Clinical practice guidelines abound. The recommendations contained in these guidelines are used not only to make decisions about the care of individual patients but also as practice standards to rate physician "quality." Physicians' confidence in guidelines is based on the supposition that there is a rigorous, objective process for developing recommendations based on the best available evidence...

Pharmacy informatics is defined as the use and integration of data, information, knowledge, technology, and automation in the medication-use process for the purpose of improving health outcomes. The term "big data" has been coined and is often defined in three V's: volume, velocity, and variety. This paper describes three major areas in which pharmacy utilizes big data, including: 1) informed d...

Background: Quality systems are believed to be positively related to quality and safety in healthcare. However, there is no convincing evidence for this relationship in the literature. This study aims to examine the association between the development stage of hospital quality systems and the implementation of patient safety themes at the process level. Methods: This study combines data from a ...

Clinical practice guidelines are useful in improving quality of care and outcomes, reducing inappropriate variation in practice, promoting efficient use of resources, informing and empowering patients and informing public policy. However, difficulties arise when guidelines are poorly introduced into routine daily practice and, as a consequence, many patients do not receive the care intended or ...

I feel that it is important to know the stories behind those who are working hard in the field to bring forward massage therapy research. Interviews with massage therapy researchers will now occasionally be included in the Journal as a new editorial feature. The first interview is with Virginia S. Cowen, PhD, LMT a New York State-licensed and NCB board-certified massage therapist with a PhD fro...

The definition of overtreatment of rectal cancer is controversial, and thus it is difficult to accurately quantitate its prevalence. All components of rectal cancer treatment are associated with significant potential for morbidity and dysfunction that may have a negative impact on the patient's quality of life. No one would disagree with the tenet that overtreatment should be avoided whenever p...

BACKGROUND Within a rights-based paradigm, wheelchairs are essential in the promotion of user autonomy, dignity, freedom, inclusion and participation. OBJECTIVES This paper aimed to describe a group of Zimbabwean wheelchair users' satisfaction with wheelchairs, wheelchair services and wheelchair function. METHOD A mixed method, descriptive study was done. Quantitative data was collected fro...

The introduction of the WHO FRAX algorithms has facilitated the assessment of fracture risk on the basis of fracture probability. FRAX integrates the influence of several well validated risk factors for fracture with or without the use of BMD. Its use in fracture risk prediction poses challenges for patient assessment, the development of practice guidelines, the evaluation of drug efficacy and ...

As early as 1989, the legislation that created the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (now known as the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality) called for the development, periodic review, and update of clinically relevant guidelines. These guidelines could assist physicians, educators, and health care practitioners in determining how diseases, disorders, and other health condition...

BACKGROUND Practice guidelines (PGs) are systematically developed statements intended to assist in patient and practitioner decisions. The AGREE II is the revised tool for PG development, reporting, and evaluation, comprised of 23 items, two global rating scores, and a new User's Manual. In this study, we sought to develop, execute, and evaluate the impact of two internet interventions designed...