Regional perspectives on patient safety policies and initiatives: a focus group study with patient safety leaders in the Middle East and Asian regions.

Preventing and reducing risks and harm to patients is of critical importance as unsafe care is a leading cause of death and disability globally. However, the lack of consolidated information on patient safety policies and initiatives at regional levels represents an evidence gap with implications for policy and planning. The aim of the study was to answer the question of what patient safety policies and initiatives are currently in place in the Middle East and Asian regions and what were the main strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in developing these.

Early prostate-specific antigen response among Black and non-Black patients with advanced prostate cancer treated with apalutamide.

To assess reduction in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels among Black and non-Black patients treated with apalutamide for non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) or metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer (mCSPC). Patients were identified from electronic medical data. PSA reduction (≥50%, ≥90% or below 0.

Cyber-attacks are a permanent and substantial threat to health systems: Education must reflect that.

Cyber-attacks on healthcare institutions have increased in recent years and have made headlines through the COVID-19 pandemic. With the fallout of attacks increasingly reported in academic research and in the media, there is a real urgency to address cyber-threats that must be augmented across and within health systems. Until now, clinical healthcare professionals have considered cyber-attacks on healthcare organisations a predominantly information and communication technology issue, but this perception is no longer fit-for-purpose.

Safety in fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable settings: An evidence scanning approach for identifying patient safety interventions.

Background: The number of people living in fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable (FCV) settings is growing rapidly and attention to achieving universal health coverage must be accompanied by sufficient focus on the safety of care for universal access to be meaningful. Healthcare workers in these settings are working under extreme conditions, often with insufficient contextualized evidence to support decision-making. Recognising the relative paucity of, and methodological issues in gathering evidence from these settings, the evidence scanning described in this paper considered which patient safety interventions might offer the 'better bet', eg, the most effective and appropriate intervention in FCV settings.

Lessons post-COVID from national and international approaches to safety and quality in healthcare.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge as well as an opportunity for healthcare. The pandemic has exposed the inherent weaknesses in health systems globally while, at the same time, revealing strengths on which post-pandemic health systems can be built. We propose lessons on improving quality and safety post-pandemic from a global perspective based on recent policy publications and our global experience.

Medication adherence among patients with advanced prostate cancer using oral therapies.

In light of the extended overall survival and improved quality of life provided by advanced prostate cancer (PC) oral therapies, this study aimed to describe treatment adherence to advanced PC oral therapies and evaluate associated patient characteristics and subsequent healthcare resource utilization (HRU). Patients with advanced PC initiating apalutamide, enzalutamide or abiraterone acetate were identified from administrative data (October 1, 2014-September 30, 2019). Adherence and persistence at six months postinitiation were used to evaluate patient factors and HRU.

COVID-19: leadership on the frontline is what matters when we support healthcare workers.

The implications of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2, henceforth described as COVID-19) on healthcare systems globally are proving to be immense, with unforeseen impacts that are still to fully emerge. Local and national healthcare systems, hospitals and healthcare workers have been overwhelmed by the needs of patients and limited by weaknesses in resources, staff capacity and distribution networks. These circumstances impact the ergonomic conditions within which healthcare staff work and subsequently their behavioural responses.

Costs associated with renal and cardiovascular events among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and nephropathy: a cost model based on the CREDENCE clinical trial.

To estimate the avoided costs associated with reductions in end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), certain CV events (non-fatal myocardial infarction [MI], non-fatal stroke, hospitalization for heart failure [HHF]), and renal and CV death for patients treated with canagliflozin versus placebo, based on CREDENCE trial results. Renal (including ESKD) and CV events averted, based on the differences in adjusted rates of events between the canagliflozin and placebo arms in CREDENCE, were projected to the proportion of the members of a managed care organization (MCO) fitting the inclusion criteria in CREDENCE (i.e.

The Predicted Long-Term Benefits of Ensuring Timely Treatment and Medication Adherence in Early Schizophrenia.

The impact of initiatives aimed at reducing time in untreated psychosis during early-stage schizophrenia will be unknown for many years. Thus, we simulate the effect of earlier treatment entry and better antipsychotic drug adherence on schizophrenia-related hospitalizations, receipt of disability benefits, competitive employment, and independent/family living over a ten-year horizon. We predict that earlier treatment entry reduces hospitalizations by 12.

Economic modelling of costs associated with outcomes reported for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in the CANVAS and EMPA-REG cardiovascular outcomes trials.

Aims: To model direct medical costs associated with reductions in cardiovascular disease (CVD) events in T2DM patients reported in the CANVAS and EMPA-REG trials, which assessed the cardiovascular safety of canagliflozin and empagliflozin, respectively.

Materials And Methods: Costs were modeled from a US managed care organization (MCO) perspective for the CVD outcomes included in both trials: three-point major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) and its components (cardiovascular-related death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke), as well as heart failure requiring hospitalization. The rate of CVD events averted (difference between study drug and placebo) was projected to the portion of an MCO T2DM population matching the respective trial's inclusion criteria.

Simulated long-term outcomes of early use of long-acting injectable antipsychotics in early schizophrenia.

Aim: Duration of untreated psychosis in early schizophrenia impacts long-term outcomes. Because long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic drugs improve adherence in early-stage patients, they could reduce additional time in uncontrolled psychosis (TUP) during the critical period of the illness. However, the long-term benefit of early LAI use over oral formulations has not been quantified.

Annotation: Developing a national programme for VTE prevention.

The National Venous Thromboembolism Prevention Programme was launched in England, in 2010. Its central objective was to reduce morbidity and mortality from preventable deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism through introduction of a comprehensive systematic approach. The cornerstone of the programme was the introduction of mandatory documented risk assessment for venous thromboembolism, supported by national thromboprophylaxis guidance.

Factors Associated with Adherence to the HEDIS Quality Measure in Medicaid Patients with Schizophrenia.

Background: Treatment continuity is a major challenge in the long-term management of patients with schizophrenia; poor patient adherence to antipsychotic drugs has been associated with negative clinical outcomes. Long-acting injectable therapies may improve adherence and lessen the risk for psychiatric-related relapse, often leading to rehospitalization and higher healthcare costs. Therefore, understanding the determinants of adherence to antipsychotics is critical in the management of patients with schizophrenia.

Comparison of Real-world Outcomes Between Patients Treated with Tapentadol ER or Oxycodone CR.

The objective of this study was to compare health care utilization and costs between matched cohorts of chronic pain patients treated with the opioids tapentadol extended release (ER) or oxycodone controlled release (CR). This retrospective study used claims data from the Optum Research Database. Commercial and Medicare Advantage adult patients with ≥1 prescription fill for oxycodone CR or tapentadol ER between September 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012 were eligible.

Healthcare utilization and costs of Veterans Health Administration patients with schizophrenia treated with paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection or oral atypical antipsychotics.

Objective: This study aimed to compare real world healthcare costs and resource utilization between patients with schizophrenia treated with paliperidone palmitate long-acting injection (PP) and oral atypical antipsychotics (OAT).

Methods: Patients (18-64 years) were selected from the Veterans Health Administration dataset (1 July 2007-31 May 2012). Patients with 2+ claims for PP or 2+ claims for the same OAT comprised the two study cohorts with the first prescription date designated as the index date.