Knowledge and practices of primary care physicians on the current referral system of diabetic retinopathy in Islamabad and Rawal-Pindi, Pakistan

AIM: To assess the current knowledge and practices in diabetic eye care and referral system regarding diabetic retinopathy(DR) in health centers of Islamabad and RawalPindi. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 4 government and private health centers in RawalpindiIslamabad from May 2018 to Oct. 2018. A total of 38 Primary Care Physicians(general practitioners, family physicians, and internists) were recruited out of which data for 2 were either not returned, or were missing partially. Data were collected through a 27-item consented & validated, multiple-choice questionnaire based on physician characteristics, knowledge and practice of diabetic eye care and challenges faced due current DR referral system. Descriptive analyses for all variables were performed including, mean and standard deviation. Analytical analyses were also conducted to study association between different study variables. RESULTS: Mean scores of knowledge for general practitioners, family physicians, and internists were 41.7%, 42.0% and 46.6% respectively. A lack of knowledge, and suboptimal practices were observed regarding signs, symptoms, screening, testing, evaluation and referral of DR regardless of physicians’ specialty, or years in practice. Lack of expertise regarding direct ophthalmoscopy, interpretation of findings, and referral to an ophthalmologist were noted. Physicians who performed consultation and counselling according to patients’ needs referred more patients to an ophthalmologist than those who restricted their consultationto a fixed amount of time and had more patients per unit time(P=0.01). Physicians who had taken care of less than 5 number of patients with DR marked less incorrect answers with no significantly greater number or correct answers compared to physicians who had taken care of more than 5 number of patients with DR(P=0.044). An association of more than 5 patients with DR taken care of with more need based patient consultation and counselling was also noted(P=0.017). An evaluation of the current referral system for DR revealed major loopholes in the health care infrastructure, proper guidelines, properly functioning equipment, check and balances, and lack of guidance to physicians regarding acquiring and updating knowledge regarding DR. CONCLUSION: Lack of updated and adequate knowledge, practices among primary care physicians, and suboptimal diabetic eye care and referral system have contributed to late presentation of DR. Interventions are needed to improve current diabetic eye care, and knowledge and practices of primary care physicians.

Contributions of Primary Health Care and Next Step Considerations: A Systematic Review

The essential consideration is the cornerstone of a solid medical care system that provides outstanding health outcomes at a low cost. Medical therapy has evolved over the previous century from concentrating on random etiologies to lifestyle, race, and environmental factors. The aim behind these changes is to serve the public health requirements by delivering frequent and easy services based on the individual, couple, or family. Accurate evaluation of the magnitude by which primary health care contributes to the health care system is essential to the improvement of these contributions and determining next step considerations. The number one factor has been associated with greater access to medical care, better health outcomes, and reduced hospitalization and ER (emergency room) visits. The number one consideration may also help balance the adverse effects of poor financial situations on well-being. Therefore, we need more primary care doctors in the US. Research is also necessary to understand which essential consideration models provide acceptable health results.

Emergency department visits:Why adults choose the emergency room over a primary care physician visit during regular office hours?

BACKGROUND:It has been estimated that up to one third of all emergency department(ED)visits may be"inappropriate"or non-emergent.Factors that have been speculated to be associated with non-emergent use have been noted to include low socioeconomic status,lack of access to primary care,lack of insurance,convenience of"on demand care"and the patient's individual perception of their complaint urgency.The objective of this study is to identify the reasons contributing to self-perceived non-emergent adult emergency department visits during primary care physician office hours of operation.METHODS:This study was a single-center,descriptive study with questionnaire.The questionnaire was collected from patients meeting exclusion/inclusion criteria who were triaged into an acute or fast track part of the emergency department during regular business hours on Monday through Friday,8:00 am-5:00 pm during the months of July 2011 and August 2011.Questionnaire data were categorical and summarized using counts and percentages.Data collected included patient demographics,information about the patient's primary care provider,and information about the emergency department visit in question.All responses were compared among patients with visits considered to be non-emergent to those considered to be emergent by using individual chi-square tests.RESULTS:There were 262 patients available for the study.The patients were grouped according to their perception of the severity of their complaints.Roughly half of the patients placed themselves into the non-emergent category(n=129),whereas the other half of the patients categorized themselves into the emergent group(n=131).There were statistically significant differences in marital status and employment status between the two groups.It was found that 61.5%of the non-emergent patients were single,while 58.3%of the emergent patients were married.In the non-emergent group,59.7%were unemployed,but in the emergent group 60.3%were employed(P<0.05).However,no other factors were significantly different.CONCLUSIONS:Our study did not identify a statistically significant factor to the reasoning behind why patients choose the emergency department over a primary care physician during regular office hours.The only significant demographic indicating who was more likely to make this choice during the specified time frame was being single and employed with perceived non-emergent complaint.Patients without insurance and/or without a primary care physician were no more likely to visit the emergency department with a self-perceived non-emergent issue than patients with insurance and/or with an established primary care physician.

