Category: The Monthly Pulse

The Monthly Pulse is a new category of the M3 Blog.
Each month we send a single question survey to our members worldwide to ask about relevant healthcare related issues. We combine and compare the results and share them with you, so that you can see how your opinion differs to those of your colleagues from around the world. We asked you about actual and relevant topics like automatic donor registration, burnout and stress within the medical community, the Celebrity endorsement in healthcare campaigns, the physician revalidation process, Emerging technology and the healthcare sector and patient’s use of the Internet for medical information and we have many more Pulse to come. We strongly believe in highlighting the differences in each countries for a better understanding of the healthcare sector. M3 Global Research values your professional opinion and is looking forward to hearing your feedback about this section of the blog.

Regulation and protection of medical data

While phrases like data encryption and cyberattack were not a part of our collective vocabulary until recently, such large scale data breaches, like those that occurred at Yahoo and Uber, have brought the issue to the forefront. A few of these breaches standout from the rest, but all are costly in terms of the compromised user data and the financial ramifications.

You can find below what the M3 Global Research community answered to this question.

By registering with M3 Global Research you will receive the Monthly Pulse directly to your inbox and you will be able to give your opinion about relevant healthcare related issue and compare your thoughts with your colleagues around the World.

 

Social Media and pseudoscience

The new Monthly Pulse is about Social Media and Pseudoscience.

People regularly use web search and social media to investigate health related issues. Nowadays, it is possible to find the answer to a question regarding a health concern in less than five seconds. This habit can be either positive, since it allows access to information and to support groups, or negative, as it can lead to misinformation and misinterpretation, and even harmful self-medication.

You can find below what the M3 Global Research community answered to this question:

By registering with M3 Global Research you will receive the Monthly Pulse directly to your inbox and you will be able to give your opinion about relevant healthcare related issue and compare your thoughts with your colleagues around the World.

 

Mental health stigmas in the medical sector

As we approach mental health awareness month in May, it seems an appropriate time to introduce this month’s Pulse question, which looks at mental health stigmas amongst medical professionals.

According to the British Medical Journal, nearly one-third of doctors experience some kind of mental disorder. Yet for many it’s a shameful secret, because of the deep stigma towards mental illness that still exists in the medical profession.

Stigmatisation has inward-facing impacts for health professionals’ own willingness to seek help or disclose a mental health problem, which can result in an over-reliance on self-treatment, low peer support, and increased risk of suicide.

 

By registering with M3 Global Research you will receive the Monthly Pulse directly to your inbox and you will be able to give your opinion about relevant healthcare related issue and compare your thoughts with your colleagues around the World.

Here is what the M3 Global Research community answered to this question.

 

 

Technology investment in the healthcare sector

Our first monthly Pulse of 2018 asked the M3 Global Research community their opinions on technology investment in healthcare. The healthcare sector has experienced dramatic changes over the last 25 years and will likely continue to change and evolve in the immediate future. Technology is already powering new models of care and disrupting traditional ideas about care provision. However, the level of investment will become a key driver in the speed of delivery. For this Pulse survey we asked healthcare professionals which areas of potential technology investment they think would have the most impact patients over the next five years. Participants could choose up to three of the following:

  1. Preventative medicine (home test kits, measures for disease prevention and identification of risk factors)
  2. Self-diagnosis (recognising or identifying medical conditions for oneself using online resources)
  3. Telemedicine (online or telephone consultations with HCPs without face-to-face contact)
  4. Social prescribing (a means of enabling primary care professionals to refer patients to a range of local, non-clinical services)
  5. Self-care (actions that individuals take for themselves in order to protect, maintain and improve their health or wellbeing)
  6. Care navigation (using signposting and information to help patients and their carers identify their treatment and care options)
  7. Patient access to online health records (patients can access, electronically, their own records from all primary and secondary care interactions)
  8. Other

January’s Pulse revealed that the majority of respondents in Europe, Canada, and the US believe that telemedicine, with 2,752 votes, is the area of technological investment that will most improve patient care over the next five years.  This might include Skype consultations, or digital clinics, and would be particularly useful in improving access to care in remote areas or for specialist treatment. Preventive medicine followed as the next most popular option, with 2,495 votes, and was particularly popular in the United States. Preventative medicine is seen to be a way of reducing healthcare costs, and also improve efficacy of treatments by early diagnosis, and so might include the  development of home testing kits, for example. Social prescribing was deemed to have the least potential impact, with only 485 votes, but this could be because its application is less well understood outside the UK, where it is quickly gaining traction. In the UK, primary care clinicians are able to refer patients to a range of local, non-clinical services, often provided by the voluntary and community sector, thus reducing costs for the NHS.

In Europe specifically, results broadly reflected the global findings, with 2,710 professionals surveyed in UK, Germany, France, Spain and Italy choosing telemedicine as the area of technological investment that they thought would most improve patient care over the next five years. Preventive medicine followed, with 2,436 votes. Social prescribing was the option with the least votes, with 485.

healthcare sector

Interestingly, in the USA results were different. Preventive medicine was chosen as the area of technological investment that will most improve patient care over the next five years, with 1,136. Telemedicine came in second, with 517 votes. Self-diagnosis apps were deemed to have the least potential impact, with only 86 votes.

Technology investment

By registering with M3 Global Research you will receive the monthly Pulse straight to your inbox so you can give your opinion about topical healthcare-related issues and compare your thoughts with those of your colleagues around the world.

Mandatory vaccination for children

The last Monthly Pulse of 2017 brought the M3 Global Research Community into the debate over vaccination for children. In the United States, according to data from 2015 published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 95% of children are vaccinated against Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, and 92% against Measles. Vaccination is required for school attendance to encourage immunization among children, but some states allow medical or religious exemptions.

European vaccination rates are high overall, with 93% being the lowest coverage for Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis in countries like Estonia, Italy and Lithuania, and as high as 99% in Belgium, Greece and Hungary. The rates for Measles are lower in some countries, at 85% in Italy and Denmark, for example.

Childhood vaccination will become mandatory in France this year. The move follows similar efforts by the Italian government, which has banned children from attending state schools if they haven’t been vaccinated.

Healthcare providers both in the US and in Europe are spending more time discussing this issue with patients’ parents than ever before, due to their increased hesitancy to vaccinate their children because of such concerns as possible side effects, potentially harmful ingredients, and religious freedom.

M3 asked: should more countries follow the examples of France and Italy? The results of this Monthly Pulse revealed that majority of respondents in Europe, Canada, and the US believe that vaccination should be mandatory for children.

Monthly pulse

 

In Europe, Spain had the highest rate (95%) of respondents who agree with mandatory vaccination:

vaccination for children