An Assessment of the Potential Benefits of Video Consultation in the Emergency Department: Mixed Methods Study.

Background: District general hospital emergency departments may refer patients to a tertiary center depending on the information available to a generalist clinician in discussion with a specialist team. If there is uncertainty, the lowest-risk strategy is often to transfer the patient. Video consultation allowing the specialist team to see and talk to the patient and local clinician while still in the emergency department could improve decision-making for patient transfer.

Evaluation of the National Health Service (NHS) Direct Pilot Telehealth Program: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a pilot telehealth program applied to a wide population of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Design: Vital signs data were transmitted from the home of the patient on a daily basis using a patient monitoring system for review by community nurse to assist decisions on management.

Setting: Community services for patients diagnosed with COPD.

Clinical Relevance of the First Domomedicine Platform Securing Multidrug Chronotherapy Delivery in Metastatic Cancer Patients at Home: The inCASA European Project.

Background: Telehealth solutions can improve the safety of ambulatory chemotherapy, contributing to the maintenance of patients at their home, hence improving their well-being, all the while reducing health care costs. There is, however, need for a practicable multilevel monitoring solution, encompassing relevant outputs involved in the pathophysiology of chemotherapy-induced toxicity. Domomedicine embraces the delivery of complex care and medical procedures at the patient's home based on modern technologies, and thus it offers an integrated approach for increasing the safety of cancer patients on chemotherapy.

Designing effective visualizations of habits data to aid clinical decision making.

Background: Changes in daily habits can provide important information regarding the overall health status of an individual. This research aimed to determine how meaningful information may be extracted from limited sensor data and transformed to provide clear visualization for the clinicians who must use and interact with the data and make judgments on the condition of patients. We ascertained that a number of insightful features related to habits and physical condition could be determined from usage and motion sensor data.

A practice-based survey of mortality revisited - what trends in end-of-life care are emerging?

The gathering of mortality data in general practice is useful and important; it provides a vital insight into local health needs, highlights gaps in service provision and educates those working in general practice. This article considers the mortality rates in Chorley Wood Health Centre between 2008 and 2009. The survey results provide an interesting insight into local trends, one key factor being the rate of people being enabled to die at home.

Football and alcohol: a short diary of a long and complex relationship.

Key Messages: Football is a high profile sport with a close relationship with alcohol, and many elite players have had problems with addiction. This can help raise public awareness of problem drinking.

Why This Matters To Us: We encounter alcohol problems daily in our different perspectives as a GP and an Accident and Emergency Consultant.

A Technology-assisted approach to integrating healthcare in the community.

The fragmentary nature of healthcare provision in the United Kingdom presents particular problems for many patients with vascular disease. The management and organization of this disease are also costly for the National Health Service (NHS). Hence, so any attempt to keep hospital visits to the minimum while at the same time aiding effective treatment is to be welcomed.

An integrated nursing and telemedicine approach to vascular care.

We have developed a telemedicine approach to vascular care for patients being managed in primary care. District nurses visit patients in their homes. Clinical information and digital photographs can be sent by email to the vascular surgeon for assessment.

Writing for the popular press: to inform and entertain.

Many doctors write for consumer publications. Even more would like the chance to do so. This article explains how to bridge the gap between writing scientific papers and writing for the popular press, and offers realistic guidance on how to find a way into this competitive market.

Help or hindrance? Single, unsupported mothers' perceptions of health visiting.

Although there have been studies of clients' perceptions of health visiting, the views of single, unsupported mothers about the health visiting service have been under-researched. Therefore, this study investigated their views using semi-structured interviews with 12 single, unsupported mothers identified by health visitors within one National Health Service Community Trust. The data were analysed using Burnard's (1991) thematic content analysis, which enabled a number of identifiable themes to emerge.