ABSTRACT
Climate change is expected to increase the risk of extreme weather conditions (and the associated risk of flooding). This means that hospitals must explicitly take into account a situation in which severe weather jeopardizes continuity of care. They must therefore include a water test in their technical design and take this into account in their contingency plans, whereby an evacuation is only proposed as the very last. Coordination with other hospitals, the government, the fire service, the Red Cross, the military and other actors in the emergency services, as well as multidisciplinary exercises are crucial. In the summer of 2021, this turned out not to be a distant future, but pure reality. This article describes the impact of an imminent flood on Belgian and Dutch hospitals along the Meuse, as well as their experiences and approach to this precarious situation in the summer of 2021. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the contingency plans and evacuation protocols used must also take into account specific hygiene measures, which makes the response to such calamities even more complex. In this article, the authors discuss the risks of flooding for the healthcare sector and make policy proposals for day-to-day practice.
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Objective: Public health strategies resorted to world-wide, to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 had economic impacts which led to care seeking changes among people with pre-existing chronic diseases. We aimed to assess the household expenditure and, care seeking among people with chronic diseases due to COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka. Design and Methods: An online survey was conducted in 2021 involving 449 adults living in the Western-Province of Sri Lanka. Data on participants socio-demographic and economic status, co-morbidities, healthcare utilization, and healthcare-seeking behaviours were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. The questionnaire link was distributed through social media and by emails. Categorical data were expressed as proportions/percentages with 95% confidence intervals where relevant. Quantitative data, normally distributed, were summarized in terms of mean and standard deviation (SD) and non-normally distributed as the median and interquartile-range (IQR). Results: 449 respondents completed the survey. Majority (55%;n = 173) responded that they experienced a negative impact on their main income. Nearly 30%(n = 130) of the participants had an additional source of income before the pandemic;and of them majority (74%;n = 97) reported a negative impact on the income. Twenty six percent (n = 115) mentioned that they had a doctor-diagnosed chronic disease or a disability and of them 72% (n = 83) were on regular medication. Nearly half (n = 55;48%) mentioned that there was a delay in seeking healthcare during the pandemic and 27% (n = 30)reported not having sought treatment during the lockdown period. Of the people with delayed healthcare seeking 25% had hypertension, 16% diabetes, and 12.2% asthma. The pandemic led to changes in healthcare utilization patterns among patients. Majority had to obtain the drugs from the pharmacy 65% (n = 70) and the laboratory tests from private labs 58% (n = 62). Forty-eight percent agreed that the pandemic led to delays in healthcare seeking, mostly because they were unaware of the services rendered. The incurred high OOPE during the pandemic. Of the participants, 9% (n = 39) and 3.2% (n = 14) had incurred catastrophic healthcare expenses at 10% and 25% of their total income. Conclusions: Residents of the Western-province were severely economically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants had incurred high out-of-pocket expenditures which led to changes in care seeking patterns among people chronic conditions. Strategies to ensure continuity of care especially for chronic conditions while protecting people from financial hardships is necessary to move towards Universal Health Coverage.
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This perspectives piece focuses on the detrimental cost of ignoring vaccines and refusing vaccination against COVID-19 in the United States. Much of the existing literature regarding the consequences of the unvaccinated emphasizes the impact to population health;however, few academic articles have explored the burden the unvaccinated pose to various sectors of society. This paper analyzes the impact that the unvaccinated have on healthcare systems, the US economy, and global health. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, unvaccinated populations were found to have put significant strain on healthcare systems, depleting medical resources and contributing to high rates of healthcare worker shortages. Furthermore, research suggests that between November and December 2021, over 692,000 preventable hospitalizations occurred in unvaccinated individuals, costing the US economy over $13.8 billion. Lastly, it is proposed that the strong international presence of the US, when coupled with high levels of disease transmissibility in the unvaccinated, provides a significant threat to global health. In conclusion, the unvaccinated have caused impacts far beyond that of population health;they have also posed a burden to healthcare systems, the economy, and global public health. Copyright © 2022, Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine Inc. All rights reserved.
