Older Adults With Cognitive and/or Physical Impairments Can Benefit From Immersive Virtual Reality Experiences: A Feasibility Study.

Older adults living in long term care, rehabilitation hospitals, and seniors' residences often experience reduced mobility, sometimes resulting in confinement indoors and isolation, which can introduce or aggravate symptoms of depression, anxiety, loneliness, and apathy. As Virtual Reality (VR) technologies become increasingly accessible and affordable, there is a unique opportunity to enable older adults to escape their restricted physical realities and be transported to both stimulating and calming places which may improve their general well-being. To date no robust evaluations of the use of immersive VR therapy [experienced through a head-mounted-display (HMD)] for older adults within these settings have been reported.

Factors associated with attendance at primary care appointments after discharge from hospital: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Follow-up with a primary care provider within 1-2 weeks of discharge from hospital has been associated with reduced readmissions. We sought to determine appointment attendance with primary care providers postdischarge and identify factors associated with attendance.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study involving general medicine patients who had been discharged from hospital between Sept.

Impact of patient-centered discharge tools: A systematic review.

Background: Patient-centered discharge tools provide an opportunity to engage patients, enhance patient understanding, and improve capacity for self-care and postdischarge outcomes.

Purpose: To review studies that engaged patients in the design or delivery of discharge instruction tools and that tested their effect among hospitalized patients.

Data Sources: We conducted a search of 12 databases and journals from January 1994 through May 2014, and references of retrieved studies.

Using the Electronic Medical Record to Identify Patients at High Risk for Frequent Emergency Department Visits and High System Costs.

Background: A small proportion of patients account for a high proportion of healthcare use. Accurate preemptive identification may facilitate tailored intervention. We sought to determine whether machine learning techniques using text from a family practice electronic medical record can be used to predict future high emergency department use and total costs by patients who are not yet high emergency department users or high cost to the healthcare system.

Impact of an Integrated Hip Fracture Inpatient Program on Length of Stay and Costs.

Background: Hip fractures are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Co-management models pairing orthopaedic surgeons with hospitalists or geriatricians may be effective at improving processes of care and outcomes such as length of stay (LOS) and cost. We set out to determine the effect of an integrated hip fracture co-management model on LOS, cost, and process measures.

The Effect of Hospital Isolation Precautions on Patient Outcomes and Cost of Care: A Multi-Site, Retrospective, Propensity Score-Matched Cohort Study.

Background: Isolation precautions have negative effects on patient safety, psychological well-being, and healthcare worker contact. However, it is not known whether isolation precautions affect certain hospital-related outcomes.

Objective: To examine the effect of isolation precautions on hospital-related outcomes and cost of care.

Implementing Patient-Oriented Discharge Summaries (PODS): A Multisite Pilot Across Early Adopter Hospitals.

Communication gaps when patients transition from hospital to either home or community can be problematic. Partnership between Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (TC LHIN) and OpenLab addressed this through the Patient-Oriented Discharge Summaries (PODS) project. From January through March 2015, eight hospital departments across Toronto came together to implement the PODS, a tool previously developed through a co-design process involving patients, caregivers and providers.

Comparison of community-wide, integrated mass drug administration strategies for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis: a cost-effectiveness modelling study.

Background: More than 1·5 billion people are affected by schistosomiasis or soil-transmitted helminthiasis. WHO's recommendations for mass drug administration (MDA) against these parasitic infections emphasise treatment of school-aged children, using separate treatment guidelines for these two helminthiases groups. We aimed to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of expanding integrated MDA to the entire community in four settings in Côte d'Ivoire.

The Operational and Economic Impact of a Neurovascular Unit in an Acute Care Academic Hospital.

Background: There is strong evidence that clinical outcomes are improved for stroke patients admitted to specialized Stroke Units. The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) created a Neurovascular Unit (NVU) using resources from General Internal Medicine, Neurology, and Neurosurgery for patients with stroke and acute neurovascular conditions. Under resource-constrained conditions, the operational and economic impacts of the Neurovascular Unit were unknown.