patients

This research was commissioned by the Scottish Government as part of Better Together Scotland’s Patient Experience Programme. The objectives of this work were to establish a hierarchy of issues important to Scottish patients receiving hospital inpatient care and to test for differences in priorities among demographic groups. The results could then be used to inform the development of tools to measure inpatient experiences across Scotland.

Paper looking at the types of conversations which take place between doctors and patients, particularly concerning diabetes and mental illness. It concludes that doctors are learning to talk and listen to ever more assertive patients and that improving the quality of conversations is vital to empowerment and innovation.

Project MATCH was the largest and most expensive alcoholism treatment trial ever conducted. The results were disappointing. There were essentially no patient-treatment matches, and three very different treatments produced nearly identical outcomes. These results were interpreted post hoc as evidence that all three treatments were quite effective. We re-analyzed the data in order to estimate effectiveness in relation to quantity of treatment.

Report assessing the state of the health care system in Scotland, pinpointing both its strengths and weaknesses. It also compares the Scottish system with the health care systems of other European countries to find out if any lessons could be learned from their systems.

Document setting out Scotland's eHealth strategy which involves utilising the power of information technology and electronic information to help ensure that patients receive the right care from the right clinicians at the right time in order to achieve the right outcomes.

This resource is one of the units on the Open University's OpenLearn website, which provides free and open educational resources for learners and educators around the world. This unit considers the type of care offered in hospitals, using Leeds General Hospital as a case study. The unit looks at the people who have roles within the hospital, how they interact with each other and patients and what they consider to be 'care'. The different approaches and contributions to care by doctors and nurses are explored and patients give their perspective on the care they receive.

What are effective ways to interact with older patients, particularly with those facing multiple illnesses, hearing and vision impairments, or cognitive problems? How does one approach sensitive topics such as driving privileges or assisted living? Are there special communication strategies that can help older patients who are experiencing confusion or memory loss? It is with these questions in mind, that the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institute of Health, developed this Handbook.

The importance of meeting the social care needs of cancer patients and their carers is discussed. The article draws on findings of a report from Macmillan Cancer Support.

A Cancer Information and Support Service in County Durham, which is financed by the local PCT and also includes a welfare rights officer employed by the council is also briefly described.

Paper focusing on information about the quality of health services and looking at ways in which it can lead to better quality healthcare for all. It argues that the information needed to improve services is not always available and that a deeper level of information along with measures such as patient-based outcome measures are required to change health care for the better.

Report describing the structure of primary care services in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the population they care for. It also looks at what these services do and their capacity to respond to population health needs. Finally, it highlights future challenges facing primary health care services.