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Biomedical subjects

Daniel Reinharz

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Reinharz.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Public telesurveillance service for frail elderly living at home, outcomes and cost evolution: a quasi experimental design with two follow-ups.

BACKGROUND: Telesurveillance is a technologically based modality that allows the surveillance of patients in the natural setting, mainly home. It is based on communication technologies to relay information between a patient and a central call center where services are coordinated. Different types of telesurveillance systems have been implemented, some being staffed with non-health professionals and others with health professional, mainly nurses. Up to now, only telesurveillance services staffed with non-health professionals have been shown to be effective and efficient. The objective of this study was to document outcomes and cost evolution of a nurse-staffed telesurveillance system for frail elderly living at home. METHODS: A quasi experimental design over a nine-month period was done. Patients (n = 38) and caregivers (n = 38) were selected by health professionals from two local community health centers. To be eligible, elders had to be over 65, live at home with a permanent physical, slight cognitive or motor disability or both and have a close relative (the caregiver) willing to participate to the study. These disabilities had to hinder the accomplishment of daily life activities deemed essential to continue living at home safely. Three data sources were used: patient files, telesurveillance center's quarterly reports and personal questionnaires (Modified Mini-Mental State, Functional Autonomy Measurement System, Life Event Checklist, SF-12, Life-H, Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with Assistive Technology, Caregiver Burden). The telesurveillance technology permitted, among various functionalities, bi-directional communication (speaker-receiver) between the patient and the response center. RESULTS: A total of 957 calls for 38 registered clients over a 6-month period was recorded. Only 48 (5.0%) of the calls were health-related. No change was reported in the elders' quality of life and daily activity abilities. Satisfaction was very high. Caregivers' psychological burden decreased substantially. On a 3 months period, length of hospital stays dropped from 13 to 4 days, and home care services decreased from 18 to 10 visits/client. Total cost of health and social public services used per client dropped by 17% after the first 3 months and by 39% in the second 3 months. CONCLUSION: The ratio of 0.50 calls per client to the call center for health events is three times higher than that reported in the literature. This difference is probably attributable to the fact that nurses rather than non-health professional personnel were available to answer the clients' questions about their health and medications. Cost evolution showed that registering older adults at a telesurveillance center staffed by nurses, upon a health professional recommendation, costs the health care system less and does not have any negative effects on the well-being of the individuals and their families. Telesurveillance for the elderly is effective and efficient.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Organizing the public health-clinical health interface: theoretical bases.

This article addresses the issue of the interface between public health and clinical health within the context of the search for networking approaches geared to a more integrated delivery of health services. The articulation of an operative interface is complicated by the fact that the definition of networking modalities involves complex intra- and interdisciplinary and intra- and interorganizational systems across which a new transversal dynamics of intervention practices and exchanges between service structures must be established. A better understanding of the situation is reached by shedding light on the rationale underlying the organizational methods that form the bases of the interface between these two sectors of activity. The Quebec experience demonstrates that neither the structural-functionalist approach, which emphasizes remodelling establishment structures and functions as determinants of integration, nor the structural-constructivist approach, which prioritizes distinct fields of practice in public health and clinical health, adequately serves the purpose of networking and integration. Consequently, a theoretical reframing is imperative. In this regard, structuration theory, which fosters the simultaneous study of methods of inter-structure coordination and inter-actor cooperation, paves the way for a better understanding of the situation and, in turn, to the emergence of new integration possibilities.

Clinical Medicine↗
PubMed2006

Including integrated psychological treatment as part of standard medical therapy for patients with schizophrenia: clinical outcomes.

To assess the clinical outcomes associated with the inclusion of Integrated Psychological Treatment (IPT) standard medical therapy in nine regular clinical settings, nine clinical teams integrated the complete IPT program (six hierarchically arranged subprograms) with their respective standard medical therapies for outpatients with schizophrenia. A total of 90 patients, young adults to long-term mentally ill patients, participated in the program. Patients were evaluated using standardized instruments at four time points: (1) prior to including the IPT program, (2) after the first three IPT subprograms, (3) at the end of IPT, and (4) 3 to 4 months post-IPT. The IPT program was associated with positive results. Patients improved in terms of overall symptoms, subjective experiences, cognitive and social functioning, and quality of life. IPT is one of the most up-to-date programs to address the rehabilitation needs of persons suffering from schizophrenia. Our experience in nine clinical settings suggests that IPT can successfully be included as part of standard medical therapy in the rehabilitation of patients with schizophrenia.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Health care resource use associated with integrated psychological treatment.

