The influence of pharmacist-led collaborative care on clinical outcomes in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a multicenter randomized control trial.

Background: Health care providers are mandated to deliver specialized care for the treatment and control of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In Malaysia, Diabetes Medication Therapy Adherence Clinics (DMTAC) in tertiary hospitals have designated pharmacists to administer these services. Objective: To assess the effects of pharmacist-led interventions within DMTAC on the outcomes of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in two distinct hospitals in Kedah, Malaysia. Methods: Patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly selected from the two hospitals included in this study. The study population was divided into two equal groups. The control group consisted of 200 patients receiving routine care from the hospitals. On the other hand, the intervention group included those patients with type 2 diabetes (200), who received separate counseling sessions from pharmacists in the DMTAC departments along with the usual treatment. The study lasted 1 year, during which both study groups participated in two distinct visits. Results: Parametric data were analyzed by a paired t-test and one-way ANOVA, while non-parametric data were analyzed by a Chi-squared test using SPSS v24. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The study presented the results of a greater reduction in HBA1c levels in the intervention group compared to the control group, i.e., 3.59 and 2.17% (p < 0.001). Moreover, the Systolic and Diastolic values of BP were also significantly reduced in the intervention group, i.e., 9.29 mmHg/7.58 mmHg (p < 0.005). Furthermore, cholesterol levels were significantly improved in patients in the intervention group, i.e., 0.87 mmol/L (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Based on the findings of the current study it has been proven that the involvement of pharmacists leads to improved control of diabetes mellitus. Therefore, it is recommended that the government initiate DMTAC services in both private and government hospitals and clinics throughout Malaysia. Furthermore, future studies should assess the impact of pharmacist interventions on other chronic conditions, including but not limited to asthma, arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and dementia.

The Perception of Health Care Practitioners Regarding Telemedicine During COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia: Mixed Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Telemedicine is a rapidly evolving field that uses information and communication technology to provide remote health care services, such as diagnosis, treatment, consultation, patient monitoring, and medication delivery. With advancements in technology, telemedicine has become increasingly popular during the COVID-19 lockdown and has expanded beyond remote consultations via telephone or video to include comprehensive and reliable services. The integration of telemedicine platforms can enable patients and health care providers to communicate more efficiently and effectively. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the awareness, knowledge, requirements, and perceptions of health care practitioners in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic health crisis from the end-user perspective. The findings of this study will inform policy makers regarding the sustainability of telemedicine and how it affects the process of provision of health care and improves the patients' journey. METHODS: This study adopted a mixed methods design with a quantitative-based cross-sectional design and qualitative interviews to assess the perceptions of various health care professionals working in outpatient departments that have a telemedicine system that was used during the COVID-19 pandemic. For both approaches, ethics approval was obtained, and informed consent forms were signed. In total, 81 completed questionnaires were used in this study. In the second phase, general interviews were conducted with managerial staff and health care professionals to obtain their view of telemedicine services in their hospitals. RESULTS: The study revealed that most participants (67/81, 83%) were familiar with telemedicine technology, and the study proved to be statistically significant at P<.05 with a proportion of the participants (52/81, 64%) believing that continuous training was essential for its effective use. The study also found that consultations (55/153, 35.9%) and monitoring patients (35/153, 22.9%) were the major components of telemedicine used by health care professionals, with telephones being the most commonly used mode of interaction with patients (74/117, 63.2%). In addition, 54% (44/81) of the respondents expressed concerns about patient privacy and confidentiality, highlighting this as a major issue. Furthermore, the majority of participants (58/81, 72%) reported the necessity of implementing national standards essential for telemedicine technology in Saudi Arabia. The interviews conducted as part of the study revealed 5 major themes: culture, barriers and difficulties, communication, implementation, and evaluation. These themes highlighted the importance of a culture of acceptance and flexibility, effective communication, and ongoing evaluation of telemedicine technologies in health care systems. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a crucial message with insights into the perceptions and experiences of health care professionals with telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS): Comparing the knowledge, attitude and practices of different health care workers.