Physically active primary care physicians consult more on physical activity and exercise for patients: A public teaching-hospital study

Physical activity and exercise(PAE)improve quality of life and reduce the effects of chronic diseases.Primary care physicians(PCPs)play an important role to encourage PAE in patients.We aim to assess PCPs'current PAE consultation practices and their enablers/barriers in daily clinical practice.We had 64 PCPs(age[35.3±4.7]y,47 women)that completed self-administered questionnaires on PAE consultation practices,training,and confidence levels.PCPs(n=42)also completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form to assess their physical activity(PA)levels.We conducted correlation,one-way analysis of variance and a linear regression to assess the associations between enablers,barriers and PA levels to PAE consultation practices.On average,PCPs consulted on PAE in 49.7%of their daily clinical appointments.Majority of PCPs(70%)strongly agreed that more PAE knowledge were needed to increase consultation practices.Top three barriers related(p<0.001)to practices were lack of PAE education(r=0.47),patients’preference of pharmaceutical interventions(r=0.45)and lack of continuing education in PAE for PCPs(r=0.37).Physically active PCPs(health-enhancing PA levels,n=6)gave significantly more daily consultations in PAE,73.2%±21.9%,compared to inactive PCPs(n=13),37.4%22.8%(p=0.013).In our regression output,PCPs who had higher PA levels consulted more on PAE daily(R^(2)=0.38,p<0.001)while controlling for age.Conclusion,PCPs require more knowledge on PAE and need be physically active themselves to increase PAE consultation for patients in their daily practice.Medical education should consider including more PA and exercise topics that may benefit both physicians and their patients.

Barriers that practitioners face when initiating insulin therapy in general practice settings and how they can be overcome

AIM To explore primary care physicians' perspectives on possible barriers to the use of insulin.METHODS This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Eight electronic databases were searched(between January 1, 1994 and August 31, 2014) for relevant studies. A search for grey literature and a review of the references in the retrieved studies were also conducted. Studies that focused on healthcare providers' perspectives on possible barriers to insulin initiation with type 2 diabetic patients were included, as well as articles suggesting solutions for these barriers. Review articles and studies that only considered patients' perspectives were excluded. RESULTS A total of 19 studies met the inclusion criteria and were therefore included in this study: 10 of these studies used qualitative methods, 8 used quantitative methods and 1 used mixed methods. Studies included a range of different health care settings. The findings are reported under four broad categories: The perceptions of primary care physicians about the barriers to initiate insulin therapy for type 2 diabetes patients, how primary care physicians assess patients prior to initiating insulin, professional roles and possible solutions to overcome these barriers. The barriers described were many and covered doctor, patient, system and technological aspects. Interventions that focused on doctor training and support, or IT-based decision support were few, and did not result in significant improvement. CONCLUSION Primary care physicians' known delay in insulin initiation is multifactorial. Published reports of attempts to find solutions for these barriers were limited in number.

Position statement of Hepatology Society, Dhaka, Bangladesh, on the management of acute variceal bleeding in a resource-limited setting

Variceal bleeding is one of the important signs of decompensation in patients with cirrhosis of the liver.It is always a medical emergency and sometimes results in death.Every year many patients die due to acute bleeding worldwide.The outcome depends on bleeding and its complications as well as the severity of the underlying liver disease.Careful volume resuscitation,administration of antibiotics and vasoactive drugs,and early endoscopic therapy prevent rebleeding and death.People living in rural areas are first referred to a district hospital from the Upazila health complex for any medical emergency.So,commencing the resuscitation process as well as administration of the vasoactive drug(terlipressin)at the first attending hospital before being referred to a higher center will decrease the mortality in patients presenting with acute variceal bleeding.