Friday 20 December 2013

New addition to Nursing & Midwifery collection




Located at 617.106 QUI

Tablets and apps might be doctor's orders of the future

These days it seems as if there is an app for every medical condition. Diabetics can monitor their blood sugar levels via their smartphones, there are apps to track diet, pregnancy and menstrual cycles. It is even possible to get smartphone-enabled blood pressure cuffs.

Daniel Kraft is a trained doctor who heads up the medicine school at the Singularity University, in Silicon Valley, California.   When interviewed he is carrying a device that looks suspiciously like a Tricorder, the scanners that were standard issue in Star Trek.



"This is a mock-up of a medical tricorder that can scan you and get information. I can hold it to my forehead and it will pick up my heart rate, my oxygen saturation, my temperature, my blood pressure and communicate it to my smartphone," he explains.
In future, Dr Kraft predicts, such devices will be linked to artificial intelligence agents on smartphones, which in turn will be connected to super-computers such as IBM's Watson, to give people instant and accurate diagnoses.
Dr Kraft was also wearing four wristbands, monitoring a range of things including his heart rate, his sleep pattern and how many steps he takes each day.
Last year, the UK's Department of Health said that it was looking at the possibility of doctors prescribing apps, although they are currently unregulated, leading some medical experts to question what role they should play in healthcare.

Thursday 19 December 2013

NUI Galway Medical Graduates Deliver Intern-led Teaching programme to Final Medical Students

Newly graduated medical doctors teach NUI Galway’s final year medical students and simultaneously act as mentors and role models. This is achieved ‘by on the ward training’ whereby medical interns teach groups of five medical students and take them through the assessment of common patient presentations they encounter, covering history-taking, examination, clinical reasoning and management skills essential to becoming a competent doctor. Teaching takes place at the bedside, in a clinical context.
There are plans to continue this Intern-led Teaching Programme into semester two when those students who have been in the Medical Academies in semester one return to Galway. The final medical students will themselves be graduating in June 2014, and it is anticipated that many of them, having experienced the benefit of the Intern-led Teaching Programme, will volunteer their time and skills to teach and thus continue this valuable teaching programme.

Focus on Fibromyalgia Syndrome at Ulster University

The University of Ulster has teamed up with Arthritis Research UK to explore new ways of treating and researching fibromyalgia – a life-crippling disease that affects millions of people worldwide. 

Leading researchers and clinicians from across Europe met in Belfast earlier this month to discuss the management of this complex, chronic pain syndrome, which causes untold misery for patients. 


Dr Joseph McVeigh, from the Schoolof Health Sciences, in the  Centre for Health and Rehabilitation Technologies (CHaRT), at Ulster, said: “Fibromyalgia syndrome causes a huge impact on the lives of sufferers and their families, but unfortunately it is often regarded as a ‘Cinderella’ condition, receiving little research funding or attention.  

“This chronic pain condition affects approximately two per cent of the population, with women affected six times more often than men. 

Dr McVeigh’s research focuses on improving the quality of life of people with fibromyalgia syndrome.  In particular, Dr McVeigh and his colleagues in the Centre for Health and Rehabilitation Technologies, are examining the management of fatigue and sleep dysfunction, which, in addition to pain, are two of the most debilitating aspects of fibromyalgia.

View full article here

Wednesday 18 December 2013

NUI Galway Biomaterial Based Research Institute (NFB) Wins Medical Technology Industry Excellence Award

NUI Galway’s Network of Excellence for Functional Biomaterials has won the 2013 Academic/Emerging Medical Technology Company of the Year-Silver Award, was awarded at a ceremony in Galway recently.
The awards, established in 2007, are supported by Irish Medical Devices Association (IMDA), Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland and aimed at recognising and promoting outstanding performance in the medical technology sector in Ireland.

Professor Abhay Pandit, NFB Team Leader  (pictured above) said, “It is an honour to be recognised at the Med Tech Awards. The NFB prides itself on its collaborations with the medical device industry having engaged with nearly forty companies, licenced one of our extracellular matrix technologies and created a spin out company. We are very thankful that our hard work and achievements have been acknowledged.”