BACKGROUND: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness that was recently recognized in humans. Recently, the Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia reported a substantial increase in MERS cases, primarily from the Riyadh region. The objective of the present study was to evaluate knowledge, attitude and practices towards MERS among physicians, nurses, pharmacist and technicians individually. METHODS: A cross sectional study conducted at King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia among individual healthcare workers. The survey questionnaire was self-administrated and consisted of five sections: Demographic; Source of MERS information; Knowledge; Attitude; and Practice of healthcare workers towards MERS. RESULTS: A total of 391 participants of which physicians (162; 41.4%), pharmacists (18; 4.6%), nurses (130; 33.3%) and technicians (81; 20.7%) were included with a response rate of 95.71%. The majority of the participants were female (53.70%) and mostly in the nurse's category (40.5%). The participants reported the highest main source of information was seminars and workshops (n=191; 48%) followed by social media (n=179; 45%). The overall score indicates good knowledge among physicians (95.7%), pharmacists (88.9%), nurses (86.2%) and technicians (91.4%) and showed statistically significant (p=0.039). The study showed a positive attitude among physicians (96.3%), pharmacist (94.4%), nurses (94.6%) and technicians (90.1%) with no statistically significant (p=0.273). However, the majority of the participants showed average practices towards MERS. However, the least practice among participants was the use of facemask in the crowds (24.2%). The demographic characteristic's age, gender and professions showed significantly associated with mean knowledge score. Similarly, statistical significance observed in gender and experience demographic variables with a mean attitude score. CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that different health workers showed good knowledge and positive attitudes, but low to average practices towards MERS with low adherence to facemask practice. When comparing workers, physicians have a high degree of knowledge and attitude when compared to nurses, pharmacist and technicians.

Assessment of physician's knowledge, perception and willingness of telemedicine in Riyadh region, Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION: Telemedicine is the utilization of computer applications and telecommunication technologies to deliver clinical services remotely. The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia, recently established an e-Health strategy that includes the use of telemedicine in order to improve the accessibility and quality of care among patients and healthcare providers. OBJECTIVES: The present study aimed to assess the knowledge and perception of telemedicine and its applications among physicians. Secondly, to evaluate their willingness towards adopting telemedicine in clinical practice. METHODS: The study is a cross sectional conducted in four hospitals; King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, King Saud Medical City and King Saud University Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The survey questionnaire was a self-administered, which was adopted from previous studies. The questionnaire consists of; access to a computer and its literacy, knowledge, perceptions and willingness of telemedicine. RESULTS: A total of 391 physicians of which male (301; 77.0%) and female (90; 23.0%) completed the questionnaire. Half of the participants never used personal computers or laptops at home. Interestingly, 89.2% of them have two or more smart devices. Participants have average knowledge about telemedicine technology (46.1%). Nearly, 77% of the professionals believed that continuous training is necessary for the use of telemedicine (P = 0.01). The highest level of perception was (90%) for telemedicine as a viable approach for providing medical care services to patients. More than 90% of specialties professional agreed that telemedicine can save time, money and further believed information and communication technology (ICT) has a potential role in healthcare. Overall, 70% of physicians reported a very low number of conferences, speeches or meetings held regarding telemedicine technology in their working places. Main issues reported in adopting telemedicine are patient privacy, the high cost of equipment, lack of suitable training, and lack of consultation between information technology expert and clinicians. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the fact that the majority of professionals have two or more smart devices and are communicating with patients via email or social media. However, the majority of medical professionals still have low knowledge of telemedicine technology. In addition, most of the participants showed positive perceptions of telemedicine and are willing to adopt it in clinical practice. The major reported barriers for the adoption of telemedicine were privacy issues, lack of training, cost and issues related to information and communication technology.