BACKGROUND: Mental health policies, advocating outpatient as well as community mental health care for the severely mentally ill, are aiming towards health system cost containment and patient quality of life. Programs with cognitive behavioral therapy, such as the Integrated Psychological Therapy (IPT), added to standard medical therapy for patients with schizophrenia have been associated with improved outcomes. A Quebec version of the IPT program was integrated in outpatient clinics and improvements were observed in overall symptoms, subjective experiences, cognitive and social functioning, and quality of life. In light of these results we deemed it relevant to describe the health system cost and patient resource use associated with the program. The costs related to IPT have not been previously reported and this study will elucidate on effective health services and budget allocation needed to include IPT. AIMS: To describe health care resource use and related costs associated with participating in an IPT program included as standard medical therapy in nine clinical settings. METHODS: A cohort of patients with schizophrenia participating in the IPT program were followed up to one year preceding the start of the program and concurrently until the end to compare the resource use and costs incurred by patients with schizophrenia during their participation. A health and social service system and patient perspective was adopted, and the medical and non-medical costs associated with the IPT program were measured. Valuation (2001 CDN dollars) was based on information provided by provincial billing systems. Statistical differences were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. RESULTS: The IPT program induced a one time fixed cost (2347 dollars) for the training of mental health professionals and costs related to patient participation (1350 dollars). Our results show that there was an average decrease in health care system resource use per patient during the IPT program (26,133 dollars) as opposed to the preceding year (26,750 dollars). There was a significant decrease in the number of visits and in physician fees paid out to psychiatrists, the number of hospitalizations and related costs, and visits to the emergency department per patient during the IPT program as compared to the preceding year. No significant difference was observed in patient related costs which averaged 7295 dollars and 7537 dollars, before and during the IPT program, respectively. DISCUSSION: Although the IPT program induces a one time fixed cost for training, the integration of IPT, as part of an individualized standard medical therapy, is associated with a change from inpatient towards outpatient resource use with no significant increase in health system related costs. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH CARE PROVISION AND USE: Given clinical and quality of life improvements, the findings suggest that offering IPT to more patients with severe mental illness may prove more cost beneficial by decreasing the health system related costs per user in the long term. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Additional research is needed to examine in parallel the long-term clinical and cost impact of the IPT program in different clinical settings (young adults to long term mentally ill). This will elucidate to which patient population IPT is most cost-effective.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Cognitive predictors of psychosocial functioning outcome in schizophrenia: a follow-up study of subjects participating in a rehabilitation program.

The aims of this prospective study were to explore in subjects with psychosis participating in a rehabilitation program whether cognitive performances at baseline predicted (i) psychosocial functioning over a 15-16 month follow-up; (ii) improvement in psychosocial functioning over the rehabilitation program. Visuo-spatial tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) were administered to assess cognitive performance in 55 subjects with schizophrenia spectrum disorders who completed a rehabilitation program. The Multnomah Community Ability Scale (MCAS) was used to measure dimensions of community functioning. One subscale of the Client's Assessment of Strengths, Interests, and Goals (CASIG) provided a measure of subjective quality of life (QoL). Improvement was defined as a 15% or more increase in psychosocial scores between baseline and follow-up. Worse baseline sustained attention predicted better self-rated quality of life, and better baseline visual memory predicted better community functioning over the rehabilitation follow-up period, in particular, higher autonomy in activities of daily living, and less physical and psychiatric symptoms that could interfere with rehabilitation. Baseline cognitive performances predicted community functioning improvement during the follow-up period: visual memory predicted improvement in daily living autonomy and in social competence; sustained attention predicted improvement in behavioral problems (such as medication compliance, collaboration with treatment providers or impulse control) and social competence; planning performances predicted improvement in social competence. These cognitive functions could be specifically targeted in a rehabilitation program aimed at enhancing functioning in those particular dimensions.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Healthcare utilization following cognitive-behavioral treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia.