Defibrillator Assessment

External defibrillators could become more widely available throughout the country

External defibrillators could become more widely
available throughout the country

The Health Information and Quality Authority  (HIQA) has announced that it is to conduct a health technology assessment on the nationwide provision of public access defibrillators, for use in the event of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

The HTA will look at the clinical and cost-effectiveness of different strategies to make automatic external defibrillators more widely available throughout the country.  The completed evaluation will be submitted to the Minister for Health James Reilly.

HIQA's Director of Health Technology Assessment Dr Máirín Ryan said: "This work will examine various strategies around public access defibrillation in Ireland and evaluate how these potentially life-saving devices can be used in the event of a person having a cardiac arrest in a public place."
Dr Ryan added: "Published data indicate that between 2003 and 2008 the survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests ranged from 3% to 11%.
“This HTA will rigorously explore all of the factors around an expanded public access defibrillation programme aimed at improving survival rates."

An expert advisory group comprised of specialists from a broad range of disciplines has been convened to provide expert advice, support relevant parts of the evaluation and critically review the draft report.

Click here to link to HIQA website

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Patient Safety - Pilot Study 2013

Patient Safety – The Patient Experience  

Patient participation is important in improving quality and safety in healthcare. In 2013, the Irish Society for Quality and Safety in Healthcare (ISQSH) completed a pilot study of primary care looking at the patient’s overall experience, and gathered information including how long a patient has been attending their GP, patient experience in contacting their GP by phone, the length waited to see their GP and patient confidence and trust in out of hours GP services.

Chief Executive Dr Hilary Dunne explains the benefit of such research, the need to empower patients to provide them with real opportunities to voice their opinions in an independent way, and what the patient experience can teach us about primary care in Ireland.

Monday 16 December 2013

What is Good Medicine?

What is good medicine?

For all general practitionersBy MPS (2:35) [September 2012]

  
 
In this podcast Dr Muiris Houston, GP and medical journalist, gives his perspective on what is good medicine.
In the midst of what can sometimes seem like a threatening medicolegal environment, the cornerstones of good medicine – keeping contemporaneous records; listening more and intervening less; doing what is right, not what is easy; and “knowing what you don’t know” – are really important to remember.

Friday 13 December 2013

Addition to the Nursing & Midwifery collection




Located at 610.7343 COM

Ultrasound scan and health check using your smartphone


Low-tech, relatively low-cost medical innovations are being showcased at an international health summit in Qatar.
One of the devices on show at the World Innovation Summit for Health is the "Smartphone Physical" developed by medical students at John Hopkins University in Baltimore and the University of Pennsylvania.
They have brought together a number of medical mobile phone applications to create a 10 minute physical examination.
It can check your heart rate and blood pressure, as well as test you for sexually transmitted infections.

Breast cancer: Drug 'halves' risk of tumours

A "landmark study" shows a drug can more than halve the development of breast cancer in high-risk women.
A trial on 4,000 women, published in the Lancet, showed anastrozole was more effective, cheaper and had fewer side effects than current medications.
It stops the production of the hormone oestrogen, which fuels the growth of the majority of breast cancers.
Doctors and campaigners are asking health services to consider offering the drug to healthy women.
The study at Queen Mary University of London has followed women with a high risk of breast cancer, based on their family history, for an average of five years.
It showed that out of 2,000 high-risk women given no treatment there were 85 cases of breast cancer in the study.
But in the same number of women given anastrozole there were 40 cases, with virtually no side-effects.

Pop-up health clinic on a motorbike



Low-tech, relatively low-cost medical innovations have been on show at an international health summit.
The products at the World Innovation Summit for Health in Qatar include a motorbike ambulance and pop-up clinic that can be used to reach remote villages in developing countries.
They were invented in the UK but are already being manufactured in South Africa.

