Is Strategy Different for Very Small and New Firms?

In this paper, we argue that much of the small business strategic management literature has drawn too heavily from work done on large, established firms. We build upon the notions of the liabilities of smallness and newness to discuss how microenterprises and very new firms are different in regards to their strategic analysis, strategic content, strategic resources, and strategic processes. We note that there are a number of important and non-obvious questions that need to be asked that have implications for the most common firms in the world, those that are very small

Heart Failure in Older Persons: Considerations For The Primary Care Physician

Heart failure (HF) affects over 500,000 Canadians, with 50,000 new patients diagnosed each year. While mortality from cardiovascular diseases has progressively declined in Canada, the burden of HF is expected to continue rising as a result of population aging and improved survival of patients with other cardiovascular diseases. HF is the leading cause of hospitalization and death among those aged 65 years and over, with a mortality rate of up to 50% within 5 years of diagnosis. Elderly HF patients are complex: a recent Ontario study of home care recipients with HF found that these clients had more health instability, took more medications, and had more co-morbidities compared with other home care clients. Optimal management of HF in “complex seniors” requires that clinicians understand the interactions between HF and age-associated syndromes such as frailty, cognitive impairment, and functional decline. As the majority of Canadian patients with HF are treated by primary care providers (PCPs), this article is directed at PCPs caring for older adults with HF. It is meant as a brief overview and discusses how the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) Consensus Guidelines on HF can be applied in daily practice

Heart failure and cognitive impairment: Challenges and opportunities

As populations age, heart failure (HF) is becoming increasingly common, and in addition to a high burden of morbidity and mortality, HF has an enormous financial impact. Though disproportionately affected by HF, the elderly are less likely to receive recommended therapies, in part because clinical trials of HF therapy have ignored outcomes of importance to this population, including impaired cognitive function (ICF). HF is associated with ICF, manifested primarily as delirium in hospitalized patients, or as mild cognitive impairment or dementia in otherwise stable outpatients. This association is likely the result of shared risk factors, as well as perfusion and rheological abnormalities that occur in patients with HF. Evidence suggests that these abnormalities may be partially reversible with standard HF therapy. The clinical consequences of ICF in HF patients are significant. Clinicians should consider becoming familiar with screening instruments for ICF, including delirium and dementia, in order to identify patients at risk of nonadherence to HF therapy and related adverse consequences. Preliminary evidence suggests that optimal HF therapy in elderly patients may preserve or even improve cognitive function, though the impact on related outcomes remains to be determined

Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and cardiovascular outcomes according to diabetes status in patients with heart failure and preserved ejection fraction. A report from the Irbesartan in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Trial (I-Preserve)

Background—In patients with HF and preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), little is known about the characteristics of and outcomes in those with and without diabetes. Methods—We examined clinical and echocardiographic characteristics and outcomes in the Irbesartan in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction trial (I-Preserve), according to history of diabetes. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for cardiovascular outcomes adjusted for known predictors, including age, sex, natriuretic peptides, and comorbidity. Echocardiographic data were available in 745 patients and were additionally adjusted for in supplementary analyses. Results—Overall, 1134 of 4128 patients (27%) had diabetes. Compared to those without diabetes, they were more likely to have a history of myocardial infarction (28% vs. 22%), higher BMI (31kg/m2 vs. 29kg/m2), worse Minnesota living with HF score (48 vs. 40), higher median NT-proBNP concentration (403 vs 320 pg/ml; all p<0.01), more signs of congestion but no significant difference in LVEF. Patients with diabetes had a greater left ventricular (LV) mass and left atrial area than patients without diabetes. Doppler E wave velocity (86 vs 76 cm/sec, p<0.0001) and the ratio of E/e' (11.7 vs 10.4, p=0.010) were higher in patients with diabetes. Over a median follow-up of 4.1 years, cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization occurred in 34% of patients with diabetes vs. 22% of those without diabetes; adjusted HR 1.75 (95% CI 1.49-2.05) and 28% vs. 19% of patients with and without diabetes died; adjusted HR 1.59 (1.33-1.91). Conclusions—In HFpEF, patients with diabetes have more signs of congestion, worse quality of life, higher NT-proBNP levels, and a poorer prognosis. They also display greater structural and functional echocardiographic abnormalities. Further investigation is needed to determine the mediators of the adverse impact of diabetes on outcomes in HFPEF, and whether they are modifiable

The Value of Admission Clinical Data for Diagnosing Heart Failure in Long-term Care

