Approaches to recording drug allergies in electronic health records:qualitative study

Background: Drug allergy represent an important subset of adverse drug reactions that is worthy of attention because many of these reactions are potentially preventable with use of computerised decision support systems. This is however dependent on the accurate and comprehensive recording of these reactions in the electronic health record. The objectives of this study were to understand approaches to the recording of drug allergies in electronic health record systems. Materials and Methods We undertook a case study comprising of 21 in-depth interviews with a purposefully selected group of primary and secondary care clinicians, academics, and members of the informatics and drug regulatory communities, observations in four General Practices and an expert group discussion with 15 participants from the Allergy and Respiratory Expert Resource Group of the Royal College of General Practitioners. Results: There was widespread acceptance among healthcare professionals of the need for accurate recording of drug allergies and adverse drug reactions. Most drug reactions were however likely to go unreported to and/or unrecognised by healthcare professionals and, even when recognised and reported, not all reactions were accurately recorded. The process of recording these reactions was not standardised. Conclusions: There is considerable variation in the way drug allergies are recorded in electronic health records. This limits the potential of computerised decision support systems to help alert clinicians to the risk of further reactions. Inaccurate recording of information may in some instances introduce new problems as patients are denied treatments that they are erroneously believed to be allergic to

Far transfer for complex problem solving: some important issues

Development of practical training programs to ensure effective transfer of learning is hampered by the fact that there are a number of different types of transfer. Of these different types, the one which may be considered by many to be the most desirable is far transfer which is involved with difficult, that is non-routine, problem solving. This paper briefly examines the different types of transfer before focusing upon some of the key issues surrounding far transfer. In particular the paper considers the important issue of the degree of variability from the originally learned stimulus and the ability of humans to continue to recognise this stimulus as connected to the original learning. Recommendations are made for the development of a new, more inclusive theory of learning that better accounts for factors involved in the transfer of learning

Making generic skills more than a mantra in Vocational Education Policy

The need to retrain workers when there are changes in technology is seemingly circumvented by the teaching of generic skills in VET. Generic skills have moved on and off the Australian VET policy agenda since the early 1990s and in the form of the Mayer Key Competencies they have been given much attention from time to time. However there is little evidence that policy makers have any real understanding of what generic skills involve and their link to transfer of learning. Recently there has been a move to focus upon another set of generic skills, employability skills, with this seeming to be an acknowledgement of the failure of the Mayer Key Competencies in policy terms. This paper looks at what needs to be done to ensure the effective teaching and transfer of generic skills and to move beyond mere policy rhetoric. Employers have key roles to play and in this there may be an opportunity for establishing an appropriate, practical relationships between on- and off-site workplace education

Australian VET policy and the role of business and industry

Vocational education needs to be closely linked to the requirements of business and industry both in terms of policy and educational practice. However, over the past fifteen years the wants of business have come to dominate VET policy to the exclusion of any other stakeholder interests. This has led to seriously inadequate policies in the VET area that are responsible for the current skills crisis. It is more than two years since two major reports concluded the VET policies in Australia are not working yet to date there has been little indication of substantial shifts in government thinking and policy to create a more effective VET system. This paper looks at the need to reposition other stakeholders in the policy equation and reduce the influence of business and industry to some degree to produce a VET system more closely aligned to the needs of Australian society. It is argued that focus upon quality rather than quantity needs to be a central consideration in any new policy realignment