Tackling health inequalities is a lifelong struggle:

Sir Michael Marmot has spent his career trying to break down the barriers to health equality, and he believes it should be a main priority for governments

Sir Michael Marmot: “There’s an intimate relationship between where you are on the social hierarchy and your health. The people at the top have the longest life, those in the middle are shorter, and as you get lower and lower, the life expectancy gets shorter and shorter.” Sir Michael Marmot: “There’s an intimate relationship between where you are on the social hierarchy and your health. The people at the top have the longest life, those in the middle are shorter, and as you get lower and lower, the life expectancy gets shorter and shorter.”

View article here in the Irish Times

Referral Criteria Published - December 2013

HIQA publishes referral criteria


HIQA_Logo_JPG
By Catherine Reilly
HIQA has published a series of reports outlining recommended referral and treatment thresholds for nine more elective surgical procedures to treat common hand and back conditions.

The Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) cover release of carpal tunnel; surgery for Dupuytren’s contracture; ganglion cyst surgery; surgery for trigger finger/thumb; spinal injections for pain due to degenerative lumbar spine disease; vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures; radiofrequency lesioning for chronic spinal pain; surgery for adult degenerative lumbar spine disease and spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain.
The reports set out minimum criteria a patient should meet before being referred for such treatment in order to help achieve a more streamlined referral process, standardisation of care and improved patient access to beneficial interventions.
According to HIQA, demand for scheduled procedures continues to exceed available capacity with a 22 per cent increase in demand for these services in 2011 compared to the previous year.

Dr Máirín Ryan
, Director of HTA in HIQA, said publication of the thresholds, following a public consultation process, would help identify patients who stood to benefit most from the scheduled procedures assessed and those for whom more effective alternatives existed.
The key aim was that people with the most pressing clinical need would “have speedy access to necessary procedures”, Dr Ryan told IMT.
She said the HSE was developing an implementation plan that would require activity “right across the spectrum” from primary to tertiary care.
The introduction of thresholds would help reduce regional variation in clinical practice and access to these procedures, while the Authority did not expect a decrease in the number of these procedures undertaken in hospitals.
Successful implementation of the thresholds would depend on timely access to primary care services for those who can be effectively managed in the primary care setting and who do not warrant referral to secondary care, it stated.

View press release here

Thursday 12 December 2013

FORUM - Alcohol Dependence


Volume 30 No. 12 December 2013

FORUM is the Journal of the Irish College of General Practitioners.
Each monthly issue of Forum provides a modular distance learning programme and for the month of December 2013, FORUM discusses Alcohol Dependence, looking at the Management and Treatment of Alcohol in General Practice.

Issues of FORUM are located in the The Medical Library, Clinical Science Institute.

New books added to the Nursing & Midwifery Collection





Located at 362.6 ABU











Located at 362.682 INT

Developing Healthcare Standards

               

Safer Better Healthcare

National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare

HIQA has recently developed National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare.
They are aimed at protecting patients and they provide, for the first time, a strategic approach to improving safety, quality and reliability in our health services. They will form the basis for future licensing of all healthcare facilities in Ireland.

www.hiqa.ie

Wednesday 11 December 2013

Project to build a new Paediatric Outpatient Unit for Patients with Cystic Fibrosis underway at Galway University Hospitals

Work on a new Outpatient unit for children with cystic fibrosis at Galway University Hospitals commenced today when the first sod was turned on the new build.
The new unit will cost approximately €590k with €250k being funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Association and the balance by the hospital and the HSE. The new unit will include four examination rooms, a treatment room for procedures and a gym for assessment and physiotherapy and it will be located behind the existing Paediatric Outpatient Department on the grounds of University Hospital Galway.
Bill Maher, CEO, West /North West Hospitals Group said “Cystic Fibrosis is Ireland’s most common genetically inherited fatal disease. In Ireland approx 1 in 19 carry the CF gene, compared with 1 in 25 in UK. We currently have 32 paediatric patients with CF under the care of the hospital (and 37 adults). The new unit will be a dedicated specialist facility for day care and outpatient services and will allow us to treat children in an optimal physical environment to reduce the risk of infection which can have a serious impact for patients with CF.”