Assessment of patient safety challenges and electronic occurrence variance reporting (e-OVR) barriers facing physicians and nurses in the emergency department: a cross sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of patient safety is to prevent harm occurring in the healthcare system. Patient safety is improved by the use of a reporting system in which healthcare workers can document and learn from incidents, and thus prevent potential medical errors. The present study aimed to determine patient safety challenges facing clinicians (physicians and nurses) in emergency medicine and to assess barriers to using e-OVR (electronic occurrence variance reporting). METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved physicians and nurses in the emergency department (ED) at King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Using convenience sampling, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 294 clinicians working in the ED. The questionnaire consisted of items pertaining to patient safety and e-OVR usability. Data were analyzed using frequencies, means, and percentages, and the chi-square test was used for comparison. RESULTS: A total of 197 participants completed the questionnaire (67% response rate) of which 48 were physicians (24%) and 149 nurses (76%). Only 39% of participants thought that there was enough staff to handle work in the ED. Roughly half (48%) of participants spoke up when something negatively affected patient safety, and 61% admitted that they sometimes missed important patient care information during shift changes. Two-thirds (66%) of the participants reported experiencing violence. Regarding e-OVR, 31% of participants found reporting to be time consuming. Most (85%) participants agreed that e-OVR training regarding knowledge and skills was sufficient. Physicians reported lower knowledge levels regarding how to access (46%) and how to use (44%) e-OVR compared to nurses (98 and 95%, respectively; p < 0.01). Less than a quarter of the staff did not receive timely feedback after reporting. Regarding overall satisfaction with e-OVR, only 25% of physicians were generally satisfied compared to nearly half (52%) of nurses. CONCLUSION: Although patient safety is well emphasized in clinical practice, especially in the ED, many factors hinder patient safety. More awareness is needed to eliminate violence and to emphasize the needs of additional staff in the ED. Electronic reporting and documentation of incidents should be well supported by continuous staff training, help, and feedback.

Evaluation of diabetes care management in primary clinics based on the guidelines of American Diabetes Association.

OBJECTIVE: There is a rapid increase in the incidence of diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia. Diabetes management is an essential constituent to prevent prognosis of diabetes complications. The main objective of this study was to assess diabetes care in primary clinics based on the guidelines of American Diabetes Association (ADA). METHODS: A retrospective study at King Khaled University Hospitals, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 200 patients were randomly selected from the databases of primary care clinics. An evaluation checklist was created based on the ADA treatment guidelines such as medical history, physical examination, laboratory evaluation, and referrals. RESULTS: The result showed that elements achieving the ADA targets for overall care were medical history (44.9%), physical examination (59.6%), laboratory evaluation (36.3%), and referrals (19.3%). The other subelement indicators such as referral to diabetes self-management education clinics (10%), dental examination (2%), HbA1c regular monitoring (33.5%), and blood pressure determination (100%) were documented with adherence to ADA standards. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetes management standards are an essential element in the success of the management plan. Most of the elements examined are not in full compliance with the ADA standard. Continues monitoring and self-review are recommended.

The impact of obesity related websites on decision making among students in Saudi Arabia.

Background & Objectives: The present study was to investigate the use of the internet among university students accessing obesity health information and further to measure their satisfaction and in decision-making. Methods: A cross sectional study, among students at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This study received ethical clearance from Institutional Review Board, College of Medicine, KSU. Female and male of undergraduate and postgraduate, enrolled through a random sampling. The survey questionnaire was self-administered and consisted of two sections. Results: A total of 448 students (177 males and 271 females) participated in this study. The response rate was 66.86. The study showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was more common among male compared to female students. Majority of the students (58.7%) were of normal Body Mass Index (BMI). It also revealed that 187 (41.7%) reported always acquire obesity health information from the internet whereas 203 (45.35) sometimes use the internet. Half of the respondents reported using a search engine to seek information. Forty-five percent reported spending at least an hour per week. Nearly 52.2% of participants are taking decision related to their lifestyle and showed statistical significant (P = 0.0001). More than half of the students believed that the obesity information in the websites are very useful. Furthermore, 84.4% reported, language presented in the websites are easy to understand. With respect to quality, 46.9% rated as excellent whereas 39.5% as average. Interpretation & Conclusions: The present study findings have demonstrated that university students are using internet in higher rates for finding obesity health information and are satisfied with the decision they are making. Finally, the study concludes that the internet online health information considered as an essential tool for health promotion among student population regarding weight control or managing obesity.

