Maintaining Relationships With Supply Chain Partners: A Case Study

This case study describes efforts of a market leader in the communication infrastructure industry to assess the relationships they have developed with their global supply chain partners.  Changes in the industry have resulted in geographic shifts of existing and potential supply chain suppliers and customers.  In an effort to determine if commitment to customer service has resulted in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, research was conducted to assess their performance.  The results of this research were compared to previous research to determine if their service program has successfully differentiated them from their competitors

Thundermist Health Center: Extending Pharmaceutical Services To Underserved Patients

This paper describes a not-for-profit healthcare providers strategy to provide its economically disadvantaged patients with access to low cost pharmaceuticals. Initially, an in-house pharmacy was established, supported by a satellite distribution system using a telepharmacy solution to extend medications to its patients at remote sites. New federal legislation which provided access to low cost insurance through Medicare Part D to many of the providers disadvantaged patients, along with state licensing requirements forced the healthcare provider to reassess the economics of its pharmaceutical distribution system and seek other alternatives. Among the alternatives the healthcare provider considered was partnering with for-profit pharmaceutical companies in order to reach their patients

Survival following abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in North Queensland is not associated with remoteness of place of residence

Objective: To assess whether survival and clinical events following elective abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair were associated with remoteness of residence in North Queensland, Australia. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included participants undergoing elective AAA repair between February 2002 and April 2020 at two hospitals in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. Outcomes were all-cause survival and AAA-related events, defined as requirement for repeat AAA repair or AAA-related mortality. Remoteness of participant's place of residence was assessed by the Modified Monash Model classifications and estimated distance from the participants' home to the tertiary vascular centre. Cox proportional hazard analysis examined the association of remoteness with outcome. Results: The study included 526 participants undergoing elective repair by open (n = 204) or endovascular (n = 322) surgery. Fifty-four (10.2%) participants had a place of residence at a remote or very remote location. Participants' were followed for a median of 5.2 (inter-quartile range 2.5-8.3) years, during which time there were 252 (47.9%) deaths. Survival was not associated with either measure of remoteness. Fifty (9.5%) participants had at least one AAA-related event, including 30 (5.7%) that underwent at least one repeat AAA surgery and 23 (4.4%) that had AAA-related mortality. AAA-related events were more common in participants resident in the most remote areas (adjusted hazard ratio 2.83, 95% confidence intervals 1.40, 5.70) but not associated with distance from the participants' residence to the tertiary vascular centre. Conclusions: The current study found that participants living in more remote locations were more likely to have AAA-related events but had no increased mortality following AAA surgery. The findings emphasize the need for careful follow-up after AAA surgery. Further studies are needed to examine the generalisability of the findings

Control of modifiable risk factors and major adverse cardiovascular events in people with peripheral artery disease and diabetes

BACKGROUND People with diabetes and peripheral artery disease (PAD) have a high risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Prior research suggests that medical therapies aimed to control modifiable risk factors are poorly implemented in patients with PAD. AIM To examine the association between the control of modifiable risk factors, estimated by the novel PAD-medical score, and the incidence of MACE in people with PAD and diabetes. METHODS Participants were recruited from out-patient clinics if they had a diagnosis of both PAD and diabetes. Control of reversible risk factors was assessed by a new composite measure, the PAD-medical score. This score takes into account the control of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose, smoking and prescription of an anti-platelet. Participants were followed to record incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke and cardiovascular death (MACE). The association of PAD-medical score with MACE was assessed using Cox propor-tional hazard analyses adjusting for age, sex and prior history of ischemic heart disease and stroke. RESULTS Between 2002 and 2020, a total of 424 participants with carotid artery disease (n = 63), aortic or peripheral aneurysm (n = 121) or lower limb ischemia (n = 240) were prospectively recruited, and followed for a median duration (inter-quartile range) of 2.0 (0.2–4.4) years. Only 33 (7.8%) participants had the optimal PAD-medical score of five, with 318 (75%) scoring at least three out of five. There were 89 (21.0%) participants that had at least one MACE during the follow-up period. A one-unit higher PAD-medical score was associated with lower risk of MACE (HR = 0.79, 95%CI: 0.63-0.98) after adjusting for other risk factors. CONCLUSION The PAD-medical score provides a simple way to assess the control of modifiable risk factors targeted by medical management aimed to reduce the incidence of MACE

