Improving the experience of hip fracture care: A multidisciplinary collaborative approach to implementing evidence-based, person-centred practice.

BACKGROUND: Hip fracture care is well supported by national guidelines and audit that provide evidence of safe interventions and an improved process. In the drive for organisational efficiency, complications have been reduced and length of stay shortened. Prioritising targets and performance alone can lead to poor multidisciplinary communication that potentially omits the psychosocial needs of older people recovering from hip fracture. AIM: To explore a multidisciplinary collaborative approach to implementing evidence-based, person-centred hip fracture care. DESIGN: Collaborative inquiry. METHODS: Sixteen clinical leaders (n = 16) from different disciplines, working with older people with hip fracture at different stages of the care pathway participated in eight two-hourly facilitated action meetings. Data collection included strengths and limitations of the present service, values clarification, clinical stories, review of case records and reflections on the stories of three older people and two carers. RESULTS: Hip fracture care was driven by service pressures, guidelines and audits. The care journey was divided into service delivery units. Professional groups worked independently resulting in poor communication. Time away from practice enabled collaboration and the sharing of different perspectives. CONCLUSIONS: Working together improved communication and enhanced understanding of the whole care experience. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Enabling teams to find evidence of safe, effective person-centred cultures requires facilitated time for reflective practice.

The glycosylation of AGP and its associations with the binding to methadone.

Methadone remains the most common form of pharmacological therapy for opioid dependence; however, there is a lack of explanation for the reports of its relatively low success rate in achieving complete abstinence. One hypothesis is that in vivo binding of methadone to the plasma glycoprotein alpha-1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), to a degree dependent on the molecular structure, may render the drug inactive. This study sought to determine whether alterations present in the glycosylation pattern of AGP in patients undergoing various stages of methadone therapy (titration < two weeks, harm reduction < one year, long-term > one and a half years) could affect the affinity of the glycoprotein to bind methadone. The composition of AGP glycosylation was determined using high pH anion exchange chromatography (HPAEC) and intrinsic fluorescence analysed to determine the extent of binding to methadone. The monosaccharides galactose and N-acetyl-glucosamine were elevated in all methadone treatment groups indicating alterations in AGP glycosylation. AGP from all patients receiving methadone therapy exhibited a greater degree of binding than the normal population. This suggests that analysing the glycosylation of AGP in patients receiving methadone may aid in determining whether the therapy is likely to be effective.