Is Canada ready for patient accessible electronic health records? A national scan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Access to personal health information through the electronic health record (EHR) is an innovative means to enable people to be active participants in their own health care. Currently this is not an available option for consumers of health. The absence of a key technology, the EHR, is a significant obstacle to providing patient accessible electronic records. To assess the readiness for the implementation and adoption of EHRs in Canada, a national scan was conducted to determine organizational readiness and willingness for patient accessible electronic records.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A survey was conducted of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Canadian public and acute care hospitals.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two hundred thirteen emails were sent to CEOs of Canadian general and acute care hospitals, with a 39% response rate. Over half (54.2%) of hospitals had some sort of EHR, but few had a record that was predominately electronic. Financial resources were identified as the most important barrier to providing patients access to their EHR and there was a divergence in perceptions from healthcare providers and what they thought patients would want in terms of access to the EHR, with providers being less willing to provide access and patients desire for greater access to the full record.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>As the use of EHRs becomes more commonplace, organizations should explore the possibility of responding to patient needs for clinical information by providing access to their EHR. The best way to achieve this is still being debated.</p

Measuring trends in performance across time: Providing information to cancer patients

Providing relevant, up-to-date information is identified as a quality standard of cancer care. Cancer programs need to be able to evaluate whether they are meeting the standard and to monitor their performance on an ongoing basis. Routine collection of clearly defined data, using reliable and valid measures, provides cancer program leaders with dependable information upon which to make decisions and monitor trends in performance over time. This article describes one cancer centre’s experience in using standardized data collection regarding provision of patient information. The Cancer Patient Information Importance-Satisfaction Scale has been administered routinely in an outpatient setting over eight years. The profile we create from the data assists us in making informed decisions about patient education initiatives

Mesurer les tendances temporelles en matière de rendement : la fourniture d’information aux patients atteints de cancer

La fourniture d’informations pertinentes et à jour est reconnue comme étant une norme de qualité des soins aux personnes ayant le cancer. Les programmes de lutte contre le cancer doivent pouvoir faire les évaluations nécessaires pour savoir s’ils respectent cette norme et surveiller en permanence leur rendement en la matière. La collecte systématique de données clairement définies au moyen de mesures fiables et valides donne aux responsables de programmes de lutte contre le cancer l’information fiable dont ils ont besoin pour prendre des décisions et surveiller les tendances temporelles en matière de rendement. Cet article décrit l’expérience d’un centre de cancérologie quant à l’utilisation de la collecte de données normalisées concernant la fourniture d’information aux patients. La Cancer Patient Information Importance-Satisfaction Scale [Échelle d’importance de l’information fournie aux patients atteints de cancer et de leur satisfaction à son égard] a été administrée de manière systématique dans un contexte de soins ambulatoires sur une période de huit ans. Le profil que nous créons à partir de ces données nous aide à prendre des décisions éclairées à propos des initiatives liées à l’éducation des patients

Perspectives from older adults receiving cancer treatment about the cancer-related information they receive

Objective: Cancer patients have reported that information plays a significant role in their capacity to cope with cancer and manage the consequences of treatment. This study was undertaken to identify the importance older adults receiving cancer treatment assign to selected types of cancer-related information, their satisfaction with the cancer-related information they received, and the barriers to effective information provision for this age group. Methods: This study was conducted in two phases with separate samples. Six hundred and eighty-four older cancer patients receiving treatment completed a standardized survey and 39 completed a semi-structured interview to gather perspectives about cancer-related information. Data were analyzed for 65-79 years and 80+ year groups. Results: Information topics about their medical condition, treatment options, and side effects of treatment were rated as most important by the older cancer patients. Women assigned a higher importance ratings than men to information overall (t = 4.8, P < 0.01). Although participants were generally satisfied with the information, they received many described challenges they experienced in communicating with health care professionals because of the medical language and fast pace of speaking used by the professionals. Conclusions: The older cancer patients in this study endorsed the same topics of cancer-related information as most important as has been reported in studies for other age groups. However, this older group recommended that, during their interactions with older individuals, health care professionals use fewer medical words, speak at a slower pace, and provide written information in addition to the actual conversation

Changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior during the first COVID-19 pandemic- restrictions in Germany: a nationwide survey

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions posed challenges to maintaining healthy lifestyles and physical well-being. During the first mobility restrictions from March to mid-July 2020, the German population was advised to stay home, except for work, exercise, and essential shopping. Our objective was to comprehensively assess the impact of these restrictions on changes in physical activity and sedentary behavior to identify the most affected groups. METHODS: Between April 30, 2020, and May 12, 2020, we distributed a COVID-19-specific questionnaire to participants of the German National Cohort (NAKO). This questionnaire gathered information about participants’ physical activity and sedentary behavior currently compared to the time before the restrictions. We integrated this new data with existing information on anxiety, depressive symptoms, and physical activity. The analyses focused on sociodemographic factors, social relationships, physical health, and working conditions. RESULTS: Out of 152,421 respondents, a significant proportion reported altered physical activity and sedentary behavioral patterns due to COVID-19 restrictions. Over a third of the participants initially meeting the WHO’s physical activity recommendation could no longer meet the guidelines during the restrictions. Participants reported substantial declines in sports activities (mean change (M) = -0.38; 95% CI: -.390; -.378; range from -2 to + 2) and reduced active transportation (M = -0.12; 95% CI: -.126; -.117). However, they also increased recreational physical activities (M = 0.12; 95% CI: .117; .126) while engaging in more sedentary behavior (M = 0.24; 95% CI: .240; .247) compared to pre-restriction levels. Multivariable linear and log-binomial regression models indicated that younger adults were more affected by the restrictions than older adults. The shift to remote work, self-rated health, and depressive symptoms were the factors most strongly associated with changes in all physical activity domains, including sedentary behavior, and the likelihood to continue following the physical activity guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: Mobility patterns shifted towards inactivity or low-intensity activities during the nationwide restrictions in the spring of 2020, potentially leading to considerable and lasting health risks