This issue focuses on the integration of health services research into clinical practice. It provides an overview of the field of health services research for the practicing hand surgeon and highlights pertinent topics that can inform clinical care in any practice setting.
This issue of Hand Clinics, guest edited by series consulting editor, Dr. Kevin C. Chung, will focus on Health Policy and Advocacy in Hand Surgery. This issue is one of four issues selected each year by Dr. Chung. Key topics discussed in this issue include, but are not limited to: Impact of Evidence and Health Policy on Hand Surgery Practice; Navigating the Intersection of Evidence and Policy in Hand Surgery Practice; Translating Hand Surgery Evidence into Practice and Policy; Using Evidence for Hand Surgery: How to Practice Evidence-Based Hand Surgery Care; Impact of the Current United States Healthcare Environment on Practice: A Private Practice Viewpoint; Influence of the United States Healthcare Environment and Reform on Academic Healthcare Practice; Leveraging the Electronic Medical Record System to Enhance Hand Surgery Practice; How to Capture Suitable Revenue: Reimbursement and the Current Healthcare Environment with Considerations of Bundled Payments; Evidence-Based Hand Therapy and It's Impact on Health Care Policy; Access to Hand Therapy Following Surgery in United States: Barriers and Facilitators; The Intersection of Hand Surgery Practice and Industry; Establishment of a National Hand Surgery Data Registry; Providing Hand Surgery Care to the Vulnerably Uninsured Patient; Impact of Healthcare Reform on Innovation and Technology; and Health Policy Evaluation in Hand Surgery: Evaluating What Works, among others.
Complications of hand injuries are very common, and the primary goal of the treatment of hand trauma is simply that of avoiding complications. They can be considered to be complications of missed diagnoses, complications of treatment, or complications of injuries.
This exciting issue will cover everything from Ligament anatomy and biomechanics of the Carpus, Diagnosis and Treatment of Perilunate and lunate fracture/dislocations, Acute Scapholunate ligament injuries - arthroscopic treatment, Acute scapholunate ligament injuries - open treatment, Diagnosis and treatment of acute lunotriquetral ligament injuries to Management of intercarpal ligament injuries associated with distal radius fractures, Chronic scapholunate ligament injuries - soft-tissue ligament reconstruction , Midcarpal instability, Salvage procedures in the management of carpal instability, and many more.
The WHO Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Health Care provide health-care workers (HCWs), hospital administrators and health authorities with a thorough review of evidence on hand hygiene in health care and specific recommendations to improve practices and reduce transmission of pathogenic microorganisms to patients and HCWs. The present Guidelines are intended to be implemented in any situation in which health care is delivered either to a patient or to a specific group in a population. Therefore, this concept applies to all settings where health care is permanently or occasionally performed, such as home care by birth attendants. Definitions of health-care settings are proposed in Appendix 1. These Guidelines and the associated WHO Multimodal Hand Hygiene Improvement Strategy and an Implementation Toolkit (http://www.who.int/gpsc/en/) are designed to offer health-care facilities in Member States a conceptual framework and practical tools for the application of recommendations in practice at the bedside. While ensuring consistency with the Guidelines recommendations, individual adaptation according to local regulations, settings, needs, and resources is desirable. This extensive review includes in one document sufficient technical information to support training materials and help plan implementation strategies. The document comprises six parts.
This issues provides a comprehensive description of standard and alternative exposures of shoulder, arm, elbow, forearm and hand along with the relevant anatomy, and pearls and pitfalls of the described exposures and case examples illustrating the relevant points. The focus of the second section is on soft tissue coverage of the upper extremity.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide disability benefits: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. SSDI provides disability benefits to people (under the full retirement age) who are no longer able to work because of a disabling medical condition. SSI provides income assistance for disabled, blind, and aged people who have limited income and resources regardless of their prior participation in the labor force. Both programs share a common disability determination process administered by SSA and state agencies as well as a common definition of disability for adults: "the inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." Disabled workers might receive either SSDI benefits or SSI payments, or both, depending on their recent work history and current income and assets. Disabled workers might also receive benefits from other public programs such as workers' compensation, which insures against work-related illness or injuries occurring on the job, but those other programs have their own definitions and eligibility criteria. Selected Health Conditions and Likelihood of Improvement with Treatment identifies and defines the professionally accepted, standard measurements of outcomes improvement for medical conditions. This report also identifies specific, long-lasting medical conditions for adults in the categories of mental health disorders, cancers, and musculoskeletal disorders. Specifically, these conditions are disabling for a length of time, but typically don't result in permanently disabling limitations; are responsive to treatment; and after a specific length of time of treatment, improve to the point at which the conditions are no longer disabling.
Evidence-based Dermatology, Second Edition is aunique book in the field of clinical dermatology. Written andedited by some of the world’s leading experts inevidence-based dermatology, it takes a highly evidence-basedapproach to the treatment of all major and many of the less commonskin conditions. The toolbox at the beginning of the book explaining how tocritically appraise different studies, along with the comprehensivereviewing and appraisal of evidence in the clinical chapters makesthis book distinctive in its field as do the treatmentrecommendations which are based on the discussion of the bestavailable evidence using a question-driven approach and a commonstructure on dealing with efficacy, drawbacks and implications forclinical practice.
The arteries to the upper extremities can be involved at multiple levels by a variety of diseases. Because of the critical sensitivity of motor function and sensation in the arms and hands, minor degrees of ischemia can have major clinical significance. It is essential to understand the exact pathologic process and the sites of involvement to provide proper therapy. This issue will include articles such as: The diagnosis of vaso-occlusive disease within the hand, Botox in the management of vascospastic disorders, Vascular injuries in sports activities, Present options for the management of hypothenar hammer syndrome and many more!
