Pediatric Chemotherapy Infusions in Outpatient Examination Rooms: A Novel Patient Care Approach.

Many health care organizations offer pediatric infusions in outpatient infusion centers or, as in our organization, in a hospital-based outpatient Pediatric Infusion Therapy Center (PITC). When restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic decreased our PITC appointment capacity by 40%, other patient and family satisfaction issues were exacerbated. We implemented a new approach to pediatric infusions with the aim of improving patient and family satisfaction and reducing the amount of time in an appointment itinerary without negatively affecting patient safety.

Naloxone administration by nonmedical providers- a descriptive study of County sheriff department training.

The Study Background: In 2015 a county sheriff department in Michigan began a training program for its deputies on administration of naloxone for non-medical providers.

Methods: A descriptive analysis was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. Data collected from the Sheriff's department allowed the study to quantify the incidence of naloxone administration, describe characteristics related to the administration, and report on aggregate outcomes.

Duty hours in emergency medicine: balancing patient safety, resident wellness, and the resident training experience: a consensus response to the 2008 institute of medicine resident duty hours recommendations.

Representatives of emergency medicine (EM) were asked to develop a consensus report that provided a review of the past and potential future effects of duty hour requirements for EM residency training. In addition to the restrictions made in 2003 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the potential effects of the 2008 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on resident duty hours were postulated. The elements highlighted include patient safety, resident wellness, and the resident training experience.

Duty hours in emergency medicine: balancing patient safety, resident wellness, and the resident training experience: a consensus response to the 2008 Institute of Medicine resident duty hours recommendations.

Background: Representatives of emergency medicine (EM) were asked to develop a consensus report that provided a review of the past and potential future effects of duty hour requirements for EM residency training. In addition to the restrictions made in 2003 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the potential effects of the 2008 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on resident duty hours were postulated.

Discussion: The elements highlighted include patient safety, resident wellness, and the resident training experience.

Behavior and beliefs about influenza vaccine among adults aged 50-64 years.

Objective: To examine demographics and beliefs about influenza disease and vaccine that may be associated with influenza vaccination among 50- to 64-year-olds.

Methods: A national sample of adults aged 50-64 years surveyed by telephone.

Results: Variables associated with receiving influenza vaccination included age, education level, recent doctor visit, and beliefs about vaccine effectiveness and vaccine safety.

Associations between childhood vaccination status and medical practice characteristics among white, black, and Hispanic children.

Background: The purpose of the study was to identify and understand associations between characteristics of medical practices where immunization services are delivered and vaccination status among white, black, and Hispanic children aged less than 19 months.

Methods: Eighty pediatric and family physicians participated in a physician-patient encounters survey that included 684 children aged less than 19 months who received at least 1 vaccination during a randomly selected week in 2003.

Results: According to physicians' responses to survey questions, white children who used large medical practices, and black and Hispanic children who used practices, all enrolled in the Vaccine for Children (VFC) program, were more likely to receive vaccines at the recommended age, but Hispanic children who used large Medicaid practices were less likely to receive them at the recommended age.

Tactical emergency medical support: physician involvement and injury patterns in tactical teams.

Medical support provided by physicians in police tactical teams has been firmly embraced by the medical community. Our study revisited the 1995 study inquiring into injury patterns in police tactical teams. A national survey was completed by 209 members of tactical teams throughout the country over a 6-week period.

A qualitative assessment of factors influencing acceptance of a new rotavirus vaccine among health care providers and consumers.

Background: In 2006, a new rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq) was licensed in the US and recommended for routine immunization of all US infants. Because a previously licensed vaccine (Rotashield) was withdrawn from the US for safety concerns, identifying barriers to uptake of RotaTeq will help develop strategies to broaden vaccine coverage.

Methods: We explored beliefs and attitudes of parents (n = 57) and providers (n = 10) towards rotavirus disease and vaccines through a qualitative assessment using focus groups and in-depth interviews.

Influenza vaccination of health care workers: policies and practices of hospitals in a community setting.

Background: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has long recommended that health care workers receive annual influenza vaccinations to prevent transmission of disease to vulnerable patients, but HCW vaccination rates remain low, and there is little information about hospital policies promoting employee vaccination.

Methods: Our objective was to collect information about and compare hospital influenza vaccination policies and practices regarding health care workers in the metropolitan Atlanta community and identify relationships between policies and practices and employee coverage rates. Senior staff of infection control and of employee health programs at 12 hospitals in the metropolitan Atlanta community completed an in-person interview using a structured guide.

"Why tell me now?" the public and healthcare providers weigh in on pandemic influenza messages.

As scientists closely watch avian influenza A (H5N1) or "bird flu" as a potential progenitor of an influenza pandemic, researchers from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education conducted with focus groups with the public and interviews with healthcare providers to test pandemic influenza messages. General public findings include variable awareness of pandemic influenza, subtle changes in terms (eg, flu or influenza), and challenged communication; and "vaccine priority group" opposition to the term priority group because it meant they could be left out. Healthcare providers reported Goggle and local infectious disease specialists as dominant sources of pandemic information.