How Does Research at NUI Galway Affect You, Your Family, Your Community?


Ever wondered how research at NUI Galway affects you, your family, and your community? The public are invited to a competition which might just answer that question on Thursday December 12th, at 7.30 pm in An Taibhdhearc Theatre, Galway City Centre.
The THREESIS competition will see NUI Galway staff and students present their research to the audience and a panel of judges in accessible language a non-expert can understand, in three minutes or less.
Each of the 8 finalists will have only three slides and three minutes to communicate their research area and relevancy. Competitors are judged on how well they convey their subject and their ability to communicate to a general audience.
Each of NUI Galway’s five priority research areas will be represented, with topics ranging from the brain structure of people with Bipolar Disorder to the transport of pollutants in groundwater.
The winner will receive a prize and award, based on the decision of the judges.
The event is free and refreshments will be served on the night.  Please RSVP to ryaninstitute@nuigalway.ie .

12 NUI Galway Medical Students to be Given Opportunity to Train in Developing Countries

(l-r)Paul Jackson, CEO and Sharon Phelan of the Hospital Saturday Fund, Dr Diarmuid O’Donovan, NUI Galway and (left to right standing) medical students Esraa Hegazy, Susan Morrison and Suzanne Smyth.

Students of medicine will have new opportunities to spend two months in a developing country with funding made available by The Hospital Saturday Fund. The School of Medicine working with the Galway University Foundation will invite fourth year students of medicine to apply for funding for the medical electives, which will be offered in the summer of 2014.

A medical elective is a period of supervised learning, chosen by the student.  In this case the work will be in a resource poor setting which has many recognised benefits for students: to experience clinical practice and health care in different cultural and organisational settings and to learn about diseases and conditions that are not often seen at home.

Senior Lecturer in Social and Preventative Medicine Dr Diarmuid O’Donovan welcomed the support of The Hospital Saturday Fund and said “these electives help to improve the ability of students to manage patients from diverse backgrounds and to better understand global health. Many electives are based in low-resource tropical settings where the organisation and provision of healthcare, and the social, cultural, economic and political environments are very different from what students have experienced in their home institutions.”

View full article here

New books added to the Nursing & Midwifery Library

Located at 616.834 ZAJ


Located at 617.0231 DiG




Tuesday 10 December 2013

Obstetrics & Gynaecology: Available Online

A popular title - Impey's Obstetrics & Gynaecology is also available Online:

Please click on the title: 
Obstetrics & Gynaecology

Front Cover

Portiuncula Hospital Ballinasloe is now a smoke free campus


It is no longer possible to smoke anywhere on the hospital grounds, for example entrances, doorways, walkways, internal roads, car parks, cars, bicycle shelters etc.
As a leading healthcare provider, PHB is committed to reducing the use of tobacco and its harmful health effects. PHB aims to create a healthier, smoke free, clean environment for its patients, staff and visitors.
The policy applies to all staff, patients, visitors, contractors and anyone who enters the hospital buildings / grounds.
Chris Kane, A/General Manager says “The introduction of a Smoke Free Campus policy will take time but the success of this type of policy in other hospitals along with the goodwill of our patients and staff indicates that the majority of people support the policy.

AIDS Conference - December 2013

17th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA 2013)
The ICASA conference contributes towards overcoming the HIV and Tuberculosis:
These are the epidemics that grip Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most affected region with over 22 Million people living with HIV and AIDS and the highest tuberculosis rates world-wide.
ICASA represents a massive opportunity for all role players from basic science researchers, clinical researchers to the drug regulatory authorities and human ethics committees to review the current state of infectious diseases research in Africa.

There is a focus that an increased effort is required to maintain the international leadership for a reduction in HIV incidence targeting zero new infections, and a reduction of HIV and AIDS related mortality and morbidity.