The aim of this study was to examine the overall changes in healthcare services utilization after providing an empirically supported cognitive-behavioral treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia. Data on healthcare utilization were collected for a total of 84 adults meeting DSM-IV criteria. Participants were completers of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia. Data on utilization of healthcare services and medication were obtained from semi-structured interviews from baseline to 1-year after treatment. Results of the Friedman non-parametric analysis reveal a significant decrease in overall and mental health-related costs following treatment. This study shows a significant reduction in healthcare costs following cognitive behavior therapy for panic disorder with agoraphobia. More studies are needed to examine the potential long-term cost-offset effect of empirically supported treatments for panic disorder.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Telehealth adoption in hospitals: an organisational perspective.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explore the influence of hospitals' organisational characteristics on telehealth adoption by health-care centres involved in the extended telehealth network of Quebec (French acronym RQTE) DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The article is based on a review of the literature and a questionnaire, which was administered via telephone interviews to the 32 hospitals involved in the Extended Telehealth Network of Quebec. Contingency analyses were performed to determine which organisational factors have influenced telehealth adoption. Subsequently, a multiple case study was conducted among nine hospitals representative of different categories of telehealth adopters. In-depth interviews with various actors involved in telehealth activities have permitted a deepening of one's understanding of the impact of clinical and administrative contexts on telehealth adoption. FINDINGS: The results from both the questionnaire and interviews support the observation made by Whitten and Adams in 2003 that telehealth programs are not isolated, but located within larger health organisations. Moreover, health-care organisations are also positioned in a larger geographical, economical and socio-political environment. Therefore, it is important to investigate the context in which telehealth projects are taking place prior to experimentation. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This study has highlighted the relevance of considering the characteristics and the dynamics of health-care organisations at each stage of telehealth implementation in order to take their specific needs into account.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2005

[Implementation of the multi-site Integrated Psychological Treatment (IPT) program for people with schizophrenia. Elaboration of renewed version].

Brenner's Integrated Psychological Treatment (IPT) program (Brenner et al., 1992 ; Pomini et al., 1998), a cognitive-behavioural approach, was implemented in nine of Quebec's clinical settings that treat people with schizophrenia. A study allowed an evaluation of the IPT program in each location, with emphasis on the level of satisfaction of both participants and professionals, the program's strong points, and areas where improvements were needed. The results have shown that the implementation of the program has been successful in all nine clinical settings. Professionals and participants appreciated the IPT program not only for its hierarchic structure that considers the rehabilitation needs of people affected by schizophrenia, but also for its customised application framework, which allows a regular follow-up of a similar group of patients over the course of a one year period. As a result of this study, the modifications proposed and additions have enabled the creation of a Quebec version of the IPT program, which better achieves its objectives, particularly those relating to the maintenance and generalisation of social learning in the context of a participant's real-life situation.

Delivery of Health Care, Integrated↗
PubMed2005

[Integrating prevention and promotion in health systems: four realities, diverse similarities].

The Forum Dialogue on national health systems which took place as a satellite meeting of the 2nd International Conference on Local and Regional Health Programmes compared four countries (Brazil, France, Switzerland and Canada) sustain "conditions to integrate prevention and promotion in health systems". Despite the diversity of the four systems presented, several similarities regarding difficulties faced and achievements obtained in the integration process have been extracted, which has allowed highlighting three perspectives of action. It is suggested that prevention and promotion can be integrated into health systems by mobilising the population and health professionals towards prevention, but with the condition that the promotion and prevention sector increase its credibility by developing practices of quality, organisation, discourse, and prevention practices adjusted to the health care context. Finally, exchange between the countries on this subject is the way forward to nourish the thinking and support each other to obtain this desired integration.

Delivery of Health Care, Integrated↗
PubMed2004

The crucial role of sustained attention in community functioning in outpatients with schizophrenia.

The aim was to explore the pattern of associations between visual cognitive performance and community functioning in a sample of outpatients with schizophrenia participating in a rehabilitation program. Visuo-spatial tests from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) were administered to assess cognitive performances in 88 subjects. The Multnomah Community Ability Scale (MCAS) was used to measure dimensions of community functioning. Our results showed that the sustained attention score was significantly associated with the global community functioning score and with two specific dimensions: "adjustment to living" and "behavioral problems". No association was found between other cognitive indices and MCAS scores. Since the sustained attention task mainly involves the executive component of working memory, these findings suggest that attentional control processes are limiting factors for community functioning in schizophrenia outpatients. Measures of such processes could serve as key indices of disability in clinical practice. Attention and working memory training may be helpful to improve community functioning in subjects with schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Self-assessed cognitive dysfunction and objective performance in outpatients with schizophrenia participating in a rehabilitation program.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the pattern of associations between self-assessed and objective neuropsychological performance in a sample of outpatients with schizophrenia participating in a rehabilitation program. METHOD: The Subjective Scale to Investigate Cognition in Schizophrenia (SSTICS) [Compr. Psychiatry 44 (2003) 331] was used to assess cognitive complaints in 73 subjects with schizophrenia. Visuo-spatial tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) [Cogn. Neuropsychiatry 3 (1998) 45] were administered as objective measures. RESULTS: Cognitive complaints in several cognitive domains were mainly correlated with a true difficulty in memory. Higher SSTICS attention scores, i.e. increased complaints, were associated with poorer CANTAB explicit visual memory and planning performances. Higher SSTICS executive functioning scores were associated with poorer CANTAB explicit visual memory scores. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that outpatients with schizophrenia express some cognitive difficulties. However, the cognitive nature of these subjective complaints does not strictly correspond with objective performances. These results also suggest that theoretical constructs of cognitive functions do not always have ecological validity. Thus, subjective cognitive complaints should be taken into account in assessment of patient well-being, but cannot be used as a substitute to objective cognitive measures. The simultaneous use of subjective and objective measures of cognitive dysfunction may provide a more complete picture of individual rehabilitation targets in patients with schizophrenia.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

