Objective: Previous studies showed that general practitioners (GPs) have problems in diagnosing asthma accurately, resulting in both under and overdiagnosis. To support GPs in their diagnostic process an asthma diagnostic consultation service (ADCS) was set up.
Design: We evaluated the performance of this ADCS by analysing the (dis)concordance between the GPs working hypotheses and the ADCS diagnoses and possible consequences this had on the patients' pharmacotherapy.
Unlabelled: Previous studies showed that general practitioners have problems in diagnosing asthma accurately, resulting in both under and overdiagnosis. To support general practitioners in their diagnostic process, an asthma diagnostic consultation service was set up. We evaluated the performance of this asthma diagnostic consultation service by analysing the (dis)concordance between the general practitioners working hypotheses and the asthma diagnostic consultation service diagnoses and possible consequences this had on the patients' pharmacotherapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Hospital admissions for exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are the main cost drivers of the disease. An alternative is to treat suitable patients at home instead of in the hospital. This article reports on the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of early assisted discharge in The Netherlands.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In the absence of clear differences in effectiveness and cost-effectiveness between hospital-at-home schemes and usual hospital care, patient preference plays an important role. This study investigates patient preference for treatment place, associated factors and patient satisfaction with a community-based hospital-at-home scheme for COPD exacerbations.
Methods: The study is part of a larger randomised controlled trial.
Objective: To describe Dutch respiratory nurses' current smoking cessation practices, attitudes and beliefs, and to compare these with a survey from the year 2000, before the national introduction of a protocol for the treatment of nicotine and tobacco addiction (the L-MIS protocol).
Methods: Questionnaire survey among all 413 registered respiratory nurses in the Netherlands in 2006.
Results: The response rate was 62%.