Publications by authors named "Paule Maltais"
Background: Current debates around the choice of management strategy for patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) combined with limited efficacy and frequent adverse effects of current pharmacotherapies cause uncertainty and confusion, challenging optimal care delivery to AF patients.
Objectives: To determine gaps in knowledge, skill, and competencies of Canadian physicians caring for patients with AF as well as underlying causes of these gaps.
Methods: A mixed-method approach --consisting of qualitative (semistructured interviews) and quantitative data collection techniques (online survey) --was conducted.
Introduction: It was hypothesized that after a continuing medical education (CME) event, practice enablers and reinforcers addressing main clinical barriers to preventive care would be more effective in improving general practitioners' (GPs) adherence to cardiovascular guidelines than a CME event only.
Methods: A cluster-randomized trial was conducted on a convenience sample of 122 GPs who were randomly assigned to either CME only (control group) or CME with practice enablers and reinforcers (PER group). In the PER group, nurses visited GPs' offices once a month to implement the clinical intervention on patients > or = 55 years old with a scheduled visit in the month following the nurse visit: (1) screening medical records for potentially undermanaged high-risk patients; (2) prompting physicians to reassess preventive care in these patients; (3) enclosing a checklist reporting most recent information relevant to guidelines' implementation; and (4) enclosing a summary of experts' recommendations in the form of a follow-up and treatment algorithm.