Monday 9 December 2013

Embase - new filters

Next Embase release on 15 December 2013

  • Embase will launch FIVE new text filters; 'Author names', 'Medical Devices', 'Conferences', 'Age groups', 'Subheadings' and THREE new graphical filters; 'Sources', 'Gender', 'Age Groups'. Click here to view new filters
  • A 'much requested by users' Quick Search box will be added to the top of the session results page with the same autocomplete functionality found in the Quick Search form.
  • Autocomplete, found in the Quick Search form and soon also at the top of the Session Results page, will now allow you to match multiple terms to Emtree. Previously, only your first term was completed using automated Emtree suggestions.
  • Trainers and creators of Embase materials please note: The Search Forms will change and this may require some adjustment of your materials.

Friday 6 December 2013

Can you escape jet lag?


Jet lag has always been a curse for the long distance traveller. It's the result of your body finding it difficult to adjust to a new time zone and the more time zones you cross during a long-haul flight, the more severe jet lag can become. 

Fast Track's Keith Wallace changes his sleep pattern to see how jet lag affects his body and looks at some of the devices you can use and pills you can take to offset the effects.


Click here to view video on BBC World News


Latest additions to the Nursing & Midwifery library

Located at 362.173 DAY


Located at 362.10684 GOP


Located at 626.890231 THE


Pharmacy Education -

The WHO, UNESCO, FIP, Pharmacy Education Taskforce: Enabling concerted and Collective Global Action,  Am J Pharm Educ. 2008 December 15; 72(6): 127.

Pharmacy Education is a priority area for the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), the global federation representing pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists worldwide that is spearheading the Global Pharmacy Education Taskforce. This paper describes the work of the Taskforce that was established in March 2008, explores key issues in pharmacy education development, and describes the Global Pharmacy Action Plan 2008-2010.

Given the significance of pharmacy education to the diverse practice of contemporary pharmacists and pharmacy support personnel, there is a need for pharmacy education to attain greater visibility on the global human resources for health agenda. From this perspective, FIP is steering the development of holistic and comprehensive pharmacy education and pharmacy workforce action to support and strengthen regional, national, and local efforts.

Click on title above for full article

Diabetes Ireland:

Diabetes Logo jpeg
 Supporting the Diabetes Community:

The Irish Medical Council

The Irish Medical Council regulates medical doctors in the Republic of Ireland. The Council's purpose is to protect the public by promoting and better ensuring high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among doctors.
The Council has a membership of 25 including both elected and appointed members.
The Medical Council's Statement of Strategy 2010-2013 (.pdf), the first for the Medical Council, outlines how the Council is going to achieve a number of very specific objectives in the period.
There are over 18,000 doctors registered with the Medical Council. The Medical Council is funded by the annual payments of registered doctors – the Council receives no State funds.
The Medical Council's key responsibilities include:
Further Information - www.medicalcouncil.ie

'Picture of Health 2013' launched


Carrying excess fat on the waistline could prevent cancer killing cells from doing their job, according to a new Health Research Board (HRB) funded study. This fat can become inflamed in obesity and it has been linked with increased risk of several cancers including one called oesophageal adenocarcinoma. The findings are described in the latest edition of the HRB’s Picture of Health 2013 which was published Thursday 5th December.

The annual Picture of Health publication highlights, in non-technical language, recent and exciting developments arising from Irish health research funded by the HRB. Selected research featured includes projects completed in 2012 that seek to improve patient care, search for better treatments and inform health policy and practice.

‘Research is of most benefit when it is applied in policy or practice. The HRB Picture of Health clearly demonstrates how our funding is delivering improvements for people’s health, patient care and health service delivery. But it also highlights the calibre, innovative thinking and expertise of the health professionals and academics involved in health research here in Ireland. Our current investment is actively supporting  these experts in their pursuit of better treatments, innovative approaches to care and provision of strong evidence to support positive changes in health policy and practice’.
View Press Release here

Can my doctor be my Facebook friend?


In a recent Scrubbing up column on the BBC Health website, MDDUS medical adviser Dr Naeem Nazem looks at the serious ethical challenges facing doctors and the implications for the patient relationship when engaging through social media.