Evaluating factors affecting the implementation of evidence based medicine in primary healthcare centers in Dubai.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the current evidence based medicine (EBM) knowledge, attitude and perceptions of physicians at Dubai Primary Health Care Sector (PHCS). Further to evaluate barrier and facilitator factors toward implementing the EBM practice. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study, at Dubai PHCS, UAE between June and August 2010. The survey was composed of two phases. The first phase was a self administrated questionnaire employed for data collection and the second phase was qualitative method, which was in the form of individual interviews. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. RESULTS: In total 48 participants responded to the survey questionnaire and 13 responded to individual interviews. The response rate was 70.0%. Mean age was 42.18 (SD 10.46). The majority were females (64.6%). The physicians who attended EBM courses reported 70.30% using EBM and showed statistical significance (p = 0.002) from those who did not attend the EBM courses. 65.0% believe that 50-75% of the patients are capable of participating in clinical decision while 71.8% disagreed that the concept of EBM is not applicable to their culture. In addition they showed significance (p = 0.03) between physician beliefs with regard to patient capacity to take decision. About 67.0% of the family physicians were knowledgeable and followed systematic review as the strongest evidence. They had no access to the EBM resources (37.0%) and had no time to practice the EBM (38.0%). Nearly 40.0% interviewees reported lack of encouragement to attend EBM courses. EBM activities (22.0%) and active audit (18.0%) were top rated facilitating factors. CONCLUSIONS: EBM is not fully utilized by indefinite physicians in the Dubai PHC sector. Factors associated with non-utilization of EBM in the PHCS are lack of encouragement to attend EBM courses, senior physicians resist adoption of EBM, lack of time and insufficient dissemination process for implementing the clinical guideline.

Assessment of legibility and completeness of handwritten and electronic prescriptions.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the legibility and completeness of handwritten prescriptions and compare with electronic prescription system for medication errors. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Handwritten prescriptions were received from clinical units of Medicine Outpatient Department (MOPD), Primary Care Clinic (PCC) and Surgery Outpatient Department (SOPD) whereas electronic prescriptions were collected from the pediatric ward. The handwritten prescription was assessed for completeness by the checklist designed according to the hospital prescription and evaluated for legibility by two pharmacists. The comparison between handwritten and electronic prescription errors was evaluated based on the validated checklist adopted from previous studies. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Legibility and completeness of prescriptions. RESULTS: 398 prescriptions (199 handwritten and 199 e-prescriptions) were assessed. About 71 (35.7%) of handwritten and 5 (2.5%) of electronic prescription errors were identified. A significant statistical difference (P < 0.001) was observed between handwritten and e-prescriptions in omitted dose and omitted route of administration category of error distribution. The rate of completeness in patient identification in handwritten prescriptions was 80.97% in MOPD, 76.36% in PCC and 85.93% in SOPD clinic units. Assessment of medication prescription completeness was 91.48% in MOPD, 88.48% in PCC, and 89.28% in SOPD. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a high incidence of prescribing errors in handwritten prescriptions. The use of e-prescription system showed a significant decline in the incidence of errors. The legibility of handwritten prescriptions was relatively good whereas the level of completeness was very low.

Academic satisfaction among traditional and problem based learning medical students. A comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the academic satisfaction and importance among traditional learning (TL) and problem based learning (PBL) medical students, and to further evaluate the areas of concern in the academic education from the student's point of view. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from May to June 2012. The survey questionnaires were self-administered and consisted of mainly 6 sections: teaching, learning, supervision, course organization, information technology (IT) facilities, and development of skills. RESULTS: A total of 92 TL (males: 66 [71.7%]; females: 26 [28.3%]), and 108 PBL (males: 84 [77.8%]; females: 24 [22.1%]), with a mean age of 21.3 +/- 1.3 (TL), and 20.7 +/- 1.0 (PBL) were included in the study. The overall satisfaction rate was higher in the PBL students when compared with TL students in: teaching (84.7%/60.3%); learning (81.4%/64.5%); supervision (80%/51.5%); course organization (69.3%/46.9%); IT facilities (74.0%/58.9%); and development of skills (79.1%/53.9%). There was statistical significance difference in academic satisfaction comparing both groups of students (p

A Study on the Usage Pattern of Antimicrobial Agents for the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) in a Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital.

