National laboratory-based surveillance system for antimicrobial resistance: a successful tool to support the control of antimicrobial resistance in the Netherlands

An important cornerstone in the control of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a well-designed quantitative system for the surveillance of spread and temporal trends in AMR. Since 2008, the Dutch national AMR surveillance system, based on routine data from medical microbiological laboratories (MMLs), has developed into a successful tool to support the control of AMR in the Netherlands. It provides background information for policy making in public health and healthcare services, supports development of empirical antibiotic therapy guidelines and facilitates in-depth research. In addition, participation of the MMLs in the national AMR surveillance network has contributed to sharing of knowledge and quality improvement. A future improvement will be the implementation of a new semantic standard together with standardised data transfer, which will reduce errors in data handling and enable a more real-time surveillance. Furthermore, the

Strong floristic distinctiveness across Neotropical successional forests

Forests that regrow naturally on abandoned fields are important for restoring biodiversity and ecosystem services, but can they also preserve the distinct regional tree floras? Using the floristic composition of 1215 early successional forests (≤20 years) in 75 human-modified landscapes across the Neotropic realm, we identified 14 distinct floristic groups, with a between-group dissimilarity of 0.97. Floristic groups were associated with location, bioregions, soil pH, temperature seasonality, and water availability. Hence, there is large continental-scale variation in the species composition of early successional forests, which is mainly associated with biogeographic and environmental factors but not with human disturbance indicators. This floristic distinctiveness is partially driven by regionally restricted species belonging to widespread genera. Early secondary forests contribute therefore to restoring and conserving the distinctiveness of bioregions across the Neotropical realm, and forest restoration initiatives should use local species to assure that these distinct floras are maintained

Prescription of antiviral drugs during the 2009 influenza pandemic: an observational study using electronic medical files of general practitioners in the Netherlands

Background After the clinical impact of the A(H1N1)pdm09 virus was considered to be mild, treatment with antiviral drugs was recommended only to patients who were at risk for severe disease or who had a complicated course of influenza. We investigated to what extent antiviral prescriptions in primary care practices were in accordance with the recommendations, what proportion of patients diagnosed with influenza had been prescribed antiviral drugs, and to what extent prescriptions related to the stated indications for antiviral treatment. Methods We used data from routine electronic medical records of practices participating in the Netherlands Information Network of General Practice LINH in the period August - December 2009. We considered patient and practice characteristics, clinical diagnoses and drug prescriptions of all patients who contacted their general practitioner in the given period and who had been prescribed antiviral medication (n = 351) or were diagnosed with influenza (n = 3293). Results Of all antiviral prescriptions, 69% were in accordance with the recommendations. Only 5% of patients diagnosed with influenza were prescribed antiviral drugs. This percentage increased to 12% among influenza patients belonging to the designated high risk groups. On the other hand, 2.5% of influenza patients not at high risk of complications received antiviral treatment. In addition to the established high risk factors, the total number of drug prescriptions for a patient in this year was a determinant of antiviral prescriptions. Information on time since onset of symptoms and the clinical presentation of patients was not available. Conclusions General practitioners in the Netherlands have been restrictive in prescribing antiviral drugs during the influenza pandemic, even when patients met the criteria for antiviral treatment

Communication between Dutch community nurses and general practitioners lacks structure: An explorative mixed methods study

Contains fulltext : 221443.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Letter to the editor: influenza vaccine effectiveness: heterogeneity in estimates for the 2012/13 season.

To the editor In the past few weeks, there have been several publications on influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) during the 2012/13 influenza season. Having robust VE estimates as soon as possible during the season is of great public health benefit. Indeed, to optimise the design of such studies and increase the precision of (early) estimates by pooling of data, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has supported the European Influenza Monitoring Vaccine Effectiveness in Europe (I-MOVE) network. However, the recently published studies provide very different estimates [...

Identification of influencing factors and strategies to improve communication between general practitioners and community nurses: a qualitative focus group study

Contains fulltext : 196773.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Background: As the number of patients with complex healthcare needs grows, inter-professional collaboration between primary care professionals must be constantly optimized. General practitioners (GPs) and community nurses (CNs) are key professions in primary care; however, poor GP-CN communication is common, and research into the factors influencing its quality is limited. Objective: To explore patient-related GP-CN communication and facilitating and hindering factors, and to identify strategies to enhance this communication. Method: A qualitative focus group design was used to identify the facilitating and hindering factors and strategies for improvement. In a Dutch primary care setting, 6 mono-professional focus group interviews (3 meetings of 13 GPs; 3 meetings of 18 CNs) were organized between June 2015 and April 2016, recorded and transcribed verbatim. Two independent researchers performed the coding of these interviews, identifying their categories and themes. Results: Results show that, despite the regular contact between GPs and CNs, communication was generally perceived as poor in effectiveness and efficiency by both professions. Mutual trust was considered the most important facilitating factor for effective communication. Profession-specific factors (e.g. differences in responsibility and profession-specific language) and organizational factors (e.g. lack of shared care plans, no in-person communication, lack of time) may be of influence on communication. Participants' suggestions for improvement included organizing well-structured and reimbursed team meetings and facilitating face-to-face contact. Conclusion: GP-CN patient-related communication benefits most from trusting inter-personal relationships. Inter-professional training programmes should address both professional and organizational factors and should be evaluated for their effect on quality of care