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BACKGROUND: Health information technology (HIT) is being increasingly necessary to manage the ever-increasing amount of data generate by the health system in general, including primary health care (PHC). AIM: This study aimed to provide an overview of HIT being currently use in the health systems and PHC as well as to highlight the advantages and disadvantages of HIT options. METHOD(S): This is a narrative literature review of papers, documents, and websites that address and discuss HIT for the health systems. The analysis of the retrieved materials provided an overview of the importance of HIT for the health system, the various options of health technology currently available, as well as the future trends. Strengths and weaknesses have been highlighted as well. RESULT(S): HIT is being increasingly used in the health sector, as an indispensable tool to handle the extraordinary amount of data being generated by the health system but also as an instrument to improve the quality of health care through the reduction of medical errors and health care-associated costs, improvement of patient follow-up and monitoring, and also as a tool that informs and guides clinical decision-making. A large variety of HIT options is available, including telehealth, telemedicine, mobile health, electronic medical records, electronic health records, personal health records, electronic prescriptions (e-prescriptions), wearables, metadata, and even artificial intelligence. Each HIT option has its own advantages and disadvantages. PHC could benefit from the implementation of various HIT options. CONCLUSION(S): The decision which HIT option(s) to employ will depend on many factors, but the process needs to employ small steps, strong political will, cooperation, and coordination between all stakeholders. Copyright © 2022 Erion Dasho, Loreta Kuneshka, Ervin Toci.
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COVID-19 requires unprecedented mobilization of the health systems to prevent the rapid spread of this unique virus, which spreads via respiratory droplet and causes respiratory disease. There is an urgent need for an accurate and rapid test method to quickly identify many infected patients and asymptomatic carriers to prevent virus transmission and assure timely treatment of the patients. This article aims as an outcome of review of the evidence on viral load and its virulence of SARS-CoV2,so that it will help in further understanding the fact useful for investigating and managing the COVID-19 cases. A search of available evidence was conducted in pub-med "COVID-19 viral load and virulence" and its associated characters world-wide and Google Scholar to capture the most recently published articles. The WHO and Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) database of publications on novel coronavirus were also screened for relevant publications. s of 55 articles were screened by two authors and 15 were included in this study based on the inclusion criteria. SARS-coV2, the causative agent of COVID-19 falls under the coronavirus family but it has higher infectivity compared to SARS and MERS with higher reproduction numbers(Ro). Virulence has been found to be different throughout the world,however lower compared to SARS and MERS,till date. The most common clinical features have been found to be cough and fever. RT - PCR remains the most sensitive and specific method for the diagnosis of COVID-19 although it is time consuming, costly and requires highly skilled human resources. Hence, newer modalities like RT-LAMP can be alternative for point of care diagnosis as this is both cost effective and requires less skilled human resources. Despite recent advances in disease diagnosis and treatment outcomes using latest technological advances in molecular biology, the global pandemic COVID-19 remains a major headache for governments across the world due to limited testing capacity and lack of appropriate treatment and vaccine. Copyright © 2020, Kathmandu University. All rights reserved.
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Background: The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is now being connected to medical equipment to make patients more comfortable, offer better and more affordable health care options, and make it easier for people to get good care in the comfort of their own homes. Objective(s): The primary purpose of this study is to highlight the architecture and use of IoMT (Internet of Medical Things) technology in the healthcare system. Method(s): Several sources were used to acquire the material, including review articles published in various journals that had keywords such as, Internet of Medical Things, Wireless Fidelity, Remote Healthcare Monitoring (RHM), Point-of-care testing (POCT), and Sensors. Result(s): IoMT has succeeded in lowering both the cost of digital healthcare systems and the amount of energy they use. Sensors are used to measure a wide range of things, from physiological to emotional responses. They can be used to predict illness before it happens. Conclusion(s): The term "Internet of Medical Things" refers to the broad adoption of healthcare solutions that may be provided in the home. Making such systems intelligent and efficient for timely prediction of important illnesses has the potential to save millions of lives while decreasing the burden on conventional healthcare institutions, such as hospitals. patients and physicians may now access real-time data due to advancements in IoM. Copyright © 2022 Wal et al.
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Remote care and telemedicine (TM) can improve healthcare access and outcomes, particularly in chronic diseases. During the pandemic, the clinical management of patients with SLE, who are at risk of severe COVID-19 infection, was undermined. TM care was widely advocated by national and international rheumatology societies. Ad hoc use of TM has been frequent during the pandemic. In this session, the evidence surrounding TM use in the management of patients with SLE before and after the onset of COVID-19 outbreak will be discussed. Local experience with some practical points to consider in using TM delivered care for follow-up of SLE patients will also be shared. The ultimate goal of TM will be to achieve safety and effectiveness that is comparable to traditional care, and improve efficiency without increasing costs and healthcare disparity.