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Biomedical subjects

W R Maes

Publications and source records attributed to W R Maes.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Preparing doctors for tomorrow: information management as a theme in undergraduate medical education.

The evolving nature of medical knowledge and technology requires that the practitioners of tomorrow be able to develop practice management and computer skills in order to enhance quality patient care, ongoing education, and research. The paper describes how the discipline of medical informatics can be integrated into an undergraduate medical curriculum, not as a course or series of courses but as a repeated theme throughout the 3-year system-based curriculum. Recommendations specific to integrating medical informatics into an undergraduate curriculum are outlined with respect to: (1) content; (2) content organization; (3) management; and (4) evaluation. Six areas of information and computer management applications are discussed. These are computer-assisted learning, retrieving and organizing information from computerised databases, the application of medical informatics tools to the critical appraisal of literature and associated statistical software packages, hospital- and office-based information systems, and electronic communications. Medical education has a history of resistance to change. Reference to guidelines and experiences of others who have negotiated information management and medical informatics changes into medical school environments can therefore be helpful. It is in this context that this paper is presented.

Alberta↗
PubMed1991

Responses to non-emergency questions in rural medicine: their usefulness to practice decisions.

This study reports the nature of non-emergency, day-to-day practice-related questions which arose in rural practice and were phoned in to a medical information system (MIS). The usefulness of these questions, and their responses, to clinical decision-making is outlined. Sixty-seven practitioners from 10 rural communities enrolled in the project. In response to each inquiry two or three articles were sent to the practitioner and to a consultant for validation. At the conclusion of the study the questions posed, and their responses, were examined. Forty-six per cent of the questions received were categorized as diagnostic; 30% as management; and 24% as therapeutic. Questions were classified using the ICD.9.CM. Those most frequently posed were in the nervous system/sense organs (13%), injury/poisoning (9%), and genito-urinary (9%) categories. Interviews with doctors and consultants were conducted to assess the usefulness of the service. Study findings suggest that an MIS can provide helpful information for improving daily aspects of clinical care, doctor-patient communication, administrative decision-making, and physician education. Practitioners, consultants, and medical librarians reported benefits from this service.

Canada↗
PubMed1990

A medical information networking system between practitioners and academia.

This paper reports on a one-year experience with an information networking system (MIS) between 47 rural practitioners and an academic center. Physicians were invited to phone in non-emergency clinical questions specific to daily practice needs to a telephone answering service located in the medical school library. Two-hundred-forty questions triggered by patient visits, colleagues, local rounds, allied health or local professionals, and on-site administrative meetings were forwarded to the MIS. All inquiries were classified according to the International Classification of Disease-9th Revision-Clinical Modification, and categorized into three areas of practice: diagnostic/investigative, general treatment, and pharmacology (therapeutics). The paper outlines how specific practice questions are being screened and adopted for decisions relating to four current activities which assist the ongoing maintenance of competence: 1) CME program planning, 2) residency/undergraduate curriculum development, 3) individualized CME for specific practitioners and sites, and 4) future CME research. The physician inquiries represent true needs in rural medical practice and as such should be given high priority in programs and assessments addressing the maintenance of competence.

Academic Medical Centers↗