High ankle brachial index predicts high risk of cardiovascular events amongst people with peripheral artery disease

Ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) is commonly measured in people referred to vascular specialists. This study aimed to assess the association of high ABPI (≥ 1.4) with cardiovascular events in people with peripheral artery disease (PAD). 1533 participants with PAD diagnosed by a vascular specialist were prospectively recruited from four out-patient clinics in Australia. ABPI was measured at recruitment and the occurrence of myocardial infarction (MI), stroke or cardiovascular death (major cardiovascular events; MACE) and any amputation were recorded over a median (inter-quartile range) follow-up of 3.3 (1.0-7.1) years. The association of high, compared to normal, low (0.5-0.9) or very low (<0.5), ABPI with clinical events was estimated using Cox proportional hazard analyses, adjusting for traditional risk factors and reported as hazard ratio with 95% confidence intervals. 596 (38.9%), 676 (44.1%), 157 (10.2%) and 104 (6.8%) participants had normal, low, very low and high ABPI, respectively. Participants with high ABPI had increased risk of MACE, MI and death by comparison to those with either normal ABPI [1.69 (1.07, 2.65), 1.93 (1.07, 3.46) and 1.67 (1.09, 2.56)] or either low or very low ABPI [1.51 (1.02, 2.23), 1.92 (1.16, 3.19) and 1.47 (1.02, 2.14)] after adjusting for other risk factors. Findings were similar in a sensitivity analysis excluding people with ABPI only measured in one leg (n = 120). Participants with high ABPI also had an increased risk of MACE and MI compared to those with very low ABPI alone. High ABPI is a strong indicator of excess risk of cardiovascular events amongst people with PAD

Health-related quality of life amongst people diagnosed with abdominal aortic aneurysm and peripheral artery disease and the effect of fenofibrate

The aims of this study were, firstly, to assess the effect of concurrent peripheral artery disease (PAD) on the health-related quality of life (QOL) of people diagnosed with a small abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA); and secondly, to test whether the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha agonist fenofibrate improved QOL of people diagnosed with a small AAA, including those diagnosed with concurrent PAD. The study included both a cross-sectional observational study and a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial. 140 people diagnosed with a 35-49 mm diameter AAA, 56 (40%) of whom had concurrent PAD, and 25 healthy controls were prospectively recruited. QOL was assessed with the short form (SF) 36. Findings in participants that were diagnosed with both AAA and PAD were compared separately with those of participants that had a diagnosis of AAA alone or who had neither AAA nor PAD diagnosed (healthy controls). All participants diagnosed with an AAA were then randomly allocated to 145 mg of fenofibrate per day or identical placebo. Outcomes were assessed by changes in the domains of the SF-36 and ankle brachial pressure Index (ABPI) from randomization to 24 weeks. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests. Participants diagnosed with both AAA and PAD had significantly worse QOL than participants diagnosed with AAA alone or healthy controls. Fenofibrate did not significantly alter SF-36 scores or ABPI over 24 weeks. Fenofibrate does not improve QOL of people diagnosed with small AAA, irrespective of whether they have concurrent PAD.Trial registration: ACTN12613001039774 Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry

Effects of a 6-month exercise program pilot study on walking economy, peak physiological characteristics, and walking performance in patients with peripheral arterial disease

