Original article
Patient safety is a central goal in healthcare (Rodwin et al. 2020: 1; Zech et al. 2017: 333) and is defined as the “absence of adverse events” (Schrappe 2018: 3). In addition to medical skills and knowledge, successful communication has proven to be a central part of patient safety and its safeguarding, both within the staff team and between staff and patients (Barlett et al. 2008: 1555-1562; Leonard et al. 2004: 85-90; Hickson et al. 1992: 1359-1363). Disturbed communication, for example due to the use of medical terms that patients and relatives do not understand, or language barriers such as a lack of German or other languages can lead to a loss of information and reduced patient safety (Barlett et al. 2008: 1555-1562; Leonard et al. 2004: 85-90; Hickson et al. 1992: 1359-1363). There are other reasons for suboptimal communication and various barriers that prevent the implementation of successful communication. These include, for example, insufficient information transfer, work overload, lack of mutual respect, an insufficient feeling of belonging to a team or low self-confidence (Zegers et al. 2020). Too little further training was also identified as a risk factor (Olde Bekkink et al. 2018: 262-270). Lyndon and colleagues summarized in a review that successful communication in healthcare should be respectful, clear, direct and explicit (Lyndon et al. 2011: 94). Consistently implementing successful communication requires intensive listening, good administrative support, and community engagement to overcome hindering hierarchies and professional stereotypes to ensure patient safety.
08.10.2020
Back pain is one of the most frequently diagnosed diagnoses both nationally and internationally. Around 85% of the population are affected by back pain at least once in their life (Schmidt et al. 2007). Among those insured by the AOK, Barmer and DAK, back pain is the diagnosis with the most days of incapacity for work (WIdO 2011; Ed. 2010; Research 2011; Raspe 2012). Back pain incurs considerable costs in the healthcare system, estimated at around 49 billion euros per year (Kuntz et al. 2017; Wenig et al. 2009). Due to the frequency of back pain, it is the most significant cause of years of life lost in Germany (Plass et al. 2014). Depending on the respective data base, a prevalence of 32 – 49% is assumed in Germany (Raspe 2012). The demographic, socioeconomic and biological influencing factors of back pain are now well researched. Both national and international studies have shown that, overall, back pain occurs more frequently in women, older people and population groups with low socioeconomic status (Kuntz et al. 2017). Regional differences in the frequency of operations for various indications such as osteoarthritis and intervertebral disc damage have also now been well studied. The result shows that in regions with a high density of orthopedists, treatment tends to be conservative, while in regions with a low density of orthopedists, operations tend to be performed more quickly (Schäfer, Pritzkuleit, Hannemann et al. 2013; Schäfer, Pritzkuleit, Jeszenszky et al. 2013; Pollmanns, Wesermann, and Drösler 2018).
08.10.2020
The increase in new infections reported daily, the problem of travelers returning, the reopening of schools and kindergartens, the approaching election campaign - our group of authors needed to decide whether there should be a fourth paper after the theses from the beginning of April, the beginning of May and the end of June , no long discussions. The enormous dynamics of the current situation cannot be overlooked, especially since positive developments are now becoming visible behind the numbers, such as the quite significant drop in the hospitalization rate, the low intensive care utilization due to CoViD-19, the decline in mortality to 0.4% of infected people and - let's pick it out - initial findings of an apparently persistent cellular immunity, which seems to significantly strengthen the somewhat unreliable antibody-related defense (as is common in viral diseases).
08.10.2020
According to Statista [1], in July 2020, the Federal Government's Corona Warning App (CWA) [2] was far ahead of all others in the ranking of the most popular apps in the Google Play Store in Germany and, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Recorded 16.8 million downloads [3]. On August 17, 2020 there were already 17.2 million, and at the beginning of November 21.9 million were registered [4]. This can certainly be seen as a success – after a long, perhaps too long, development phase. However, whether the app's intended goal of “breaking chains of infection earlier than previously possible” will be achieved and whether the software can thus be “another component of pandemic control that complements the classic contact tracking of local health authorities” remains an open question [3 ].
08.10.2020
The increase in new infections reported daily, the problem of travelers returning, the reopening of schools and kindergartens, the approaching election campaign - our group of authors needed to decide whether there should be a fourth paper after the theses from the beginning of April, the beginning of May and the end of June , no long discussions. The enormous dynamics of the current situation cannot be overlooked, especially since positive developments are now becoming visible behind the numbers, such as the quite significant drop in the hospitalization rate, the low intensive care utilization due to CoViD-19, the decline in mortality to 0.4% of infected people and - let's pick it out - initial findings of an apparently persistent cellular immunity, which seems to significantly strengthen the somewhat unreliable antibody-related defense (as is common in viral diseases).
08.10.2020
Das Institut für Epidemiologie, Sozialmedizin und Gesundheitssystemforschung der Medizinischen Hochschule Hannover (MHH) war das erste universitäre Institut seines Faches im deutschsprachigen Raum (Leitung Prof. Dr. Manfred Pflanz) und seit seiner Gründung im Jahre 1968 wegweisend für die nachfolgenden Entwicklungen an deutschsprachigen Universitäten. Unter Leitung von Prof. Dr. Friedrich Wilhelm Schwartz wurde seit Ende der 1980er Jahre die Initiierung und der (Wieder-)Aufbau der Public-Health-Forschung und -Lehre in Deutschland vorangetrieben. Aktuell hat die Leitung Prof. Dr. Ulla Walter inne. Die kommisarische Leitung hat Prof. Dr. rer. biol. hum. Marie-Luise Dierks. Sie verantwortet den Masterstudiengang Public Health und die dem Institut angeschlossene Patientenuniversität.
08.10.2020
Nach Ansicht von Dr. Dorothee Brakmann, Leiterin des Bereichs Gesundheitsökonomie, Marktzugang und Erstattung und Mitglied der Geschäftsleitung bei Janssen Deutschland, und Dr. Christoph Bug, Leiter der Medizin und Mitglied der Geschäftsführung, ist das bisher übliche und seit über 100 Jahren gebräuchliche System der Klassifikationen von Krankheiten obsolet.
08.10.2020
Cochrane has published a Special Collection of reviews, updated with three reviews, summarizing the evidence on public health measures for infection control and prevention of Covid-19. The topics of the three rapid reviews: “Quarantine” (update, published on September 14th, 2020), “Travel Restrictions” (new, published on September 16th, 2020) and “Broad-based screening” (new, published on September 15th, 2020).
08.10.2020
The study protocol of CORONA-MONITORING local*, which describes the results of a seroepidemiological study conducted by the Robert Koch Institute on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the population at particularly affected locations in Germany, allows for statements to be made about the proportion of the population with COVID-19 antibodies in four particularly affected German locations. The study aims to better estimate the actual extent of the epidemic, to identify risk and protective factors for infection, and thus also to identify particularly exposed groups, which – according to the authors in their study abstract – is essential for planning preventive measures.
08.10.2020
At just over three and a half years old, the medical cannabis market in Germany is still quite young - compared to other disciplines in the pharmaceutical sector. Nevertheless, new legal adjustments, an increasing number of market participants trying to get the small amount of imported goods, bad news about delivery bottlenecks, the constant battle for acceptance of cannabis as a medicinal plant and, last but not least, the global corona pandemic are causing turbulent ups and downs in the industry: This article shows INSIGHTS from current developments in the medical cannabis market.