Hospital and Physician Capacity Update

Offers an alternative view of healthcare costs by examining trends in hospital capacity and healthcare labor across regions. Outlines how effective management of healthcare capacity would enable affordable quality care that meets patient needs and wants

Making Medical Homes Work: Moving From Concept to Practice

Explores practical considerations for implementing a medical home program of physician practices committed to coordinating and integrating care based on patient needs and priorities, such as how to qualify medical homes and how to match patients to them

Patient needs and point-of-care requirements for HIV load testing in resource-limited settings

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is an international, independent medical nongovernmental organization. One way in which MSF acts to improve patient care is to assist in the identification and development of adapted and appropriate tools for use in resource-limited settings. One strategy to achieve this goal is through active collaborations with scientists and developers, to make some of the field needs known and to help define the medical strategy behind the implementation of new diagnostic tests. Tests used in the field need to be effective in often extreme conditions and must also deliver high-quality, reliable results that can be used in the local context. In this article, we discuss some patient and health care provider needs for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load measurement in resource-limited settings. This is just one of the areas in which effective, quality tools are desperately needed, not only by MSF and other international nongovernmental organizations, but also by many other health service providers. We hope that, by clearly defining the needs of patients in MSF clinics-as well as we can assess this-and by explaining why these tools are needed, how they should perform, and how their results can be integrated into a program, we will encourage the development of such tools and hasten their implementation in areas where they are so urgently needed

New diagnostics for tuberculosis: fulfilling patient needs first

An effective tuberculosis (TB) control programme requires early diagnosis and immediate initiation of treatment. Any delays in diagnosing TB not only impair a patient's prognosis, but also increase the risks of transmitting the disease within the community. Unfortunately, the most recent TB diagnostic tools still depend on high-infrastructure laboratories, making them poorly adapted for use in resource-limited settings. Additionally, existing tests show poor performance in diagnosing TB in children, people living with HIV/AIDS, and extrapulmonary forms of the disease. As a consequence, TB patients are still to date left with either fair access to poor diagnostics or poor access to fair diagnostics

Precision Medicine: Tailoring Therapies for Individual Patient Needs

Precision medicine is a novel paradigm in healthcare that refers to a revolutionary method of customising medicinal therapies for specific individuals. The present study delves into the development, obstacles, and many uses of precision medicine, emphasising its crucial function in transforming healthcare for patients. Precision medicine has come a long way since the groundbreaking success of the Human Genome Project, thanks to advances in genome sequencing technology and computer power. Important elements of this strategy include focused medicines, personalised diagnostics, and genetic profiling, with the goal of maximising therapeutic effectiveness and minimising side effects. Implementing precision medicine presents a number of challenges, from the necessity for a strong infrastructure for data interpretation and clinical integration to ethical issues relating to patient data protection. The influence of precision medicine is seen across several fields, most notably oncology, where tailored treatments that are emerging as a result of genetic sequencing of tumours are revolutionising cancer treatment. Furthermore, pharmacogenomics clarifies how genetic differences affect drug response, opening the door to customised treatment regimens. Interestingly, precision medicine plays a part in uncommon diseases as well, providing specialised care based on genetic discoveries. The assessment emphasises the necessity of teamwork in overcoming obstacles and realising precision medicine's full potential. It is still critical to address healthcare inequities, make sure regulatory frameworks keep up with changing technology, and develop a workforce that is skilled in genetic interpretation. A new age of healthcare marked by precise and personalised therapies that maximise patient outcomes is anticipated as precision medicine develops further

Discerning Patient Needs: Spiritual Assessment: Perspectives for Health Care Chaplains

In the fourth of a series of literature reviews on the theory and practice of outcome-based pastoral care in health care, offers reviews of ten books and articles, as well as comments, on developing effective pastoral management and leadership skills