The Rounds Updates in Healthcare

EDUCATION Medicine’s Clever Dummies

Professor Harry Owen of the School of Medicine at Flinders University has been using high-tech mannequins and models to teach medical students the elements of anatomy and to learn a range of medical and surgical procedures for the past 20 years. His interest in the technology has led him to write an illustrated history, Simulation in Health Care Education.
Professor Owen, a clinician, researcher and teacher in the Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine, said the inventors and manufacturers of models and simulators have displayed extraordinary imagination and ingenuity in creating their imitations of human anatomy and physiology.
He says there has been a strong resurgence in the past 25 years in the use of simulation in the early stages of medical training. “Medical schools are once again realising the benefits of allowing students to learn the basics of risky and invasive procedures without putting real patients at risk.”
“Now”, he says, “the dummies are back, and better than ever.
”Simulation in Health Care Education: An Extensive History is published by Springer.
INFECTION CONTROL Boosting our response to infectious disease outbreaks
Infectious diseases can disrupt health and society, globally and locally. University of Sydney researchers will partner with other leading national experts in clinical, laboratory and public health research on a new $5m initiative to boost Australia’s capacity to respond rapidly to infectious disease outbreaks.
Funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Disease Emergencies (APPRISE) initiative will focus on major infectious disease threats such as influenza, coronaviruses, haemorrhagic viral diseases, arboviruses, novel pathogens and antimicrobial resistance.
DIGITAL Monash Health begins major digital upgrade to standardise care and improve patient safety
Monash Health, the largest public health service in Victoria, is embarking on the first step of its major digital transformation with the integration of an electronic medical record (EMR) system with Order Sets, a solution from Elsevier.
Order Sets will be rolled out as a key part of the first stage of the EMR system. They provide clinical decision support by delivering real-time, evidence-based prompts and make it easier for clinicians to do “the right thing.” This move to digitise patients’ medical records along with providing medical staff quick access to evidence-based content with Order Sets will help to standardise clinical practice, reduce medical errors and streamline workflows, all of which ultimately result in safer and better quality care outcomes for patients.
RESEARCH Mount Kilimanjaro trek looks for answers to pulmonary hypertension

Improving our understanding of pulmonary hypertension and heart failure by measuring the effects of increased altitude is the aim of Griffith’s Professor Norm Morris as he climbs Mount Kilimanjaro with the Heartclimb medical research expedition.
Professor Morris will trek with 30 climbers from base camp in Mount Kilimanjaro at 7,380ft to the summit at 19,340ft. “We will be studying the responses to exercise of between 20 and 26 healthy climbers aged over 60, measuring how much they breathe along with their oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide gas production as we increase in altitude up the mountain. In addition, we will examine how much they desaturate during exercise,” says Professor Morris.
“This is a unique model to study and it will also provide us with novel data related to the acute onset of pulmonary hypertension and heart failure in a large group of older individuals, who may be more susceptible.”
Pulmonary hypertension is complex. Whilst relatively rare, patients often develop symptoms quite suddenly and often without any known cause. - Griffith University
DIAGNOSTICS WA launches world first initiative to diagnose rare diseases in aboriginal children

“Pilbara Faces” will build the world’s first resource of 3-D photographs of Aboriginal children’s faces - a unique knowledge-base to assist in medical diagnosis, treatment monitoring and clinical research. The initiative will be funded by Roy Hill Community Foundation has partnered with Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The facial imaging project is led by Perth’s Dr Gareth Baynam, of Genetic Services Western Australia (GSWA), who uses 3D images to identify subtle variations in facial contours, often imperceptible to the naked eye.
He says, “Our face is a biological billboard that advertises our physical and mental wellness, our aging and our disease. Approximately one third of genetic and rare diseases are thought to have subtle facial clues, so harnessing these through 3D facial analysis will provide a new way to improve diagnosis and treatment.”
The non-invasive test and analysis only takes 20 minutes and will give families a new way to find answers for children with longstanding, very complex, usually multi-system disorders that were previously undiagnosed.
REHABILITATION Lifesaving app for cardiac patients

Cardiac rehab saves lives, but unfortunately take-up amongst heart attack survivors is low. That’s why CSIRO developed CardiHab, an app that brings the hospital rehabilitation program to the patient’s home, offering a more flexible option for eligible patients and reducing reliance on health centre visits. CardiHab is taking part in the Slingshot HCF Catalyst accelerator, a program focused on innovation in the health tech sector – which will help put this technology directly into the hands of heart attack patients.
PUBLIC AWARENESS Australian attitudes costing lung cancer patients’ lives

A new report released from Lung Foundation Australia (LFA) highlights how despite being Australia’s biggest cancer killer, responsible for more deaths than breast, prostate and ovarian cancer combined, lung cancer gets the least empathy from Australians, largely due to its association with smoking.
The stereotyping is impacting diagnosis and access to treatment and is contributing to a disturbing 15% survival rate five years after diagnosis, compared to the 90% survival rate for breast cancer and 94% for prostate cancer.
LFA CEO Heather Allan says “Unlike other cancers, lung cancer patients face constant questioning around their earlier life choices that may or may not have contributed to the disease.”
One in three women diagnosed with lung cancer has never smoked and occupational exposure contributes to 29% of lung cancer in men.
“Lung cancer doesn’t discriminate and neither should we,” she says. People can show their support for “Improving outcomes for Australians with Lung Cancer – A Call to Action” at www. lungfoundation.com.au/lung-cancer-call-to-action and make lung cancer a key priority in Australia.
NUTRITION Offer ‘biscuits and cheese’ to increase nutrition at mid-meals

Addressing hospital malnutrition is an ongoing challenge and it turns out that being specific when communicating mid-meal options helps boost nutrition provided. A recent study at Epworth, VIC, found that when Food Service Assistants (FSAs) offered between meal services to patients, mentioning the actual food on offer increased mid-meal uptake and thus energy provided.
Naming just one or two food items produces results - for example, offering ‘biscuits and cheese’ as opposed to offering ‘morning tea’ more than doubled the energy, protein and fluid consumed.
Allocating adequate time for service delivery and training food service staff to name two food and beverage items when offering between meal services to patients, could significantly improve the nutritional contribution of the service,” says Judy Appleton, Accredited Practising Dietitian and co-author of the study.

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