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 6-month exercise program on submaximal walking economy in individuals with peripheral arterial disease and intermittent claudication (PAD-IC). Participants (n = 16) were randomly allocated to either a control PAD-IC group (CPAD-IC, n = 6) which received standard medical therapy, or a treatment PAD-IC group (TPAD-IC; n = 10) which took part in a supervised exercise program. During a graded treadmill test, physiological responses, including oxygen consumption, were assessed to calculate walking economy during submaximal and maximal walking performance. Differences between groups at baseline and post-intervention were analyzed via Kruskal–Wallis tests. At baseline, CPAD-IC and TPAD-IC groups demonstrated similar walking performance and physiological responses. Postintervention, TPAD-IC patients demonstrated significantly lower oxygen consumption during the graded exercise test, and greater maximal walking performance compared to CPAD-IC. These preliminary results indicate that 6 months of regular exercise improves both submaximal walking economy and maximal walking performance, without significant changes in maximal walking economy. Enhanced walking economy may contribute to physiological efficiency, which in turn may improve walking performance as demonstrated by PAD-IC patients following regular exercise programs

Immunosuppressive drugs for nontransplant comorbidities are not associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm growth

Background: In the present study, we examined the association of immunosuppressant drug prescriptions with the growth of small abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). Methods: Participants with an AAA measuring between 30 and 50 mm were recruited from four Australian centers. AAA growth was monitored by ultrasound. The immunosuppressant drugs included conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (eg, methotrexate, sulfasalazine, leflunomide), steroids, hydroxychloroquine, other immunosuppressant drugs (eg, cyclosporine, azacitidine), or a combination of these drugs. Linear mixed effects modeling was performed to examine the independent association of an immunosuppressant prescription with AAA growth. A subanalysis examined the association of steroids with AAA growth. Results: Of the 621 patients, 34 (5.3%) had been prescribed at least one (n = 26) or more (n = 8) immunosuppressant drug and had been followed up for a median period of 2.1 years (interquartile range, 1.1-3.5 years), with a median of three ultrasound scans (interquartile range, two to five ultrasound scans). No significant difference was found in AAA growth when stratified by a prescription of immunosuppressant drugs on either unadjusted (mean difference, 0.2 mm/y; 95% confidence interval [CI], −0.4 to 0.7; P =.589) or risk factor-adjusted (mean difference, 0.2 mm/y; 95% CI, −0.3 to 0.7; P =.369) analyses. The findings were similar for the unadjusted (mean difference, 0.0 mm/y; 95% CI, −0.7 to 0.7; P =.980) and risk factor-adjusted (mean difference, 0.1 mm/y; 95% CI, −0.6 to 0.7; P =.886) subanalyses focused on steroid use. Conclusions: The results from this study suggest that AAA growth is not affected by immunosuppressant drug prescription. Studies with larger sample sizes are needed before reliable conclusions can be drawn

Theory Content, Question-Behavior Effects, or Form of Delivery Effects for Intention to Become an Organ Donor? Two Randomized Trials

Eliciting different attitudes with survey questionnaires may impact on intention to donate organs. Previous research used varying numbers of questionnaire items, or different modes of intervention delivery, when comparing groups. We aimed to determine whether intention to donate organs differed among groups exposed to different theoretical content, but similar questionnaire length, in different countries. We tested the effect of excluding affective attitudinal items on intention to donate, using constant item numbers in two modes of intervention delivery. Study 1: A multi-country, interviewer-led, cross-sectional randomized trial recruited 1007 participants, who completed questionnaires as per group assignment: including all affective attitude items, affective attitude items replaced, negatively-worded affective attitude items replaced. Study 2 recruited a UK-representative, cross-sectional sample of 616 participants using an online methodology, randomly assigned to the same conditions. Multilevel models assessed effects of group membership on outcomes: intention to donate (primary), taking a donor card, following a web-link (secondary). In study 1, intention to donate did not differ among groups. Study 2 found a small, significantly higher intention to donate in the negatively-worded affective attitudes replaced group. Combining data yielded no group differences. No differences were seen for secondary outcomes. Ancillary analyses suggest significant interviewer effects. Contrary to previous research, theoretical content may be less relevant than number or valence of questionnaire items, or form of intervention delivery, for increasing intention to donate organs