review of studies from the medical informatics literature suggests that many basic human factors principles are not followed, possibly contributing to the lack of acceptance of alerts in clinical information systems. We evaluate the limitations of current alerting philosophies and provide recommendations for improving acceptance of alerts by incorporating human factors principles in their design

"Regulating Healthcare Technologies and Medical Supplies: A Comparative Overview"

A complex relationship exists among EU regulations, current national practices and rules, institutional capacities to implement regulatory adjustments and the legacy of past health and regulatory policy and traditions. However, there is little empirical information on medical devices policy, the medical devices industry, and the assurance of medical device safety and usage. Drawing on a review of the secondary literature and on-going field work, the evidence suggests that the current mix of statecentric and self-regulatory traditions will be as important in determining the implementation and final outcomes of EU-rules as the new rules themselves. EU directives redesign rules, but they do not necessarily lead to institutional change, create institutional capacities, or alter old practices in the short term. Neither EU directives nor national regulatory adjustments determine the "man-machine/skill-experience" interface which is shaped and influenced by local medical traditions and the acceptance of these traditions by local publics

Attitudes on Medical Ethics of Criminal Neurointerventional Treatment

As contemporary scientific advancements offer the opportunity to manipulate processes of the human body at a higher degree of invasiveness than ever before, a number of bioethical concerns are raised. One significant concern is how to discern the acceptable integration of advancements in neurologically-based interventions into the criminal justice system. Past literature supports the idea that there are several variables that interact to form a global conversation on the ethics of compromising a criminal’s freedom of mind for the purposes of sentencing or rehabilitation. Attitudes toward the current criminal justice system and the current uses of neurointerventions are significantly influential, and the public attitudes of such topics have been well-recorded through the literature. An experienced physician was interviewed in order to gain the perspective of a professional who regularly implements neurologically-based treatments. The results of the interview suggested that professionals have a moderate level of confidence that the current relationship between the criminal justice system and neurointerventional methods has generally remained within ethical boundaries. The results also suggested that medical practitioners are tasked with balancing the dignity and the safety patients, which can cause frequent ethical dilemmas. The varying responsibilities of medical professionals keep them equipped to implement expert-level care while simultaneously considering the ethical ramifications of their decisions

Review of current medical literature on root resorption in orthodontics.

Root resorption is a common iatrogenic consequence of orthodontic treatment, although it can also be seen in the absence of orthodontic treatment. It may occur at any time during orthodontic treatment and compromise prognosis of the tooth involved and also the stability of treatment results. Orthodontics is the only branch which actually uses the inflammatory process as a tool for solving esthetic and functional problems. Therefore, every orthodontist should know the risk factors of root resorption involved in the process and plan treatment with an aim to reduce its possibility. The severity and degree of root resorption related with orthodontic treatment are multifactorial, involving environmental factors and host factors. A proper medical history, an assessment of predisposing factors, radiographic evaluation of alterations in root morphology and careful planning and execution of orthodontic mechanics may reduce the incidence of root resorption. The current review is aimed at providing clinicians and academics with an insight into the mechanical and biological aspects in the process of root resorption, the methods of identification during its early stages and intervention at the right time to reduce its severity.Root resorption is a common iatrogenic consequence of orthodontic treatment, although it can also be seen in the absence of orthodontic treatment. It may occur at any time during orthodontic treatment and compromise prognosis of the tooth involved and also the stability of treatment results. Orthodontics is the only branch which actually uses the inflammatory process as a tool for solving esthetic and functional problems. Therefore, every orthodontist should know the risk factors of root resorption involved in the process and plan treatment with an aim to reduce its possibility. The severity and degree of root resorption related with orthodontic treatment are multifactorial, involving environmental factors and host factors. A proper medical history, an assessment of predisposing factors, radiographic evaluation of alterations in root morphology and careful planning and execution of orthodontic mechanics may reduce the incidence of root resorption. The current review is aimed at providing clinicians and academics with an insight into the mechanical and biological aspects in the process of root resorption, the methods of identification during its early stages and intervention at the right time to reduce its severity