CONTEXT: Inappropriate antimicrobial use increases the incidence of drug resistance, drug toxicity and superinfections, thereby increasing the healthcare costs. Various approaches for rationalizing the antimicrobial therapy, have been suggested. Collection of baseline data on the pattern of the antimicrobial use is usually suggested as the first step in this direction, which will help in identifying the problem areas, which demand our attention. AIMS: To study the usage pattern of prophylactic antimicrobials in surgical patients, in order to detect any inappropriateness concerning the selection, timing, redosing and the duration of antimicrobial administration. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A retrospective review of the randomly selected medical records of general surgical cases over an 8 month period in a tertiary care teaching hospital. METHODS AND MATERIAL: The medical records of 258 patients who had undergone surgical procedures were verified for the appropriateness of the antimicrobial prophylaxis, with respect to the choice of the antimicrobial agent, the time of its administration, the intraoperative dosing, and the duration of the postoperative use. The obtained data was analyzed and conclusions were drawn with the help of descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Third generation cephalosporins were used preoperatively in all the 258(100%) patients through the intravenous route. In addition, 77(30%) patients received metronidazole or amikacin. The antimicrobials were administered half an hour to one hour before the surgery. No intraoperative redosing was given. The duration of the postoperative prophylaxis was extended to 36 hours or more in 248(96%) of the cases. CONCLUSIONS: The timing of administration of the preoperative dose was appropriate and well delegated to the operating room nurse. The intra operative dose was appropriately omitted. The main concern was the increasing use of the third generation cephalosporins and the unnecessary prolonged duration of the postoperative prophylaxis, which needed to be addressed.

Laparoscopic removal of poor outcome gastric banding with concomitant sleeve gastrectomy.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) has a significant incidence of long-term failure, which may require an alternative revisional bariatric procedure to remediate. Unfortunately, there is few data pinpointing which specific revisional procedure most effectively addresses failed gastric banding. Recently, it has been observed that laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a promising primary bariatric procedure; however, its use as a revisional procedure has been limited. This study aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of LSG performed concomitantly with removal of a poor-outcome LAGB. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed on patients who underwent LAGB removal with concomitant LSG at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia between September 2007 and April 2012. Patient body mass index (BMI), percentage of excess weight loss (%EWL), duration of operation, length of hospital stay, complications after LSG, and indications for revisional surgery were all reviewed and compared to those of patients who underwent LSG as a primary procedure. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients (70 % female) underwent conversion of LAGB to LSG concomitantly, and 128 (66 % female) patients underwent primary LSG surgery. The revisional and primary LSG patients had similar preoperative ages (mean age 33.5 ± 10.7 vs. 33.6 ± 9.0 years, respectively; p = 0.43). However, revisional patients had a significantly lower BMI at the time of surgery (44.4 ± 7.0 kg/m(2) vs. 47.9 ± 8.2; p < 0.01). Absolute BMI postoperative reduction at 24 months was 14.33 points in the revision group and 18.98 points in the primary LSG group; similar %EWL was achieved by both groups at 24 months postoperatively (80.1 vs. 84.6 %). Complications appeared in two (5.5 %) revisional patients and in nine (7.0 %) primary LSG patients. No mortalities occurred in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Conversion of LAGB by means of concomitant LSG is a safe and efficient procedure and achieves similar outcomes as primary LSG surgery alone.

Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in adult and pediatric obese patients: a comparative study.

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is a recent bariatric procedure that has gained widespread popularity in morbidly obese adults. However, pediatric bariatric surgery is controversial, and the type(s) of bariatric surgery that are suitable for children and adolescents is under debate. No studies exit that compare LSG outcomes in adult and pediatric patients. We reviewed our experience to assess the safety, efficacy, and complications of LSG in adult and pediatric morbidly obese patients. METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent LSG by a single surgeon between March 2008 and February 2011 was performed. The 222 patients included 108 pediatric patients aged 21 years or younger and 114 adult patients older than 21 years. Baseline, operative, perioperative, and available follow-up data were abstracted. RESULTS: Pediatric patients had a mean age of 13.9 ± 4.3 years and a mean baseline body mass index (BMI) of 49.6 kg/m(2), whereas adults had a mean age of 32.2 ± 9.4 years and a mean baseline BMI of 48.3 kg/m(2). Our pediatric group achieved a mean percent of excess weight loss (%EWL) of 32.4, 52.1, 65.8, and 64.9 % at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months postoperative, respectively, compared with a mean %EWL of 30.9, 55.2, 68.5, and 69.7 %, respectively, in our adult group (p > 0.05). During the 24-month follow-up period, pediatric patients attended 71.7 % of follow-up visits, whereas adults attended 61.2 % of follow-up visits (p = 0.01). Postoperative complications occurred in six (5.6 %) and eight (7 %) pediatric and adult patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in the pediatric age group is of similar safety and effectiveness compared with adults. Pediatric patients had fewer major complications and were more compliant with follow-up than adults. Nevertheless, long-term results are required to further clarify the safety and effectiveness of LSG in pediatric patients.