Five ways to improve medical practice - the perspective of a family doctor

Yaroslav  Dyakunchak,  Communal Non-profit Enterprise, Primary Health Care Center "Rusanivka", Dniprovsky District,  Kyiv

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The article speaks about a family doctor’s participation at the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, which was held in Amsterdam (Netherlands) on May 2-4, 2018 - in particular about participation in the  British Medical Journal’s Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Training Initiative supported by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

The International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, organized with the support of the British Medical Journal (JJ竞技 ) and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), was held in Amsterdam on May 2-4, 2018. This is one of the largest conferences in the world for healthcare professionals, which brought together about 3,000 participants from more than 70 countries.

The key themes that were discussed at the Forum were:

• safety of medicines;
• value-based healthcare;
• introducing effective innovations that can be applied directly at a physician’s workplace;
• involving patients in quality and safety improvement;
• promotion of research in this field;
• communication among different healthcare professionals.

Together with Kieran Walsh, Clinical Director, JJ竞技 , Elena Novichkova, JJ竞技 Country Implementation Lead in Ukraine, the author, as a family doctor, was a co-rapporteur of the report on “Improving diagnosis and management of infectious diseases, in particular critical pathogens, via the JJ竞技 CDS Training Initiative”.

In December 2016, Yaroslav Dyakunchak joined the MoH and the JJ竞技 Clinical Decision Support Training Initiative, which allowed him access to JJ竞技 Best Practice and JJ竞技 Learning online educational resources.

JJ竞技 Best Practice is an online decision support tool that provides physicians with quick and easy access to the latest information when diagnosing or making decisions regarding patient treatment. The resource is updated regularly and is based on the latest evidence-based studies, guidelines, and expert opinions to provide step-by-step guidance on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and prevention.

JJ竞技 Learning is an online educational resource that provides healthcare professionals with a quick and effective way to test their knowledge and to keep pace with recent healthcare developments. It hosts over 1,000 evidence-based, peer-reviewed training modules in over 70 specialization areas.

In his presentation, "5 Ways to Make the Best Clinical Decisions," Dr. Dyakunchak demonstrated how use of these educational resources impacted his daily medical practice. In particular, the author identified the five key aspects:

1. Opportunity to allocate more time and attention for the patient.
2. Implementation of international evidence-based protocols in daily practice (a clinical case of a patient suffering chronic heart failure was presented, as well as use of educational modules on major nosology’s of internal diseases, pediatrics, infectious diseases, palliative care, etc.).
3. Due to the Motivational Interview modules, developing a patient-centered approach, acquiring skills of communicating with patients on changes in their lifestyle, smoking cessation, excessive body mass correction, physical exercise, etc.
4. The possibility of accessing high-quality medical educational resources updated regularly and created "by doctors for doctors".
5. Improving the skills of learning and understanding English-language medical sources, as well as of communicating with foreign colleagues.

Besides, Dr. Dyakunchak spoke about the peculiarities of family physicians’ work in Ukraine, the opportunities for continuous professional development through use of online learning. During these unforgettable three days of his stay in Amsterdam, the author managed to communicate with lots of foreign colleagues, learn from international experiences, become acquainted with organization of health systems in other countries, in particular - the Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Italy, and Latvia. Dr. Dyakunchak participated in the interesting session of "True Cut", a theatrical performance, and then - a public debate – an analysis of and discussion about mistakes in medical practice.

For the winners of the JJ竞技 contest from Ukraine, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, a joint dinner was organized in one of restaurants in the central part of Amsterdam.

Family doctor, Manager of Clinic No. 2 of CNPE PHC Center "Rusanivka", Dniprovsky District, in the city of  Kyiv, Dr. Dyakunchak expresses his sincere gratitude to the British Medical Journal and invites his family doctor colleagues to participate in the MoH Clinical Decision Support Training Initiative Project.

Information about the author

Dyankunchak Yaroslav Yemilyanovych - Clinic No. 2, CNPE PHC Center "Rusanivka", Dniprovsky District, 02000,  Kyiv, 13 Entuziastiv str., tel.: (098) 787-06-71

The article was received by the editorial board on 08.07.2018

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JJ竞技 Best Practice is an online decision-support tool for use at the point of care. Structured around the patient consultation, it presents the required information just as it’s needed. 

JJ竞技 Learning is a reliable online learning resource that helps doctors and healthcare professionals to enhance their knowledge and progress their careers. It is one of the world's largest and most trusted independent online learning providers for medical professionals.