Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Paramed Home: A Protocol For A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Paramedic Assessment And Referral To Access Medical Care At Home, Glenn Arendts, Moira Sim, Steven Johnston, Richard Brightwell

Research outputs 2011

Background: In Australia approximately 25% of Emergency Department (ED) attendances are via ambulance. ED overcrowding in Australia, as in many countries, is common. Measures to reduce overcrowding include the provision of enhanced timely primary care in the community for appropriate low risk injury and illness. Therefore paramedic assessment and referral to a community home hospital service, in preference to transfer to ED, may confer clinical and cost benefit.

Methods/Design: A randomised controlled trial. Consenting adult patients that call an ambulance and are assessed by paramedics as having an eligible low risk problem will be randomised to referral to …

Identifying Patients At Risk For Obstructive Sleep Apnea In Primary Health Care : Can Obesity In Combination With Other High-Risk Diagnoses Be Used For Screening Purposes?, Clelia Lima

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects about 15 million adults in the United States, and is an independent risk factor for all-cause mortality. The under-diagnosing of OSA has been linked to the inadequate screening by primary care practitioners (PCPs). Existing screening tools are not widely used by PCPs possibly due to time constraints they experience as providers. This study demonstrates how common high-risk diagnoses (obesity, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2, dyslipidemia, arrhythmia, and coronary artery disease) can be used to help PCPs identify adult patients at risk for OSA. Unlike other screening tools, these diagnoses are easy to identify in a …