[Analysis of the cost and the effectiveness of a psychotherapy for panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) versus a treatment combining pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy].

Pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) are efficient treatments for Panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA) yet they remain expensive. This study aims to compare the cost/effectiveness ratio of a CBT for PDA versus a combined treatment of CBT and pharmacotherapy. Eighty-four people followed a CBT either alone or combined with medication. They have been evaluated before treatment, immediately after, as well as one and two years later. The therapy efficacy is calculated at each assessment according to a "Global Functioning Index". Direct and indirect costs are calculated with the "Health Cost Interview". Results suggest that both treatments are equally effective. However, CBT alone is less expensive than CBT with pharmacotherapy. Thus, it offers a better cost-effectiveness ratio that even increases in the long term.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Critical pathways for the management of preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia in institutionalised health care settings.

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia is a complex disease in which several providers should interact continuously and in a coordinated manner to provide proper health care. However, standardizing criteria to treat patients with preeclampsia is problematical and severe flaws have been observed in the management of the disease. This paper describes a set of critical pathways (CPs) designed to provide uniform criteria for clinical decision-making at different levels of care of pregnant patients with preeclampsia or severe preeclampsia. METHODS: Clinicians and researchers from different countries participated in the construction of the CPs. The CPs were developed using the following steps: a) Definition of the conceptual framework; b) Identification of potential users: primary care physicians and maternal and child health nurses in ambulatory settings; ob/gyn and intensive care physicians in secondary and tertiary care levels. c) Structural development. RESULTS: The CPs address the following care processes: 1. Screening for preeclampsia, risk assessment and classification according to the level of risk. 2. Management of preeclampsia at primary care clinics. 3. Evaluation and management of preeclampsia at secondary and tertiary care hospitals: 4. Criteria for clinical decision-making between conservative management and expedited delivery of patients with severe preeclampsia. CONCLUSION: Since preeclampsia continues to be one of the primary causes of maternal deaths and morbidity worldwide, the expected impact of these CPs is the contribution to improving health care quality in both developed and developing countries. The CPs are designed to be applied in a complex health care system, where different physicians and health providers at different levels of care should interact continuously and in a coordinated manner to provide care to all preeclamptic women. Although the CPs were developed using evidence-based criteria, they could require careful evaluation and remodelling according to each system's demands. Additionally, the CPs need to be tested in large-scale, multi-level studies in order to thoroughly examine and evaluate their efficacy and effectiveness.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2003

An adaptation of the theory of interpersonal behaviour to the study of telemedicine adoption by physicians.

Physicians' acceptance of telemedicine constitutes a prerequisite for its diffusion on a national scale. Based upon the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior, this study was aimed at assessing the predictors of physicians' intention to use telemedicine in their clinical practice. All of the physicians involved in the RQTE, the extended provincial telemedicine network of Quebec (Canada) were mailed a questionnaire to identify the psychosocial determinants of their intention to adopt telemedicine. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to assess the measurement model and structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to test the theoretical model. The adapted theoretical model explained 81% (P<0.001) of variance in physicians' intention to use telehealth. The main predictors of intentions were a composite normative factor, comprising personal as well as social norms (beta=1.08; P<0.001) and self identity (beta=-0.33; P<0.001). Thus, physicians who perceived professional and social responsibilities regarding adoption of telehealth in their clinical practice had stronger intention to use this technology. However, it is likely that personal identity had a suppression effect in the regression equation, indicating that physicians' intention to use telemedicine was better predicted if their self-perception as telemedicine users was considered. These results have several implications at the theoretical and practical levels that are discussed in this paper.

Adult↗