Medical consultation in ulcerative colitis:Key elements for improvement

Ulcerative colitis(UC)is a chronic inflammatory disease with a high impact.In order to improve patient outcomes,the clinician-patient relationship in daily practice is critical.Clinical guidelines provide a framework for UC diagnosis and treatment.However,standard procedures and the medical content focused upon medical consultations in UC patients has not yet been defined.Moreover,UC is a complex disease,given that patient characteristics and patient needs have been proven to vary during clinical consultation since establishing the diagnosis and upon the course of the disease.In this article,we have discussed the key elements and specific objectives to consider in medical consultation,such as diagnosis,first visits,follow-up visits,active disease patients,patients on topical therapies,new treatment initiation,refractory patients,extra-intestinal manifestations,as well as challenging situations.The key elements have been mentioned to comprise effective communication techniques,motivational interviewing(MI),as well as information and educational aspects,or organizational issues.The key elements to be implemented in daily practice were reported to comprise several general principles like duly prepared consultations,in addition to honesty and empathy with patients,as well as effective communication techniques,MI,information and educational points,or organizational issues.The role of other healthcare professionals such as specialized nurses,psychologists,or the use of checklists was also discussed and commented on.

Practice of the fourth national hyperbaric oxygen medicine week publicity campaign in China

Objective:We launched the fourth national hyperbaric oxygen(HBO)medicine week publicity campaign in China to increase patients’and medical professionals’understanding of HBO medicine and expand the influence of HBO.Methods:The theme of 2019 was“Oxygen protects life,healthy China”.The main components of the campaign were free medical consultation,free HBO experience,and telemedicine lectures.At least one component was required for each participating hospital.Results:(1)In total,195 hospitals in 26 provinces,autonomous regions,and municipalities directly under the central government participated in the campaign.Shandong province of China had the highest number of hospitals in a single area(48 hospitals);(2)The free medical consultation was organized by the HBO department.In some hospitals,other medical professionals were also invited.Among all hospitals,up to 13 different HBO-related departments participated;(3)The free HBO experiences were held in some hospitals,and the number of experiences ranged from one to three per person;(4)Three telemedicine lectures involving a total of 8 live interactions were held in 55 different hospitals.Lecture videos were provided to play locally in hospitals without the setting necessary for live interactions.Conclusion:Our campaigns created a brand effect beginning in 2016.In the herein-described 2019 study,we considered the previous three campaigns and explored different methods of publicizing HBO medicine in China,including telemedicine.