Background Heart failure (HF) is common in long-term care (LTC). Diagnostic uncertainty is important barrier to optimal HF management, stemming from inadequate health information transfer upon LTC admission. We determine the utility of admission clinical information to confirm a HF diagnosis in new LTC residents. Methods This was a prospective cohort study. From February 2004 to November 2006, information about new residents from 41 LTC homes in Ontario, Canada, was collected from residents and caregivers, and all available health records. A prior HF diagnosis was confirmed by consensus review of available data by two independent experts. Multivariate modelling was utilized to determine the utility of the admission clinical assessment in confirming a prior HF diagnosis. Results A total of 449 residents were included for analysis, aged84.3±6.5 years, and 21.6% had a prior HF diagnosis. The most useful clinical item for diagnosing HF was a “history of HF”. The final model included “history of HF’ (OR [odds ratio] 13.66, 95% CI 6.61–28.24), “fluid on the lungs” (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.04–3.89), “orthopnea” (OR 1.76, 95% CI 0.93–3.33), “taking β-blocker” (OR 2.09, 95% CI 1.10– 3.94), “taking loop diuretics” (OR 2.11, 95% CI 1.12–3.98), and “history of coronary artery disease” (OR 2.83, 95% CI 1.42–5.64). Conclusion Elements of the clinical assessment for new LTC residents can help confirm a prior HF diagnosis. An admission history of HF is highly predictiveCanadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; Study ID 117947-BCA-CEBA-126289

The Spoke-Hub-and-Node Model of Integrated Heart Failure Care

The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2018.04.029 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Heart failure (HF) is a significant public health concern. Specialized HF clinics provide the optimal environment to address the complex needs of these patients and improve outcomes. The current and growing population of patients with HF outstrips the ability of these clinics to deliver care. Integrated care is defined as health services that are managed and delivered so that people receive a seamless continuum of health promotion, disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, disease management, rehabilitation, and palliative care services. This approach requires coordination across different levels and sites of care within and beyond the health sector, according to changing patient needs throughout their lives. The spoke-hub-and-node (SHN) model represents an organization of care that works collaboratively with the primary care sector and is highly integrated with community-based multidisciplinary teams of health care professionals and specialty care. The purpose of this article is to analyze the requirements for successful implementation of SHN models. We consider the respective roles of HF clinics, HF nurse specialists, pharmacists, palliative care teams, telemonitoring, and solo practitioners. We also discuss levels of care delivery and the importance of patient stratification and patient flow. The SHN approach has the potential to build on and improve the chronic care model (CCM) to deliver centralized services to preserve high-quality patient-centred care at affordable costs

Understanding organizational context and heart failure management in long term care homes in Ontario, Canada

This study examined the prevalence of Control Intervention (CI) use in adult in-patient psychiatric units/hospitals in Ontario and developed a profile of those patients who had CI use during their admission between April 2006 and March 2010. Control intervention types included mechanical/physical, chair prevents rising, acute control medications, and seclusion. The profiles of patients with control intervention use included an examination of sociodemographic, mental health service use, and mental health clinical characteristics.Supported by an unrestricted grant-in-aid from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontari

Insulin treatment and clinical outcomes in patients with diabetes and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Aims: Insulin causes sodium retention and hypoglycaemia and its use is associated with worse outcomes in heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction. We have investigated whether this is also the case in HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Methods and results: We examined the association between diabetes/diabetes treatments and the risk of the primary composite of cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization, as well as other outcomes in adjusted analyses in CHARM-Preserved (left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 45%), I-Preserve and TOPCAT (Americas) pooled. Of 8466 patients, 2653 (31%) had diabetes, including 979 (37%) receiving insulin. Patients receiving insulin were younger, had a higher body mass index, prevalence of ischaemic aetiology, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and use of diuretics, worse New York Heart Association class and signs and symptoms, and worse quality of life and renal function, compared to patients with diabetes not on insulin. Among the 1398 patients with echocardiographic data, insulin use was associated with higher left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and more diastolic dysfunction than in other participants. The primary outcome occurred at a rate of 6.3 per 100 patient-years in patients without diabetes, and 10.2 and 17.1 per 100 patient-years in diabetes patients without and with insulin use, respectively [fully adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) insulin-treated diabetes vs. other diabetes: 1.41, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.23-1.63, P < 0.001]. The adjusted HR is 1.67 (95% CI 1.20-2.32, p = 0.002) for sudden death (insulin-treated diabetes vs. other diabetes). Conclusions: Insulin use is associated with poor outcomes in HFpEF. Although we cannot conclude a causal association, the safety of insulin and alternative glucose-lowering treatments in HF needs to be evaluated in clinical trials

The 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Society guidelines for the diagnosis and management of heart failure update: Heart failure in ethnic minority populations, heart failure and pregnancy, disease management, and quality improvement/assurance programs

Since 2006, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society heart failure (HF) guidelines have published annual focused updates for cardiovascular care providers. The 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Society HF guidelines update focuses on an increasing issue in the western world - HF in ethnic minorities - and in an uncommon but important setting - the pregnant patient. Additionally, due to increasing attention recently given to the assessment of how care is delivered and measured, two critically important topics - disease management programs in HF and quality assurance - have been included. Both of these topics were written from a clinical perspective. It is hoped that the present update will become a useful tool for health care providers and planners in the ongoing evolution of care for HF patients in Canada. © 2010 Pulsus Group Inc. All rights reserved