There are undoubted benefits as social media offers a platform for doctors to network effectively, share views and develop their own knowledge and expertise.For patients engaging with social media, it can educate and raise awareness by giving them greater access to healthcare information.


MDDUS figures reveal that between 2010 and 2012 advisers received over four times as many calls from doctors seeking guidance on the use of sites such as Facebook and Twitter, with indications suggesting this number will continue to rise this year.
“Patients interacting with their doctors on social media may inadvertently create an uncomfortable and awkward situation,” says Dr Nazem.
“It also risks blurring the boundaries in the doctor-patient relationship which could impact on the quality of care they receive.
“Doctors must keep their relationship with patients professional, or they risk becoming too close which can cloud their judgement and affect their objectivity and clinical decision-making.”
Read the full article on the BBC website at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24850051

Thursday 5 December 2013

New books in Nursing & Midwifery Library




Located at shelf number 610.289 FIS













Located at shelf number 618.200711 WAL

44m living with dementia worldwide - study

The number of people living with dementia worldwide is set to treble by 2050. A new analysis by experts at the charity Alzheimer's Disease International says 44 million people live with the disease, but that figure will increase to 135 million by 2050.The figures were released ahead of a G8 dementia summit in London next week. 

The report 'The Global Imact of Dementia 2013-2050' says most governments are "woefully unprepared for the dementia epidemic". Alzheimer's Disease International expects increasing life expectancies to drive a surge in cases in poor and middle-income countries, particularly in South East Asia and Africa.





What's up, Doc? How comic strips are improving bedside manner

Doodling in class isn't what the teacher usually wants. But for a group of medical students in Chicago, it is exactly what they should be doing.
The crayons are there to help them become well-rounded doctors - by drawing cartoons.
The idea is that drawing the images, complete with speech bubbles, helps future doctors think about how they relate to patients in what they say, but also through body language.
In the cartoon strip commissioned especially for the article, the graphic artist and former HIV/Aids nurse MK Czerwiec explores how a doctor's brisk and breezy attitude towards a cancer patient makes her feel like "just another lab result". MK Czerwoec has also added drawing cartoons to the curriculum at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, where she teaches.
Alexandra Jones is one of the Chicago medical students trying out the comic strip idea.
She said drawing a sickbed scene helped her understand the dynamics of a consultation from the patient's point of view. "It allows a good outlet for humour and kind of self-expression at times when it could seem insensitive or difficult to express otherwise."
Good doctor-patient communication does create tangible benefits for patients. Research has found that a doctor's good communication skills increase patient satisfaction - but also that it can improve physical health too - relieving symptoms like pain and improving measures like blood pressure and blood sugar levels
It's still too early to assess the full impact of comics on clinical outcomes. But Dr Ian Williams - a British comic artist, physician and joint editor of the Graphic Medicine website is confident that they have a role to play.

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Irish Cancer Society donates €1m to bowel-screening programme

The Irish Cancer Society has donated €1m to the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme, BowelScreen.
The money will be used to buy equipment in hospitals around the country to support the continued rollout of the screening programme.
Free bowel-cancer screening has been offered to people aged 60-69 since last year.
At a future date, the aim is to extend screening to those aged 55-74 years.

Analyse drug interactions on UpToDate

UpToDate® includes key drug and drug interaction databases – authoritative point-of-care information that helps minimize risk and increase patient safety.

Analyze drug interactions
UpToDate also provides thorough analysis of drug-drug and herb-drug interactions. Entering a patient’s medications identifies and summarizes potential interactions, along with an easy-to-understand risk rating and patient management steps. Clicking the name of a drug displays a monograph that supplies complete interaction details. Drug interactions are only available through online options; they are not available through UpToDate MobileComplete™ or the downloadable desktop add-on products.

Illustrated Textbook of Paediatrics - Lissauer


The 4th edition of Lissauer's Paediatrics along with the regular hardcopy version,
is also available Online:

Front Cover